First off, let me say that I am new here, so please indulge me a bit. Second, let me add that I have been thru the software reviews already, and seemed to find so many conflicting opinions at times, that I thought I would try this means for help... (But first the background) I have been trading off/on now for many years, usually on a more fundamental/gut level. Most of the time I have been successful and "beaten the avges". I also avoided getting decimated in the dot-com bubble bust and subsequent decline in the markets and economy. On the other hand, I stayed out of the markets mostly over the past few years by parking cash in "safe" investments that did not return all that much. A big part of my absence was by choice, as I had a lot on my plate with my company/family. Now my time is opening up a bit. I just finished Covel's book (which many here pan -- see I do do my reading before I ask) and it helped renew my interest in "trading" again. Did I learn a lot from it? Not really, other than I believe I have the discipline to work with a mechanical trading system AND... that technical analysis is not some sort of voodoo form or trading if used as a trend spotting/following system. Before reading Covel (and Pit Bull -- hugely engaging!), I might not have "understood" the true value of TA. You may also find it odd that I got a big boost to restart trading from reading only a small part of Ken Fisher's latest book. Who knows where inspiration comes from, eh? Anyway. So here I am, on what may be the best support site around seeking support. I want to begin working with TA for "trend following". My target markets would be financial futures as well as stocks and possibly options (though I admit I know little about options yet, I am a voracious reader and do not throw money at the wall lightly). To begin working on my own system(s), I am seeking help in the following areas: 1) somewhere where I can actually see some sample written mechanical programs. I really don't care if they work or not, I am looking more for .... inspiration? My learning style has always been FAR better at learning from examples than simply read/retain. So far the only examples I have are Faith's "free" Turtle system and the one at the back of Covel's book. They are a good start, but seeing 15 or 20 more would be much more beneficial. In fact, I would gladly take any ideas from anyone here, working or not, just to view the actual ideas as they set up against the data. 2) given my areas of interest, I would like a suggestion for a trading program. it should allow me to backtest data (I have no plans to go live for some time as I have no system yet). it should be robust enough to use all the data that can be acquired off the net for my given market choices (financial futures,stocks, options) and yet not so complex I will get bogged down in learning the darn thing. OR, if it is complex, I would need a lot of examples to learn from with it. 3) suggested site for historical and real-time data for above program. 4) suggested brokerage(s). Currently I maintain accounts at eTrade & Schwab. Any other suggestions or guidance is appreciated. Just keep in mind I am beyond the basics already. Otherwise, throw it at me. Thanks, Dan
been thru the TS site, and it certainly looks like it would fit my needs except for one thing... I need more time than to start trading immediately. thus 30 days is too short, and $100/mo seems steep to not be trading. Then again at Scwab, I have probably traded several thousand shares in just the past two weeks no problem. in this case, i want to have a "trading account" of $100k to start with, and keep it seperate from my other funds. if i were not to go to TS, should I be considering maybe something like an Equus product as I "learn"?
Follow the Curtis Faith Turtle route a bit further and start by looking at his system trading board and their software. http://www.tradingblox.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6