Is there a trading platform that will do this for me:- I punch in an order. If and when that order is executed, another order is sent automatically? And then if the second order is also executed then another order (third) is automatically released and alive too. Any automated trading platform that will allow this? Thanks in advance.
ThinkorSwim will allow you to do this quite easily, although I think if you want the sequential orders to have sequence chains as well you might have to edit those individually. I've never taken it that far. Here's a screen shot showing 4 orders, each of which will become active when the previous one is filled (just threw this together as an example). The advanced order allows you trigger a sequence or a bunch of orders and also OCOs (One cancels others). It's a nice handy feature. You might be able to do it with Interactive Brokers as well, but I only interface with their API, so my order stuff is held client side (another nice bonus for ThinkorSwim)
Thanks for your post. Yes that is exactly what I am looking for. Except that I don't want to switch brokers. I am with IB at the moment. IB's TWS will allow bracket order, but NOT Order Sends Order or Order Cancels Order. So I was wondering if Ninja or any other platform will allow such automated orders?
We offer advanced automated trade management, and the ability to do exactly what you are describing. We will be adding IB as our next platform, so no need to switch brokers.
Bracket order is in essence an OCO order. Once the first order is filled, it will immediately send out a predefined OCO order--one for the stop loss and another for profit target. Having said that, you can add a bracket order on top of another bracket. In the above example, a bracket order could have been attached to the profit target, whereby another OCO order would be sent should your target be hit. However, if the stop was hit instead, these "layered" bracket orders would be cancelled. As far as automation is concerned, I s'pose this can be done by hooking up via API script, if you're into that stuff.
No this is not what I want. So I guess OCO or Bracket Order is not what I am looking for. Say I am long IBM. I put in an order for a stop loss to sell when it drops to 110. If that order is executed, then I want some new orders released immeately, like buy VIX Call (because market is going down), sell AAPL, etc. So I need Order Sends Order. Of course all this can be done by writing my owning program and doing it via IB's API, BUT that is beyond me! I can't even write "Hello World" in any language. Besides Think or Swim offers it! So why can't one have the same thing with IB??? I am looking at Cyborg Trading (thanks for the info) but it looks too complicated and too expensive! What exactly is it??? Does it connect to IB's API?
The one advantage with using ThinkorSwim for those type of orders is that it is supported by their platform...therefore they are kept on the TOS servers rather than your PC. Since IB doesn't support those natively, any method you use to implement them will be at the mercy of your computer setup (i.e: your computer goes down and those setups do not get executed). It's not a huge deal unless you have computer problems all the time, but it is something to consider (I have IB and TOS accounts and I like them both). I can't think of any third party software that does exactly what you want (not familiar with Cyborg), and certainly none that is free or shareware. If you really don't want to pay for something (in the case that Cyborg offers what you need), then it might be worth getting your hands dirty and learning a bit about the IB API. If you are just processing orders, it's not too bad and they have some example programs they get you rolling. Also, if you want to go that route and have any questions, feel free to send me a PM (or post)...I've done a lot of work with IBs API and can probably give you a hand.
Which would be the easiest and fastest way to learn then? Would it have to be a programming language? Is Visual Basic the easiest then? Or would it be possible to send these orders by Excel and VBA? Thanks.
You can connect to IB in pretty much any way you like: C++, C#, Excel, Visual Basic, Java, etc. I prefer to use .NET and c# because my background is in C. There is example code in all of these (including Excel), but I'm most familiar with Visual c# and Visual Basic (little bit rusty on VB). Here is a link to the docs on the Interactive Brokers API: http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/php/apiguide/apiguide.htm (take a look under the "ActiveX" heading) It looks intimidating, but the actual mechanics of placing an order are not too complicated, especially if you are not trying to do charting, etc. The good thing is that you can play around to your hearts content using your IB PaperTrader account or the demo account without risking a dime until your setup is working.
You also don't need to run out and purchase Visual Studio to test out the Visual Basic/C# stuff as I think you might be able to do what you need using the free downloads of Visual Studio Express.