Actually we can. I use Excel exclusively, but I analyze a limited amount of time series points and risk/reward variables. No need to engage in more complex analysis unless your lacking a competitive advantage. At that point you can assume your predictive model/trade management are poorly structured. Unfortunately many quants don't get this and overanalyze data into the abyss. Here is some recommended reading: http://www.priceactionlab.com/Blog/2016/01/quant-trader/
Thank you for your help. I especially appreciate the link. Can I ask you another question about Excel? Can Excel deal with real time data and how do I find and feed/download real time data into Excel? Thanks again.
It can, but I don't recommend it for real-time automated trading. There are apps like XLQPlus that can pull real-time data. IB has an Excel DDE for its API. I use Excel as a crude analysis tool by porting trade simulations from a custom testing platform using macros.
Thank you for your answer. I don't need to do real time automated trading yet, just need real time download of data for analysis of my position. My analysis is done in Excel (VBA in Excel). Regards,