I wanted to take a look back at trading platforms August, 2020. I have primarily been a Tradestation and NinjaTrader user. To date, these platforms have been the most powerful for backtesting and serious futures trading.
While both platforms are invaluable, I have serious problems with both and support has not been responsive.
Problems I have had with Tradestation:
However, please do not confuse me. Tradestation is still one of the best for automated trading. And, there is no easier platform to get started with system development. Plus, equities is commission free.
NinjaTrader is the second dominant player and for good reason. It is one of the few “full featured” platforms out there.
However, the core problems with NinjaTrader are:
One of the best new contenders is Overcharts. It supports the following:
Big cons:
I am just starting to preview it and to be honest it had order entry problems with the DOM when connected to Tradestation on my first testing. The bug caused me to execute several orders that shouldn’t have been processed. However, the support was very quick to respond which is always a good sign.
Experiences with Overcharts so far are positive. I see a lot of potential and hope it can prove itself worthwhile.
Some of the other contenders– most of these have good things going for them but probably won’t meet my needs:
Right now, I think Overcharts is one of the promising new platforms to date.
Update:
I still think Overcharts could be an important platform. But, there is virtually no documentation for their scripting language and scripting support is still really at an incomplete state. Also, there isn’t a Market Replay functionality.
In reality, there are only 3 platforms that I consider “full stack” right now. Those platforms are: Tradestation, NinjaTrader, and Multicharts. Overcharts is very slick but still incomplete.
The author is passionate about markets. He has developed top ranked futures strategies. His core focus is (1) applying machine learning and developing systematic strategies, and (2) solving the toughest problems of discretionary trading by applying quantitative tools, machine learning, and performance discipline. You can contact the author at curtis@beyondbacktesting.com.
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