2 Responses to “How to choose a futures trading platform out of all the options on the net? What criteria should I use?”

1. Yada Yada Yada says:

   May 31, 2010 at 7:46 pm

   Here are five that I look for on trading platforms:

   o Good executions on your trades
   o Dependability of the site/platform
   o Real time data
   o Flexibility to do the types of trades you want
   o Ability to make trades in case of system problems (phone, etc)

   Hope that helps!
2. dredude52 says:

   May 31, 2010 at 7:46 pm

   Whether you want to trade stocks, commodities, futures, options, forex or all of these, TerraNova is the only one that you can trade everything, real time, online, direct access. A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.

   Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron’s, but you’ll find others in the trading magazines.

   This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it’s a pain to switch, so once you choose, you’re kinda stuck with it.

   Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.

   I use RealTick at TerraNovaOnline, but it costs $275/mo. I think the Investor package is free to use, and just uses one screen.

   What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform. You only get one window to trade from. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.

   The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.

   TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don’t have to do that, but it’s okay here if you do.