When you compare CQG and Thinkorswim charts side-by-side, you find candles look different even in intra-day charts. Which one is accurate? I am currently using CQG (through AMP Futures) but considering move to Thinkorswim because of this issue. I am heavily using MT4 for chart analysis (I started trading career from Forex, I am new to Futures), and MT4 brokers support only Forex or CFD products. Thinkorswim charts are more close to CFD charts, although not exactly identical. Execution itself is not a big concern but when I put SL and TP, it's often confusing because I make decision based on MT4 charts... Any idea?
If I had to guess, and this is just a guess, I would put my money on the largest futures platfrom world wide that every FCM offers as being correct vs a retail platform that offers futures as a side business.
It is interesting as I spoke to a TD/TOS user just yesterday that told me he wanted to switch to me from what looked like slow futures data feeds and lagging executions with TOS. We offer CQG Q Trader, CQG Desktop, CQG LITE, in addition to RealTick. I get no complaints about speed for either manual or automated traders until they require low latency, they they need another solution that is hosted.
Thank you for details and good information. If I knew all the troubles involving datafeeds and platforms, I would have just sticked to Forex. In Forex, charts are free, same and universal regardless of brokers and platforms.... I don't understand why charts are different even if they are traded under the same Exchanges...
We do not offer Forex trading. Just the FX Futures. In my experiance, little is free, You create revenues for them in one way or another. Good luck.
You are using MT4 data which is CFD/FX OTC market to trade on a platform that is driven by an exchange. Your conclusion that they are similar is false. In your MT4 you rely on your feed from your broker, and in the other platform, you rely on the exchange. You have no basis for comparison. So when it comes to placing orders, you should place them based on the exchange, not your MT4. You have the ability to trade Futures via MT5. Try switching there. Your CQG credentials should work there as well.
MT5 was my first choice to trade Futures. However, it turned out that it was designed for Forex not Futures. For example, see ZN (US 10 Year Note). The price printed in MT5 doesn't match the prices printed in other conventional platforms for Futures trading. In addition, MT5 displays the chart only for current contract period. MT5 has many issues and I gave up using it. Now I am using TradingView and CQG iPhone app. Yes, Futures and CFD charts can be slightly different but because I am a breakout trader, it still works. In my longer term plan, I would migrate MT4 indicators to Thinkorswim and retire MT4 permanently....
As far as I know, MT5 was built as a multi-asset platform. However, it is new to Futures (relatively) so it may be suitable for some purposes but maybe not specifically to yours. If you use CQG, I suggest migrating your indicators to Multicharts. Again, you should consolidate all under the same feed and not run two platforms with different data feeds that may slow down your execution. As for execution, make sure its always via a landline not wifi or phone. We also provide iPhone apps but encourage those we have a chance to talk to use it only to keep tabs on the markets.
Not sure why that issue would exist for you. I can pull up a future chart in both MT5 and NT (ZN for example) and the dataprints are identical between the two with CQG datafeed. As for MT5 displaying only the current contract period? Not sure why that issue is happening to you either. I just choose the future contract month I wish to see and poof, there it is.