Hi, I've taken a look at Button Trader, which I must say looks like a fantastic piece of software. I am however put off by the fact that it only supports IB. Does anyone know of an alternative that allows for the same level of sophistication when creating an automated system, without moving to the likes of Wealth Lab, Amibroker, Tradestation, Neoticker etc, but gives a choice of broker? I'm in particular thinking of trading as an electronic member of CME. I know that IB is now offering unbundled, but their prices are quite high even if you do about 10.000 contracts per month. Thanks in advance.
Since you mentioned sign up at CME, you should think of directly hook up to the CME globex 2 interface. All you need is the Globex 2 terminal and the interface specs. You probably need to hire a programmer to get the interface done. Thats absolutely the fastest way as far as I remember.
Hi Lawrence, I appreciate your answer - thank you very much. I am actually capable of programming myself, and could probably use any of the more sophisticated programs I mentioned to set something up. (I've looked at NeoTicker btw, a very impressive piece of software!) However, I'm just impressed by the relative ease with which one can define a pretty complex strategy in BT - and am so disappointed that it's only IB they support. So basicly I am looking for a solution where I don't have to put in hours programming my system, with the advanced BT features, but which allows me to save as much as possible on commissions.
Button Trader is a nice order entry front end, but supporting more than a single brokerage order routing is much more complex. In your case it is probably best to seek for institutional pricing for your trade clearing. If IB is willing to take you on your size, or act as your clearing firm based on your member status at CME, you can then stay with IB and BT - all problems solved On the other hand, you can check out other brokerages who have good order interface and willing to make a deal. Then you have a choice to switch.