Newbie Getting Started: Broker/Software?

[rhqq2]

I was hoping to get some advice on brokers/software.

I want to open a trading account for a few thousand dollars. I have a short term horizon - days-weeks and not months/years. I plan to be active, and so low commissions/fast execution are a must

I'm interested in stocks, futures and forex, and somewhat on derivatives. I am looking for a platform that provides access to all of these. I am also very interested in technical analysis and the trading system's type of approach.

I've tried paper trading and those trading games, but i think its time to just jump into the real thing. I dont mind losing money, as long as I learn something in the process.

Can the people of ASF provide some advice or pointers on where i should start? Are micro accounts something i should look into? What broker/software should I use? Will they provide access to international markets or ASX only? etc

Thanks!

 

[Sir Osisofliver]

rhqq2

Welcome!!

a few pointers...

1) Leverage is your friend with small dollar accounts (have a look at CFD's)
2) There are several discount brokers and platforms. I think it's important to get a feel for the interface that you are intending to use, unless you decide to use a third party charting package for your technical analysis. Check out the following - Etrade (gives a good representation of the IRESS system platform interface), IB - (using own propietary interface that is not as user freindly in my experience - but does give access to a broader range of instruments), Paritech - Limited interface graphic but decent data sets for third party chart package. I use Market Analyst software but can be a bit pricey. Check out Amibroker as well for a cheap charting package. Metastock and Tradesim get mentioned a lot on these boards but I've never used them.
3) Don't forget money management, stop losses and position sizing


Cheers

Sir O

 

[Mr J]

Sir O, are you suggesting leverage on the small amount simply so he can make larger trades? The responsible use of leverage is to alter the size of movement to make it worthwhile, and to minimise the amount of our capital tied up in a trade or our account, which frees up capital for other opportunities.

I'd only support use of leverage to increase trade size if his current account only represents a fraction of his potential capital (e.g. he works and can contribute more to his account).

For brokers, I use IB. They're cheap, cover many markets and have worked well for me. You can also set up a paper trading account. For charts, I use Amibroker but wouldn't recommend it until you're serious about trading, and/or want to develop trading systems. $350 is quite a lot just for charting. He could just use ninja trader for free.

 

[pr0phet]

I started with Commsec but not really happy

 

[Cam]

I use Bell Direct as a broker and for the whole month I have been trading they have been fine. The trades are $15 plus GST. It costs $10 per month to see unlimited market depth. I use Metastock and TradeSim and am looking at AmiBroker now but I agree that if all you want is charting, there are probably plenty of free programs out there. One thing - if you want to trade for the long term pay for your data - don't use the free stuff.

 

[skyQuake]

I use Bell Direct as a broker and for the whole month I have been trading they have been fine. The trades are $15 plus GST. It costs $10 per month to see unlimited market depth. I use Metastock and TradeSim and am looking at AmiBroker now but I agree that if all you want is charting, there are probably plenty of free programs out there. One thing - if you want to trade for the long term pay for your data - don't use the free stuff.

Did you know that bell is $15 including GST. I was looking at a contract note yesterday for some reason and I noticed a gst charge fo $1.36 for a total brokerage charge of $15.

 

[Cam]

No I didn't - how about that? I haven't been trading long enough to have noticed!