That was the term a Quant Developer user used to describe the difference between Open Quant and Quant Developer to me.
Thanks for the reply, benavju But, could not find any demo link except for tutorials. Could you please give the link? Thanks for the reply, comintel What do you say for the following: http://www.tradewithprecision.com/tradestation?
For more information about âTradersStudio vs TradingBloxâ, please see the following thread, it might help you: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/printthread.php?threadid=66534
Hi all, First, I just want to say that this is a fantastic thread and has been very helpful. I just wanted to add my thoughts on this thread and add my own review of Amibroker. I do notice that there's a three or four horse race here; - Amibroker - TradersStudio - Tradestation - Trading Blox I think it's important to know what you want, and what sort of a trader and investor you are. Me personally I use Amibroker. What I'm after in the software are the following; - stock trading and futures trading - strong customization, which means I may have to get involved with high level programming/coding - more fundamental backtesting than technical backtesting, although I will use both - use of software for backtesting, stock analysis and screening, NOT AUTOMATION of trading - the large community group for support; with any sort of coding and trading ideas, you're gonna need help. I still like to add a human element in the trading process and rotate/recycle the portfolio around based upon what the system tells me after adding my own thoughts. I personally don't think it's possible to reach the level of individual customization without getting involved deeper into the programming. So, whilst I haven't tried MetaStock, it seems less sophisticated and "too easy to use" in this sense. I would want a system that's a bit harder to use, but offers long term reliability and customization. I'm not here to be biased or promote a certain product over others, however I find that for what I need, Amibroker does the job given it's cost. Key things that appeal to me; - the ability to customize everything; charts, backtesting strategy, data - processing speed of backtesting is very fast, which allows me to test 10,000+ stocks in one go very quickly - stock analysis ... and fundamental data - big community of users I think if Amibroker can improve upon the different fields of data it will allow to accept fundamental data into the program, it is probably the best fundamental+technical testing system for the retail market. Trading Blox and TradersStudio only have technical data/backtesting don't they?? I'm not sure ... please correct me if I'm wrong. For example; you can import easily EPS, EPS next year, p/e, P/B and EBITDA numbers among others, very easily from other data sources (like your broker's CSV file) or through MetaStock, or other ASCII type files. You can import a select group, like just P/E and P/B only ... or everything. The people on this thread that say the charts are of lower standard on Amibroker are wrong. You can customize charts however you like, but you need to be able to program in the ALF language. You can also view multi-time periods at once. Here's an example of my double screen setups: As an example of what I mean by customization is this; you can create your own charts if you program the code properly. Here is a chart showing the ASX200 futures with 2 indicators on the top and bottom of the screen - the top indicator shows the spread between the S&P500 E-mini March Contract vs. the SPI200ASX March contract for 2010. The spread is the orange dashed line: I'm not sure whether you can do that with TradersStudio, or MetaStock, but you should be able to with Tradestation. In effect you can create any chart you want, with any color you want so long as you can do the programming. So the charts are not all that bad at all on Amibroker. The power to customize for individual needs, especially important as you get more advanced in trading, is tremendous for a $300 software package. The ALF language is not that hard, if you compare it to standard languages like Visual Basic, C, C++ etc. What Amibroker is not/can not do; - futures, forex (well it can, I use it for futures ... but it's strong point is stocks). I think other programs are better for futures trading like TradeStation or TradersStudio - Amibroker requires that you get deeper into programming skill and knowledge - a bit of time investment. - automation trading systems is thus probably not recommeded due to the susceptibility of programming errors/bugs. - the customer service levels are probably not up to scratch given how small the team is, and the need to maintain costs. But you've always got the supporting material and big community to help you out. For me at least, the big issue is not necessarily the software and backtesting. For me the big issue has been DATA ... where to get RELIABLE data from at a cheap price??? And the ability to move, convert data quickly. The ability to spend more time on analysis of trading strategies, rather than maintaining a database. Obviously the standard vendors are out there; Reuters, IQFeed, eSignal, CapitalIQ, EdgarOnline etc ... My point is that most trading systems should be constructed fairly simply. You don't need to be a coding guru!! A single line of code in Amibroker has the potential to earn 90% p.a returns with reasonable drawdowns. Developing a system is not that hard. What you do have to worry about is the ability to verify data issues, like survivorship bias, slippage in EOD systems, data errors/corrections, and ... what to do when a system stops working. The ability to customize quickly and efficiently and change things up, whether the system, or data issues with Amibroker is what stands out for me. Once you understand how to program, and how to make full use of the system it gives you a lot of power. Another example, the following piece of code does the job for me in terms of money management: PHP: PosQty = 15; SetOption("MaxOpenPositions",PosQty); PositionSize = -100/PosQty That essentially sets the position sizing / money management so that each position is 6.67% of the portfolio. ---------------------------- However I am open to new ideas and would like to explore other backtesting software. In particular I am interested in fundamental backtesting software combined with technical analysis. I like to use both. And so ... AmiBroker fits the bill here. There are other software programs out there but they either are entirely technical or too simple so it offers no customization. The folowing is a good short list: Amibroker Zacks TradeStation TradesStudio QuotesPlus Portfolio123 NinjaTrader (only technical) Trading Blox (only technical) SmartQuant (only technical) RightEdge Fidelity Backtesting There are also institutional grade programs but they are very expensive for the retail investor; FactSet Clarifi-CapitalIQ Edgar's I-Metrix Reuters Station Bloomberg I am open to new ideas on which platform is best for my needs, so if anyone has any recommendations given the above criteria I mentioned, so please let me know. I might give MetaStock and TradersStudio a test one of these days. To see how it compares. I don't think it can offer much above what Amibroker can already do. Hope this helps. Cheers. --------------- Note: other great reviews of Amibroker, TradeStation, TradersStudio for reference: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=157132&highlight=amibroker+review http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108534 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1846347&highlight=TradersStudio#post1846347 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1836613&highlight=Amibroker#post1836613 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1836613#post1836613
Great post on Amibroker - I would only add that it can be used for Forex, and that Trading Blox, I believe, can now deal with fundamental information.
cascade - are you able to import fundamental data series into amibroker or just the current fundamental snapshot from Yahoo. Also, if you are importing fundamental data series, does the series have to be associated with a ticker? For example, can you import economic data series and chart them individually or against a ticker, sector, etc.?
I believe this is only current fundamental data - which is why I've been looking at other tools, but I'd love to be proven wrong on this.
The big question is, which tools. I long ago abandoned trying to merge fundemantal data with technical data streams. Have the tectonic plates of retail software evolution moved suddenly? Thx D