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non-US traders, own technicals, not C#, what is best?
for international traders (non-US), who trade using their own technicals, only stocks and options, what will be the best platform/broker to use? i'm specifically interested in comparing IB/Multicharts(EL/PL) vs Tradestation (ToS not an option) against the following criteria:
1 - ease of doing business with (opening accounts, resolving issues, money transfer both ways, customer support quality & responsiveness..etc)
2 - platform reliability and ease of use: I don't want to have to learn C# .. still need a platform that's simple to use, yet has the required syntax/features in the coding language to build the needed studies - also need to provide a SIM environment & backtesting for strategies - automation not needed now
3 - trading costs (initial / running): I find Tradestation cost structure very confusing .. there's also initial cost to get set up if I go down the MC/IB path.. monthly service fees, datafeed costs.. for example, if I don't trade for few weeks, I keep getting hit with a $100 from TS for every 4 weeks of not trading as maintenance fees .. for now, i'm a casual trader, that doesn't mean I get punished and lose money every month until i'm fully dedicated - doesn't make sense to me.
- other points from your experience?
- any other broker/platform combo that provides the above I may have missed in my research? (again, ToS not a valid option )
i'm surprised with the limited choices today for a trader with this criteria, although I see many others like me. many brokers claim best for international traders, best for low cost, best for infrequent traders...etc (see the latest Barron's 2013 results), and when you investigate closely and read other customer experiences, or when you contact the broker, you receive less than satisfactory outcome.. so i'm just lost ..
will truly appreciate advice and experiences from other non-US traders who managed to make a good choice that they're happy with today... will be of great help to me.
RedK
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Any input, advice, opinions, or experiences will by much appreciated .. before I make a (wrong) move.. which needs to happen soon.
maybe this thread can later become a reference here on futures.io (formerly BMT) for other fellow non-US traders with a similar need? I can see many of them around
I'm not sure if we can be of much help since you stated that you want an easy programming language (i.e., not C#) and both MultiCharts and TradeStation are practically the same in that respect (both EasyLanguage based). Something else that may cause a lack of replies on this thread is that people who have MultiCharts don't have TradeStation (and vice versa), so it would be hard to compare this. I personally do not know someone who uses both these platforms. Lastly, a broker suggestion would be hard since I'm not sure if all brokers accepted customers from UAE.
I use MultiCharts myself and I find that one of its strengths is that you can use multiple data feeds and brokers simultaneously. That way you can go for the best quality data feed and best broker instead of being 'tied up' with TradeStation. Since you're new to a platform you might also like to know that the MultiCharts support is excellent with answering questions and helping in case of technical problems.
Regarding a good broker, InteractiveBrokers is generally regarded as one of the best, most competitive and most 'safe' (and I agree with that). However, I don't use TradeStation so I can't tell you if one if better than the other. The customer service of IB is good (in my experience), but I very seldom have contact with them since I don't had issues (so my experience in this is limited).
C# is not that hard. I'm a programmer yes, but I cringe when I see EasyLanguage or similar code. Often I can code up an indicator or strategy in much less NinjaScript code compared to EasyLanguage or others.
@Jura and @MrYou, thanks both.. Jura, very valuable feedback.. appreciated
been researching this for few months now.. but I may not be aware of all choices.. any other platforms/mix out there that someone here is using and happy with (against criteria above)
update: during past few months I managed to test NT, MC.Net, MC classic, IB (trial account), then after trying tradestation most recently, i'm inclined to go to IB & MC classic, as the closest to what I was comfortable with (spoiled by ToS), they have non-US trader support covered.. have I missed any one I shouldn't?
validating my choice with fellow futures.io (formerly BMT) traders before I take that dive.. so thanks in advance for all guidance,
K
I've been using IB as my broker and MC classic with IQFeed data feed and it works great for me. MC is rock solid. The only problem with not having a data feed from a broker is that trading off the charts is not as simple because MC requires a data feed from a broker to get correct bid/ask and to be able to place proper orders. I use the trade bar in MC and then just drag my orders around.
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