Wow, that surprises me! When you say TWS has more flexibility, what exactly do you mean? I have always said the RT may not be the best execution system for super fast scalping type fills, but its flexibility to create complex orders (conditional, reserve, etc. I would have thought was light years ahead of what IB provides. Can you elaborate?
Dattrader: I just spent nearly an hour typing up a comparison between IB TWS order entry and RealTick order entry. When I hit the "submit reply" button, I found I had been timed out by "elitetrader" and my hour of work was lost. I really do not want to try and type all that again. I have had this happen several times with "elitetrader" in the past. You would think "elitetrader" would not wipe out ones work. Catoosa:
That totally sucks...but thanks for trying and use Ddefinas idea when you get the time...I would love to hear the differences!
RealTick charts by far offer much more than you can get with IB. However, rather than have one platform for data and charting, and another for order execution, why not integrate it with TradeStation6? TradeStation is pretty much considered the industry standard when it comes to charting software as it offers something that no other software does: The ability to enter your own custom strategies using their patented 'Easy Language', and the ability to test those strategies historically over any time-span and time increment. It's pretty powerful to be able to say 'What if I had done it this way over the last six months' and test that idea before you risk your money on that strategy. But, to get back to the point of Direct Access platforms, TradeStation6 is one of the only retail platforms that will actually automate and execute your trades for you, based on your custom strategy. Not only that, but TradeStation6 offers Advanced Orders like 'Peg-Orders', 'Discretionary Orders' and 'Show Only Orders', many of which have only been available to Institutions or Market Makers in the past. You'll basically get premium charting, customization, back-testing capabilities, and the speed of direct-access trading with full automation capabilities, all in one neat little package!
Doreen, It's good to see some new faces. IB was engineering a hostile takeover of Elite Trader and it's good to see some new faces . Just kidding of course, Def knows I'm a fan of IB and Tom Peterffry (Timber Hill Group CEO). All of us in the industry try to work together for the benefit of all and Elite has been a fun place to chat . API trading and systems are great for traders who have a system that works. If you don't API's can help you lose money automaticly & very quickly. We have a custom API(REDIFIX) and I would make the same comments about our API interface . I welcome any comments from other API traders or firms offering API's. Gene Weissman Lieber & Weissman Sec., L.L.C. gweissman@stocktrade.net
Your stock is headed south and you keep posting losses quarter after quarter. With the long term viability of your company in question why would anyone use your services? Nice to see you dropping your commissions though. Remember the title of this thread is...Direct Access Shakeout
Cdntrader, Why do you care about tradestations stock price? Their retail broker is SIPC insured and if you like their software, it might be good for some as a integrated API. I say give them a chance, I like when there are new products for traders, it keeps our firm on our toes. Gene Weissman Lieber & Weissman Sec., L.L.C. gweissman@stocktrade.net
This thread is about who will survive in the direct access market. Not about software issues or pumping your companies products.
Couldn't we really make this statement about every company in the industry at this point? Not to say which ones will or won't make it, as I'm sure that a few will, but figuring out which ones is another matter. We can be sure that even as we speak, all of these firms are considering various and significant courses of action bearing potentially huge consequences to their ultimate success or failure (e.g. to merge or not to merge, focus on retail vs. prop, sell to hedge funds, develop new software, SSF's etc.) Bottom line right now in this industry is...make the wrong strategic decision and it very well could be your death blow. The problem is they are making their decisions...like any other company in any other industry must do...on forcasts, projections, assumptions and even guesses. Only time will tell who makes it and who does not.