Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
Is Thinkorswim a good Platform for Futures Trading?
Guys, I've been setting limit orders right on the bid or ask in ToS and get filled nearly every time.
I've shown with my journal and P/L that it's the trader..not the platform. ToS works just fine for
day trading and swing trading futures. For scalping a few ticks...nope and I wouldn't recommend that style
of trading anyways.
Some may say "oh it lags" or it does this or that wrong but I think you need to take a look at yourself first.
This is a psychological strategy based game.
Been going for it for over 5 years now, Willee.
It's not the platform...that's all I'm saying.
If it is ToS, then maybe they are actually saving you money by missing trades.
Think about it. Unless you're the type of trader that can put away stacks
most months, then you are not missing much.
I'm taking an Investools course in Futures which utilizes TOS (since both are under the TDA umbrella). I'll report back in a month or so with my experiences. As far as options and stocks go, I've been on ToS for ten+ years (prior to the TDA takeover) and I have absolutely no complaints. Only times my ass got handed to me was thru my own errors. I've got lots of confidence in the people and technology there and have all my accounts in TDA. Just today I got a personal callback from a development manager to solve a cosmetic issue on the Monitor tab where my positions display. Yes, occasionally I get a TDA rep on the Help line who is not ToS-literate, but that's to be expected. I just politely terminate the call and re-dial. So let's see how they do with Futures.
I've traded with TOS for a long time too - from well before the TDA takeover. Their futures commissions are too high unless you are using futures to hedge against an equity position or swing trading. Their data feed is too slow, unless you are using futures to hedge against an equity position or swing trading. Their intra-day margin requirements are too high, unless you are using futures to hedge against an equity position or swing trading. Finally, the creators of the TOS platform are firmly of the opinion that futures should be used primarily to hedge against a currently held equity position or, and a very distant second on their list, swing trading. So.... if you're using futures to hedge and/or swing trade, TOS will serve you well. If you are day trading successfully, you can save money by shopping elsewhere. Good luck.
Most traders are losing money. Is the margin requirement really a bad thing?
They use the overnight margin that all brokers use, but enforce it during the day as well.
The data may not be the best but it's not that bad. I day trade on it with no problem.
The only real drawback are the commissions. But again, most traders shouldn't be trading
as frequently as they do. Psychology > any platform. I spent less than 4k on commissions this year.
First of all, let me say that I am a BIG fan of TOS and TDA for swing trading.
That being said, using TOS for day trading futures is next to LUDICROUS! TOS has become MAJOR BLOATWARE, to the point that it's only usable if you have simplest and most minimal setup. FORGET IT if you have custom or complex indicators, or use more than 2-4 charts. The lag on TOS makes it impossible to trade safely.
I've reached my absolute limit of frustration with the forced beta-testing that requires you to install their sub-par programming without adequate pre-testing - OR your permission. They've had so many complaints about this, that they've hidden the update installations. You'll log into your platform one day and find major surprises that prevent you from trading that day .... or longer. Not the least of these is the memory hog TOS has become. And they don't fix the problems in a timely manner - IF EVER.
I'm forced to find another broker for a day trading and execution platform now, and I'm upset about it quite honestly. If I could use AMIBROKER for day trading, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It's an incredibly efficient platform with superior programming. But they don't have a DOM. That's a BIG downside!
On the other hand, TDA is a very good broker and I'm staying with them for swing trading futures and stocks. But I wouldn't dare risk another dime with them trying to day trade with TOS.
Trading: Primarily Energy but also a little Equities, Fixed Income, Metals and Crypto.
Frequency: Many times daily
Duration: Never
Posts: 5,049 since Dec 2013
Thanks Given: 4,386
Thanks Received: 10,206
Anybody use the platform for futures spreads trading? I'm looking for a platform for taking multi-day/week positions with entries and exits with limit orders, so not overly concerned about slight delays.
I currently use interactive brokers which has it's pro's and con's. Their futures spread trading though is rather un-intuitive and their charting is awful. The charts show the spread between the two outright instruments and not the exchange traded spread. Hence they are completely un-representative of what is actually trading.
