Has anyone used Terra Nova Online? They have a new direct access trading platform called "Investor". Everything I have read sounds great, but have yet to hear from a user. JD Kim
JD Kim, I recently switched from Datek to the Terra Nova Investor product. I am not a 'daytrader', so their regular product was a little robust for me. This product suits me to a tee. Realtime info, charts and direct access via a few ECNs. All I need. (I did post on their rating board on Elitetrader.) Hope others find it as good as me. Andrew
Andrew, I saw your post last week and looked into Terra Nova more. They gave me a demo of their new product. It looks good. You can tell it is new by the look, but from what they explained and what I saw it is based on some RealTic controls. Order Entry and Charts etc worked great, and the price is right (free!) for real time data. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted. Barry
Weil, Sounds like you found everything working as well as I did. It has been a few weeks and not a single complaint. Other than some of my plays. See ya later. Andrew
Andrew, What an eye opener. I hadn't heard of Terra Nova, but am familiar with their branches. It looks like this new Investor product is their way of developing their brand. I demoed the product yesterday after seeing a banner ad. I was surprised by the features. Everything in real time and free. So far they are my leading candidate for investing. Since it is direct access, I assume order execution is fast. Seems like they are offering ARCA and ISLD as the routing choices. How is their clearing firm? Obviously Instinet has been in the industry for some time, but I don't know anyone else who clears them. Have to be light years better than some of the other day trading clearing firms. Thank you for your post. I look forward to using the product. Maybe I'll see you in their chat room. Steve
I have a question for the users of Terra Nova's Investor product. I went to the website and it looks interesting. It mentioned that you can route orders via island and arca. Are there any other options for execution available in there is no liquidity on these ecns? Also since this is a browser based product, how big of a drain is it on processing power?
Htrader and Steve, I have been actively using the Investor for a few weeks, and I can tell you the following: They give you ARCA (listed and OTC), ISLD (listed and OTC) and ISI (DOT for listed). So far no complaints on executions. I know routing via an ECN, my order is being represented how I want it. No middle man to contend with. Regarding liquidity on ISLD and ARCA, I would disagree that there is none. From all the numbers presented on Nasdaq's websites and other places, these ECNs are among the top three. Instinet being the third. My experience and reading have shown that ARCA does interact with other ECNs and Selectnet, so if no liquidity on ARCA itself it can go somewhere else for a fill. If I am not mistaken many of the ECNs are connecting to each other to avoid S-net and it's pitfalls. Maybe if a few of us make enough noise, Terra Nova might give users of the new product access to Instinet ECN or others. I know they have the routes available, they are for people who use their RealTick platform. As for the drain on the processor, I have not seen any major performance issues. My machine is relatively new and has more than what they recommend for minimums. Also, I have run from my win98 laptop with less than stellar dialup and seems to run smoothly. My guess is testing it will tell you what to expect. Instinet Clearing has been good. No complaints. My guess is others can tell you if it is better than other day trading clearing firms. Andrew
Haven't heard anything lately from the Terra Nova Investor users, but for those still interested in their Investor product, they have a new place to go for demos: http://www.terranovaonline.com/investor/animated/InvestorAnim.htm I have been using the product for over a month and very pleased. Good Trading, Andrew
FYI just got this email, just wanted to pass it on to other others. ................ Dear Valued Terra Nova Online Customer: Nasdaq is beginning the initial phase of conversion to decimal pricing on March 12, 2001 with 15 stocks (please see list below). We would like to remind you that Nasdaq has already begun supporting decimal prices with Test stocks (TEST, TESTA, TESTB) in their production systems. You do have the ability to test or verify your decimal readiness by routing orders to all ECNs in these test stocks. Please be aware that while your account will not be charged any commissions or fees for trading TEST stocks, account funds in the aggregate amount of the TEST stock trade will be tied up. Further, no gains or losses will incur due to TEST stock trades. In conjunction with our software development partners, Townsend Analytics, Terra Nova Online has successfully completed the conversion to decimals in listed stocks; similarly, we are prepared for a seamless transition to decimal trading with Nasdaq stocks. The following 15 stocks will convert to decimal trading on March 12th and will be traded with a minimum price variation of one cent: · Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (BRCD) · Commerce One, Inc. (CMRC) · Copper Mountain Networks (CMTN) · Cree, Inc. (CREE) · Extreme Networks, Inc. (EXTR) · Inktomi Corporation (INKT) · Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDTI) · Micromuse, Inc. (MUSE) · Newport Corporation (NEWP) · OpenWave Systems, Inc. (OPWV) · Rambus, Inc. (RMBS) · Redback Networks, Inc. (RBAK) · Research in Motion, Ltd. (RIMM) · VerticalNet, Inc. (VERT) · Coastal Caribbean Oil & Minerals, Ltd. (OTCBB security COCBF) (Also listed on the Boston Stock Exchange under the symbol CCO) On March 26, 2001, a second phase of 180 issuer companies and their associated 197 securities will begin trading in decimals (please refer to http://www.nasdaqtrader.com for a complete list of these stocks). On April 9, 2001, all Nasdaq equity securities are scheduled for conversion. Please bear in mind that any of these dates are subject to change by Nasdaq. Decimal Trading on Real Tick The RealTick trading system will accept orders in decimals on stocks up to two (2) decimal places. Decimal prices will be rounded to the closest inferior price (applies to the newest version of Real Tick [version 7.2]; set to be released in late March). For example, a buy order for $10.0625 will be rounded to $10.06. A sell order at $10 1/16 $10.0625 will be rounded to $10.07. Please note that this rounding format is not configured for current RealTick versions. These orders are always rounded to the nearest 1/100 (i.e. a sell order at $10.0625 will still be rounded to $10.06 instead of 10.07). Terra Nova Online highly recommends downloading Real Tick version 7.2 when it is available. We will keep you informed as to when the new version of Real Tick will be released. Fractional trading on Real Tick The RealTick trading system will accept orders in fractions on stocks trading in decimals. Fractional prices will be rounded to the closest inferior price (applies to the newest version of Real Tick [version 7.2]; set to be released in late March). For example, a buy order for $10 1/16 ($10.0625) will be rounded to $10.06. A sell order at $10 1/16 ($10.0625) will be rounded to $10.07. Please note that this rounding format is not configured for current RealTick versions. These orders are always rounded to the nearest 1/100 (i.e. a sell order at $10 1/16 [$10.0625] will still be rounded to $10.06 instead of 10.07). Terra Nova Online highly recommends downloading Real Tick version 7.2 when it is available. We will keep you informed as to when the new version of Real Tick will be released. While the minimum quotation increment for Nasdaq securities trading in decimals is one penny ($0.01), customers may receive fills in finer increments if the order is routed to and executed at a Market Participant trading in finer increments. The following lists a few Market Participants and their trading increments: ISLD: Trade up to three (3) decimal places. http://www.island.com/decimals/DecimalFinal.htm SelectNet: Trade up to four (4) decimal places. SOES: Trade up to four (4) decimal places. REDI: Trade up to four (4) decimal places. ARCA: Trade up to two (2) decimal places. INSTINET: Trade up to two (2) decimal places. Please make note of the steps regarding this decimalization conversion process. For more information on Nasdaq's conversion to decimalization, please refer to their website at http://www.nasdaqtrader.com If you have any questions, please call customer support at 1-866-866-6546. Regards, Terra Nova Online A division of Terra Nova Trading, L.L.C. Member NASD, SIPC & PCX 1-866-TN Online 1-866-866-6546 http://www.terranovaonline.com