No -but I don't know what he is charging for the software. It has only been around 2 years I think. By that I mean that early subscribers probably would have gotten a discount for helping out with beta testing and feedback. I'm no marketing wizard but that seems to be a common approach in the industry. Also Dave is currently doing it all himself, so I imagine he plans to expand (most businesses do) but may not be overly concerned with marketing the software.
Sorry for the round about answer - I guess you'll have to contact him if you are interested.
Personally I feel if the price is not listed then it's up for negotiation
The only thing constant in life is change
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I bought a Build Alpha software license just over a month ago (non-corporate customer).
This post is not to provide the actual purchase price of the license ... that is a commercial matter between the vendor and the potential purchaser. But simply wanted to suggest that you contact Dave (details on https://www.buildalpha.com/) to discuss the cost and benefits. He is a very open and approachable guy. Also, he is usually very quick to respond to any emails.
In terms of his marketing of the software, Dave has openly said that he is content with the low level of marketing he is conducting because he would prefer to spend the time and energy in further enhancing the software ... which he does, and the upgrades are currently released at no cost to license holders.
Also, take note of the comments from other contributors on this post ... there is some credible input which may assist you in your decision-making process.
I wish you well in your due diligence on the software.
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I saw this thread, and thought I would share my thoughts on BA (I bought a license about a year ago)
Let me first give you some background about myself… I have some 15 years of Wall Street trading experience. Predominately discretionary but more algo related trading as of lately. I have tried just about any platform there is out there, either for professionally or personal use. I think it’s fair to say that I have enough experience with what’s available to make a meaningful comparison between the vast number of products I have tried out. Also, it could be worth mentioning I rarely write reviews, and never unless I try something that I believe makes a difference.
BA is basically an algo platform that takes a black box approach and then uses various built in tools to assist in the evaluation of the output, some of which are proprietary. There are a handful of platforms out there that would have comparable capabilities in my mind. Most of the “best” ones, in my experience, require a fair amount of coding however. BA is a product for the algo trader who is looking for the greatest amount of flexibility, combined with the least amount of coding.
More specifically, some of the features include:
- A very wide range of indicators (close to 4000 entry + 4000 exit) , such as calendar, time, paths, oscillators, volatility etc etc.
- Built in EOD data for some 100 markets at no extra cost.
- Lots of flexibility to tweak entries and exits (stop/loss, profit target, fitness functions, timing conditions etc).
- Ability to use more than one market as input
- Ability to import custom strategies and have BA evaluate them.
- Great tools for output evaluation (MC analysis + a number of proprietary methods)
- Compatible with MC, python etc
Things that make BA stand out vs. the competition, in my mind, include:
- Fully “automatic” interface. I am terrible coder and want to spend my time thinking about the markets/trading - BA allows me to do this. It is very easy to use, yet I do not feel limited. Obviously, if you are looking to customize your strategy, you have the ability to hook up BA to python for example.
- User friendly and functional. The platform just works, period. Neither buggy nor ambiguous. Easy to reproduce results. Well organized GUI. Seamless work flow.
- Lastly and most importantly, the support is second to none. The developer, Dave, is not only a nice guy to deal with, but also helpful and knowledgeable with meaningful trading experience under his belt. He listens to his customers and allows them to steer the direction of the platform.
Overall Grade: 10/10
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What is the price of BA ? I don't found it on the website.
The major question is the systems found with BA still working out of sample ? because i have some experience with adaptivebuilder (With GA algo) and the result out-of-sample are not really good
With your experience can you tell me if it's possible to found system with low DD (-10% max) and still work OS ?
OOS performance... This is, of course, a big topic. In short, I look at it something like this:
No platform is a magic box which will spit out profitable systems that you can just copy and paste into tradestation (or whatever) without really "working" them first. So the platform is really just a tool. A great platform should, amongst other things, be broad and creative in the way it generates systems. And it should also offer you various ways to assess the robustness of the potential strategies. If you can generate a large number of robust candidates, that check all the boxes one can think of, you are in a good position to end of with systems that will perform OOS. At the end of the day though, you, as a systems builder, will have to assess the likelyhood of the strategy/ies holding OOS. To assist you in this process, you hopefully have a platform which is broad and deep enough to minimize the probability of allowing garbage strategies pass through its built in filters. And, in my mind, BA is doing a great job at this.
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This whole thread looks like self-promotion. I have used Adaptrade, DLPAL, QuantShare and some other less known program that write code after finding systems. All of them offered demo with more or less full functionality. I still use all of them once in a while. This build alpha vendor does not offer demo. Until he does I think he is not legitimate for me. In online demo one can show you only things that work. With Adaptrade for example I developed full systems with demo and traded them. DLPAL demo was not offering code but support gave me the code of system I liked and traded it. Please do not consider buying anything from someone who is not offering a demo. The obvious reason for not offering a demo is that the developer is afraid of prospective user finding limitations of the program. In build alpha case the limitation is brute force in trying of hard coded indicators for getting a system. This is 90s technology. Only if you are very lucky you will find anything that works. I challenge the build alpha developer to post code of a system his program has developed so we can all check the performance forward 6 months to a year. This is why he is not providing a demo because he knows the performance will turn south fast. If he posts the system and it performs well after 6 months to a year I will also endorse the software.
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I understand what you are saying @dryg, but if you hunt around, you will find a lot of people on twitter etc that have very good things to say about it. Not a user myself so can not comment. There's a thread over that other popular trading site (where trolling seems to be a prerequisite for membership) where the developer himself answers the no-demo question. Turns out most of the people in that thread criticizing him had no experience with the system at all and were just trolling as usual.
The following user says Thank You to SMCJB for this post:
Not until you are asked to provide it and you fail, then you are illegitimate. Any software vendor who refuses to provide demo is illegitimate. On top this one appears to use extensive network of shills. Most people with positive comments had only few posts in this forum and must have come for this purpose. Check it out.
