The all-in-One trading terminal for Stocks, possible Bloomberg Terminal alternative

helpme_please · Sep 9, 2019

As a retail investor, I am confused by the so-called monopoly power of Bloomberg messaging. At the risk of sounding stupid and ignorant, why can't Bloomberg users paying huge fees switch to free WhatsApp or Telegram for messaging?

By the way, how much does a Bloomberg terminal cost per month? I'm so low in Bloomberg's eyes that they will never answer my enquiry about price.

remoteControl · Sep 9, 2019

def said:
Bloomberg does have a place on most brokerage and trading firms and while some use it, it normally is not the main platform for trading. As TheBigShort says, they have a bit of a monopoly on the messaging. The order entry is not fast (although you can use EMSX if you wish) relative to what is out there and of course the price is very dear. You certainly won't find it easy to trade global asset classes and multiple products on one screen with fast order entry for example.

The IB TWS offers entry for all product classes and with hot keys, basket trader, algos and more, does the job and yes, the TWS does sit on many institutional desks. But there is no one size fits all so if you believe you can design something better, I'd say go for it but keep in mind your design would most likely fit your needs and not necessarily the masses. For example at many institutions you have one person or team trading one product or sector. Each team will have their own needs and concerns. There is a plethora of really good front ends in the market - many of which have designed for TWS via our API. The key though is that many of them are tailor made for specific needs or products. We have serious "power users" who connect via CTCI others, who do it all from TWS classic, others Mosaic and others who via basic excel APIs to others using 3rd party front ends or sophisticated APIs they wrote on their own.

Also keep in mind there is a lot more to order entry. I for one believe the real power is the execution quality and work going on behind the scenes (taxes, corporate actions, data management, database management, stock loan, etc, etc). Depending on the end users needs, these important items need to be addressed within the design of the platform. In short, while I have little doubt you and your team can design a great front end, I highly doubt you'll come up with the holy grail.
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I'm sorry, but TWS mosaic and classic are two of the worst platforms I've ever used. If you are listening, build a good platform and I promise you more business.

ZBZB · Sep 9, 2019

tonyf said:
(Eikon messanger is open for all all and free, a still insignificant but growing threat to Blomm messaging)
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And it has forums. Sign up here

https://www.refinitiv.com/en/products/eikon-trading-software/eikon-messenger-secure-messaging

ZBZB · Sep 9, 2019

tonyf said:
A heavily discounted self-service modular Bloom (where base is free for example, and you pay for add-ons like data, adv. charting, ECN, etc....) and plug to any broker you want is certainly welcomed.
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Take a look at www.koyfin.com it is free at the moment.

tonyf · Sep 9, 2019

ZBZB said:
Take a look at www.koyfin.com it is free at the moment.
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Will do but what does it link to IB for execution?

ZBZB · Sep 9, 2019

helpme_please said:
As a retail investor, I am confused by the so-called monopoly power of Bloomberg messaging. At the risk of sounding stupid and ignorant, why can't Bloomberg users paying huge fees switch to free WhatsApp or Telegram for messaging?

By the way, how much does a Bloomberg terminal cost per month? I'm so low in Bloomberg's eyes that they will never answer my enquiry about price.
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A lot of markets, like OTC energy, used yahoo messenger but it was shut down. Www.symphony.com competes with Bloomberg messenger for $20 a month per user. A Bloomberg terminal is $2500 a month on a two year contract. Bloomberg Messenger is $10 a month per user.

ZBZB · Sep 9, 2019

tonyf said:
Will do but what does it link to IB for execution?
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No, just analytics inspired by Bloomberg.

tonyf · Sep 9, 2019

ZBZB said:
A lot of markets, like OTC energy, used yahoo messenger but it was shut down. Www.symphony.com competes with Bloomberg messenger for $20 a month per user. A Bloomberg terminal is $2500 a month on a two year contract. Bloomberg Messenger is $10 a month per user.
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that is very true, but I was under the feeling that the oil and gas (and shipping) guys have transitioned to Eikon... Eikon provides a free yahoo messenger plugin as well, to steal this client base I guess. And it free!

tonyf · Sep 9, 2019

ZBZB said:
No, just analytics inspired by Bloomberg.
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Looking at it now, not overwhelmed really. OP has much higher ambitions it seems.

ZBZB · Sep 9, 2019

tonyf said:
that is very true, but I was under the feeling that the oil and gas (and shipping) guys have transitioned to Eikon... Eikon provides a free yahoo messenger plugin as well, to steal this client base I guess. And it free!
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Yahoo messenger was shut down on 17th July 2018.