I have never done any automated trading but would like to give it a shot. If I had some very simple rules such as buy when 5 min MACD crosses above zero sell when it crosses below signal for example, how would I get started? I have an account with Global.
First you will need an Autotrading software. There are a number of them on the market... some require minimal programming knowledge... while others can do song and dance if you are a whizkid. Check out... MultiCharts Ninjatrader Tradestation OpenQuant Amibroker just to name a few...
Thanks for the info. I'm the opposite of a whizkid. I know nothing about computor code. Will that be a problem?
no problem... there are 2 ways to approach this: 1. Software with Pick-and-Choose programming. all you have to do is select from a list of pre-programmed indicators, eg. MACD, Stochastics, etc. and enter your entry/exit trigger parameters. 2. Learn to program. Tradestation and MultiCharts use EasyLanguage. It is an English-like computer programming language specifically designed for trading operations. It is quite easy to learn. If you can write your thoughts and logics on paper, you are half way to have it programmed. Amibroker, plus a few others, also have easy to learn programming languages.
yes, of course... the incredible NeoTicker. http://tickquest.com/NeoTicker/automatedtrading.html This is a powerful-program AND easy-to-use-program in ONE. If you are a whizkid, you can use the powerful C# programming language... or if you choose, you can use their English-like script language.... or their select from menu system... Check out their website, they have tons of useful info for traders... from trading system examples to programming tutorials. If I had found out about this program sooner, I would have bought it instead of what I am using right now.
Oh don't believe that line of shit that you can be able to program a winning strategy without writing code. You absolutely have to able to. True you can curve fit a system in five minutes using wizards and built ins, but they won't work long term. I've found it took awhile to find an edge in automated systems, and even when you find one, you'll find to implement it is when you'll have to know how to code. A viable system is not possible without being a coder.
IndexSwing- i trade primarily futures as well and I'm not a programmer (kinda more like a non-engineering quant if there is such a thing) but I've put together some auto trading applications for myself and my partners using autotrader from TT. they have a developers community to help you with basic development needs. you may not even need the help. the autotrader programs i've put together are nothing more than excel spreadsheets that take live data feeds from xtrader, spin some if / than statements in excel and send orders to xt when my conditions are met. http://www.tradingtechnologies.com/autotrader.aspx
Just a slight amendment, hope you don't mind Plenty of effective mechanical systems utilizing readily available code, signals, etc that are manually executed. OP: Like others have said, understanding and being able to manipulate your platform-based code is often a great benefit. Don't be scared of it even if you have little/no expereience. Starting out with EasyLanguage (TS, Multicharts) would be a good start. Some guides to give you a sneak peak into EL: https://www.tradestation.com/support/books/pdf/EL_Getting_Started.pdf https://www.tradestation.com/support/books/pdf/EL_Essentials.pdf Good luck.