Gene's post was absolutely correct about the feeds, etc. Redi is great, and the speed is a quick as it can be. Some locales will have different experiences. I may have mis-spoke (typed) when I said "jealous" ..... I prefer to think that we all strive to have the upper tier access capabilities, and know for sure that BT does its' best to stay on top in this regard.
REDI+ in terms of volume is the largest direct access software provider. Trading on direct access software is not like turning a light switch "on" or "off". Network issues and slowness can be complex and must be troubleshot by qualified techs. I have traders who have lighting fast internet executions in California . REDI+ has worked well for us. Hardware(Amt. Ram on Computer,CPU speed), Software Conflicts(using multiple packages on one computer),Internet bandwidth , network connectivity & design are some factors which may cause "slowness" or poor system performance. I have seen several posts that have said VTS is the worst EDAT system available. However , Robert & Jeff of Echo say the system works very well and I'm sure it does. The problems associated with VTS at other firms may be server related problems at their site, Amt. of RAM on Server etc. So I would tell traders reading this post that many times software related problems may have their origin locally(on site-network or internet related) and not with the software itself . If you have problems , report the problems to your firm and have the system troublshot properly by an experienced tech. The firm switching to ISI(I wish them well), would not be switching if they had their system "tweaked" and troubleshot properly. Our LA traders have reliable executions and very few problems. Gene Weissman Lieber & Weissman Sec., L.L.C. gweissman@stocktrade.net
instead of being the cheapest platform for most brokerage shops, they invested serious development monies in improving their software. it stinks for what it does, and is even worse for what it says it should be able to do... I've seen a lot of guys specifically fault the software, not the connection speed, or configuration on their platform (machine) for loosing them on many trades on differing day (market conditions). I previously outlined some of their more significant flaws in the software and lack of smooth operating under low stress conditions. Fagettta 'bout it, under heavy market stress conditions. There will be those who are so well cushioned in profits and capital, that the will never have the perspective that those traders who had their investment dollar dwindled by pitiful executions. Poor executions would have been a tremendous improvement. I seriously doubt whether most traders out there, would ever accept the pitiable performance that Redi+ offers. Certainly not risk their current capital or trading around.
Redi is certainly not the lowest priced platform available (trust me on this...). Goldman Sachs has committed sizable resources to the Redi program, and it will continue to get even better. Gene and I seem to agree that it is usually local problems that occur, not Redi itself. Don't get me wrong, there have been problems in the past, but we have been pleased with the overall performance capabilities. I am sorry that you had trouble, Limit, but maybe there is more to the story than just Redi.?? Anyway, there are plenty to choose from, and back to my point, there are several other "cheaper" platforms available. Pricing is usually a function of economies of scale, not system related.
Redi can never be like the Watcher. Just because you can program the same keys doesnt not mean it can be like the watcher. Can you tab thru level II screens with one key? That is one of the main features of the watcher. It is quick fast. Can you make redi's layout like the watcher, does redi have a position manager like the watcher. can you quickly go between accounting screens to scans to thermographs to charts to ticker with one key stroke? Watcher is designed for scalping and no other software can emulate it. They are only a handful of platforms out there that are good for scalping, watcher, lightspeed/firstlevel, terminator, hammer, accesspro and a new platform direxpro. These are the quickest and the fastest platforms on the market for scalping and there no other systems simliar to it. i have used all systems expcept hammer and direxpro(which i am about to try soon). these platforms give you a nice feel of quick movements in stocks and good scalping opportunites using mostly level two. these are just my thoughts, correct me if i am wrong.
Agreed. I posted the same thing a few pages back on this thread. RealTIck has some pretty cool hot key functionality now in its latest version. So I programmed RT Hot keys to simulate what I can do with Direx Pro. It was no contest. In a fast market, there is simply no comparison to the effeciency of my orders and my fills using Direx versus using Realtick with hotkeys. But you truly have to feel it to believe it. I can imagine thinking the same thing, that a hot key is a hot key....but if anyone ever has a chance to trade live capital on one of the "scalping" type platforms (watcher/sonic/direx/etc) then you will see what we mean.
Didn't catch who originally said Redi was like The Watcher, but I'm with hans130 on this one. I used watcher many years ago and it is excellent for what it does - entering trades quickly on NASDAQ stocks (don't know how much it's changed since then). Redi is another animal. Yes it is an order execution system, but it's far more than that. It provides you with charting, filters, etc. From what I know about the Watcher, it doesn't do that. I also know that with Redi, you can set it up with hot keys to make your usage of it lightning fast similar to the way the Watcher works. The nice thing about Redi is it's customization abilities with hot keys. The user can decide on the sequence of hot keys that they like the best and the layout of the windows that work the best for them. I know that when I was using The Watcher, that would have been nice (could have prevented me losing money due to incorrect keystrokes<g>).
hans130, I never meant that REDI+ is the same as the watcher, only that you can program keys and have a similar execution setup. If I program hotkeys on REDI+, I will get fast executions on ECN match's. The Watcher is an excellent platform for "scalpers" and I know that many traders would trade on the Watcher and no other order execution platform. However, for many traders who trade NASDAQ/AMEX/NYSE and options, REDI+ has alot to offer. REDI+ will not "clone" The Watcher, however REDI+ can be setup with HotKeys, Buttons for ECNS on Level II , Right Click on Level II montage etc., so REDI+ can be customized for the trader. REDI+ has a new version of the software revised every 6 months and has the backing of Golman Sachs. REDI+ was not designed just for pure "daytraders". Many of Spear,Leeds & Kellogg, First Options and Goldman-Sachs customers are hedge funds, mutual funds and large NYSE stock traders, so REDI+ was designed to appeal to many these large customers, not just the 1000 share NASDAQ "scalper". We have some very fine traders at our firm who are very pleased with REDI+ , as an all in one direct access execution platform. REDI+ is the largest direct access order execution platform in terms of share volume , I believe , because REDI+ is a good system. You can't please everyone , but check out some of REDI+ new features at www.redi.com . REDI+ can be customized many ways for all trading styles . I would say that if you are comfortable on the Watcher, stay with the Watcher. We have traders that are very successful using REDI+ and REDI+ has worked well for us. I will say again that the trader is more important than the EDAT software. A good trader can make money on any decent EDAT softare . Hans, have a good New Year ! Gene Weissman Lieber & Weissman Sec., L.L.C. gweissman@stockatrade.net
I received some fairly basic questions via personal email..concerning Redi. Perhaps we need to clarify that Redi is a trading Platform as well as an ECN...and that having access to Redi does not mean you are using Redi. To most of you this may sound naive, but we have traders at all levels here on the board. Many retail brokers give you a "nameless" platform to execute orders on...and data vendors like MyTrack and First Alert offer you execution to as many ECN's as you would like to pay for (via commissions, etc.)...but the Redi system itself is a stand alone platform that offers all the goodies described in Gene's post above. I particularly like using a dual screen Redi with added spreadsheets for all my trading, and this is especially nice for remote traders...since it eliminates the need to pay for additional data vendors.