Dear- By complaints of some participants, let me make several questions together. Here are questions that most newbie can see. A) I already made real and paper account. Can I make each another one, to have 2 real and 2 paper accounts? I am thinking to use real A in February and real B in March and real A in April and so on, to separate PL statistics in every months. And paper A is of course for me and paper B is for my API helper whom I do NOT like to give my password to. B) Based on my IB experience for a few weeks, IB gives me 15-min delayed data to my screen. Should I pay $10 every months for non-delayed realtime chart? How about using other free site like tradingview.com just for chart? Any experience welcomed. I wonder more than half of IB trading friends here pay $10 every months. C) For the IB TWS, please see the menu File/GlobalConfig/Config/SoundManager. Attached is photo capture in my screen. It seems that IB TWS CANNOT make a sound when an order(BUY/SELL) is executed? Is it true? How about other brokers?
A) You can have two, or more, real accounts. In theory I guess you can have a paper account for every real account, though I haven't tried it. Be warned that you may lose benefits in terms of lower trading costs and cross margining if you have multiple accounts. I don't know if there is a limit in terms of how many accounts IB will let you have. However I think the reason you give for multiple accounts is nuts! There are much easier ways to seperate out P&L. B) Depends on your strategy. If you're trading fairly slow signals, and you always submit static orders (eithier market orders, or limit orders that you submit each morning in case the market trades through them) then daily data is probably fine, never mind 15 minutes. If you're going to use an automated system then I recommend www.quandl.com to get more history of data. If you are trading quickly, with any kind of execution algo, then you need to pay for live data. C) No idea.
-Use one account. You can calculate your P & L each month-you will only receive one password. If you want to add an authorized trader, you can provide them with limited access. They get there own password. -Pay for live quotes -Yes, it can makes sounds and email you for each trade
$10/month to see live quotes while you are trading. A VERY small cost of doing business. Without live quotes, how do you make proper decisions?
If he's simtrading, isn't in a chat room, isn't reading message boards, doesn't have a news feed, and isn't watching the clock, how would he know it's delayed? (It's early so my brain may not be up to speed yet)
I do not need all the executed orders by email every day, since I can login TWS everyday. Please tell me how to make a sound as soon as any order is executed. As you see the attached photo above, IB TWS may not give me sound. Furthermore, if possible, I like to hear "Bought 100 MSFT at $42.1". I wonder if we can program those function by API. Delayed sounding might fine for one minute or so.
OK, let me qualify. For real trading, pay for live quotes. I have no opinion on paper trading. I also find little value in paper trading except for automated strategies and in general learning to use a new platform.
My personal logic allows even 3-min delayed data. But Between 9:30 and 10:00, need 10-seconds data. $10/month (equal to $120/year) is compounded to a lot more than $6K=120*50 for your next 50 years. If you live longer, then it is your one car.
Everyone looks at the world differently. Trading, not investing, is a business. You will have expense and they have to have value. Live quotes have a lot of value. Making decision based on data that is 15 min behind, can cost you more than $10/month. IMO.