Not sure if this is too broad of a question, but I’m just wondering what recommendations some of you may have for charting and analysis software. Doesn’t have to be part of an order entry platform, but it’s fine if it is.
IB’s TWS is cumbersome. I’m taking a class that’s recommending Trade Navigator (Windows client based), and I’m sure that it’s perfectly fine for what I’ll be doing, but before I sign on for the data packages, I was just curious as to whether or not there are some strong opinions out there. (Googling for such a thing is like looking for a needle in a haystack, obviously).
Emphasis for me at this stage would probably be on useability/ease of use (eg quickly accessing multiple positions, etc) and available analytics. (Maybe customizeable analytics down the road.)
Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?
Thanks,
Christina
"but before I sign on for the data packages"
Hey Christina,
That can get expensive fast.
If you open a small account at TD Ameritrade or MB Trading, their software and data are free even if you don’t trade there. I know people who like both packages but I don’t have any hands-on experience with either.
I like Tradestation and Multicharts but they’re probably more than you need at this point and they’re expensive.
Christina,
Dennis makes a good point - check out what is offered by the various brokers before spending money on charting software.
TD Ameritrade provides the ThinkOrSwim package which I have and use for the charts and indicators. You can also get historical option pricing which is pretty useful for analysis. Not sure if any back-testing is included. They sometimes offer training and demos so you might check with the local branch.
Fidelity offers WealthLab (there may be a minimum trade expectation) which allows back-testing as well as charting.
Jim
I’ve used StockCharts.com in the past; they seem to have some exceptional tools, although they are pricy.
Of interest on their site, I think, is the Public Chartlist. (link on the right). It shows other peoples annointed charts - and the ones voted the best get ranked the highest. Great tool for seeing other techniques for finding trades, IMO.
Good luck and happy trading. 
Thanks for the useful info, Dennis, Jim, and Mike!
