Characteristics Of A Good Trading Platform
I have
certainly traded on various trading platforms throughout my career. Some
platforms were a joy and sheer pleasure to work on; others made me want to set
my head on fire. The variety of trading platforms available to traders ranges
from terrible platforms to excellent ones.
To
meet, I simply list high-quality platforms and terrible ones. Unfortunately, if
I take that approach, a pile of lawsuits will build up and if I stop and give
up, my mailbox will overflow. So I've picked out a few features of a great
online trading platform and listed why I find them particularly effective.1
Of
course, the effectiveness of a platform is directly related to the quality of
the data feed. For this article, we'll assume that all platforms have an
appropriate data feed, and simply remove that variable from the discussion.
Here you can find most of the
common trading platforms reviewed.
A good platform has a high-quality charting
toolbar
Being
able to draw trend lines, Fibonacci retracements, pivot points, and many other
tools other than me traders may find necessary is essential when using trading
and active charts. You don't need a physics degree to draw these symbols
easily. The method for entering trend lines and other symbols should be simple.
After all, the main focus in trading is the price action on the chart, which
doesn't understand how to draw a line on the chart.
A good platform should be easy to read and
interpret
A good
platform should be easy to read and easy to set up. You do not need to read the
200-page manual to operate the software. Charts should be clear and easy to
understand, and index readings should be legible and prominent. A platform that
is difficult to set up or requires daily maintenance to set up wastes valuable
trading time and ultimately costs traders. A good quality program also saves
the previous day's settings and the correct settings should appear when you
start the program the next day, so you don't have to add oscillators and
indicators every day.
A good platform has a complete oscillator
and indicator
There's
nothing more annoying than using a platform that doesn't have a complete set of
indicators or a way to add those indicators to your chart. Many low-end
platforms have 5-6 basic metrics, which is the range of features. Also, with a
good platform, you should be able to adjust the duration and other variables of
the indicator to your personal preferences. Again, performing these functions
should not be excessively time-consuming. They should be self-explanatory, and
you don't have to page through the dreaded 200-page manual to see how to set up
a 14-period setting on a commodity channel index.
A good platform allows for number entry and
exit options
A good
trading platform will allow you to quickly set the number of contracts you want
to trade and provide a means to set a profit target and stop-loss limit. This
should be a smooth activity and does not require excessive time. Most good
trading platforms also have clauses that allow you to expand your trades at
certain profit points. Also, good platforms have trailing stops that are simple
to set up and easy to understand. You should also be able to set up simple
bracket trades with minimal effort.
A good platform never fails or crashes
There
is no worse feeling than a brisk trade and failed platform software. There is
no excuse for software incompatibility with the operating system. The platform
is the essence of the profession and it should be done that way. This
particular requirement is one of the things that annoy my pet as I have been
trading on a platform that has been built for a very shaky and long and
frustrating day.
I have
never and will never use that platform again. Software architects are well
aware of the design flaws inherent in trading platforms and there is no reason
why these flaws should not be addressed in a way that ensures traders of a
crash-free trading experience. There is nothing worse than buggy software.
Trading
platform software has many other unique flaws, but these five stand out as
trading killers in my book. I will not tolerate these glitches and will quickly
change the platform if these problems occur at any frequency. Of course,
one-off defects are also to be expected. However, consistent and recurring
flaws in trading platform software are inexcusable.
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