I'm a small retail trader and I'm looking for a good automated platform that I can use for option day trading (not too interested in swing at the moment): * inexpensive or free trial to demo and setup for day trading/scalping - back testing and real time * Able to select and trade options * Real data to allow proper back testing for day trading (intervals below 5 seconds preferred) * Drop down/visual would be better than standard coding, but I'm ok with coding too. * Able to hook up to a brokerage that uses ETNA * Able to run up to 100 different strategies real-time (to find the best strategy) * Can set it up for paper-trading as well as real trading obviously * Access to technicals/studies (EMA, RSI, SMA, ADX, etc..) I've seen Zorro yesterday, but not sure it's robust enough. Any recommendations? Thank you
your about to find out that most all backtesting platforms deliver what you want in backtesting then you will lose your ass when actually trading cause the platforms curve fit to past data but have no idea what is future data. so i would recommend you first learn to trade and then try and replicate what you have learned with real money into a automated system that way you know exactly what is and isn't correct when the system takes a trade.
That’s like wishing for pie in the sky. Would you like fries with that? No one can support options at that level, or give you terabytes of intraday data for them. Though you could try some cloud platforms like QuantConnect or OptionAlpha (they launched a new auto-trading system for options recently).
In all seriousness how much money do you have? I watched the Option Alpha demo, looks nice, but they use 5 or 15 minutes data and will (in the future) let you buy more frequently. They also only scan for execution at different time intervals (15 minutes I think). A lot can happen in those minutes interday and they want $2k for the product. The cost of the data you want runs into the thousands for backtesting and then you have to code a system to analyze that much data. This is why many use synthetic values derived by BS model, instead of real data. I am coding an options backtesting package for my strategy (inter-day) and it is taking forever even with volunteer student labor. I still question if it is worth it.
I've looked at OptionAlpha and it'll go down to 1 minute - I've looked at QuantConnect and may take a deeper look at that again. I sent them an email asking about their intervals, but haven't heard back - maybe it's in their documentation. Do you know? The backtesting isn't as necessary as just live trading (paper and real) - I figured that would be a tough one.
Thanks for the advice - I'm not sure why you assumed I don't know how to trade. Interesting. Anyways, like I just said above, backtesting isn't as important as just refining down the strategies that will work the best in an automated fashion.
muh bad apologize. it must have been the flurry of newb's post wanting to go start to automation that got me ass-uming lol
If you keep "Able to hook up to a brokerage that uses ETNA" off the list and you're open to using TD Ameritrade, Alpaca, or Robinhood then Arcade Trader is a good candidate. It works only with the US Stock market, not options.