TradeStation Review
The Bottom Line
TradeStation has generally positive reviews from customers. Many users praise the platform’s advanced trading tools and the company’s customer service. However, some users have expressed frustration with the platform’s steep learning curve. While traders should be aware of the platform’s fees and pricing, these costs are generally competitive with other leading trading platforms and are outweighed by the platform’s many advantages. Overall, TradeStation is an excellent choice for traders looking for a reliable and feature-rich trading platform.
Highlight
TradeStation’s arsenal of trading and analysis tools gives you advantages once enjoyed only by professional traders. TradeStation offers a comprehensive trading platform that offers a wide range of features for traders looking to trade futures and options. With its advanced charting tools, customizable trading strategies, and efficient order execution, TradeStation is an excellent choice for experienced traders looking for a reliable and feature-rich trading platform.
Pros
- Commission-free trading on many stocks, ETFs, options and futures
- No minimum deposit to open a TradeStation Securities account
- Allows users to backtest and automate strategies
- Extensive educational material for novice traders and investors
Cons
- Commission-free stock and ETF trades max out at 10,000 shares
- Limited investment research for individual stocks, mutual funds, bonds, or ETFs
- Long wait times for customer service
- Platform can be technical for novices
Matrix
One of TradeStation’s most popular features is the Matrix. It lets traders see market activity at a glance and instantly place trades at the price level they want. A quick look can help traders decide when to pull the trigger on a stock, futures or options trade. It combines the benefits of a detailed market depth window, a highly advanced order-entry tool and a precise order-tracking system into a single view.
You can tap into the power of the Matrix from our desktop, mobile, and web trading platforms. The Matrix displays the session’s trading range, with lines marking the high and low prices. You can see the size of buy and sell orders at each price level, as well as the total volume traded at each price.
TS 10
The real power of TradeStation lies in leveraging the capabilities of the TradeStation 10 desktop platform, which includes hundreds of indicators and the ability to create custom watch lists and charts in a wide array of different colors. Traders can also set alerts on price levels or important events like earnings announcements. Visit TradeStation to see their current offers now!
Backtesting
If you’re not familiar with backtesting, the term refers to the process of looking at the price history of an investment to determine if any combination of chart patterns or indicators can help forecast future price moves, which can then be used to generate profits in the markets. TradeStation has a large database of historical data (40 years’ worth of stock prices) to help traders better understand how stock, options, and futures strategies fared in the past.
Once a backtest is complete, strategies can be implemented in a simulated trading account. Just like a flight simulator trains a pilot without risking people’s lives, a “sim” account is a handy way for traders to see the real-time results of their trading systems without risking real dollars. Portfolio Maestro is the analysis feature within TradeStation that helps to optimize trading strategies by highlighting what approaches are working and what strategies need adjusting.
After a profitable trading approach is identified and defined, the system can then be automated using TradeStation 10 desktop platform, so that trading signals from the backtested system automatically generate buying and selling in the TradeStation account.
Efficient Order Execution
Another advantage of using TradeStation is its efficient order execution. The platform’s advanced order-routing technology allows traders to execute trades quickly and reliably. TradeStation also offers a range of order types, including stop-loss and limit orders, which can help traders manage risk and optimize their trading strategies.
Optionstation Pro
OptionsStation Pro clearly was built especially for options traders to customize options chains in order to display single options or complex options spreads. It is an advanced options analysis and trading platform with tools that allow traders to quickly and easily build options chains, graph and analyze any options strategy, and then quickly place trades directly into the market.
Fees & Pricing
One of the main advantages of using TradeStation is its competitive pricing. For futures trading, TradeStation charges a per-contract fee of $1.50, with a minimum order size of one contract and $0 commision. Options trading is similarly priced, with a per-contract fee of $0.60, with a minimum order size of one contract and $0 commision. While stocks and ETFs are $0 commission.
In addition to the platform fee, which is only charged if the user does not have a brokerage account, TradeStation charges a range of other fees, including data fees for real-time market data outside of the provided free data and exchange fees for trading on specific exchanges. These fees can vary depending on the type of trading activity and the markets being traded, so it’s important for traders to review the fee schedule carefully before opening an account with TradeStation.
Although TradeStation’s trading simulator uses simulated currency, it is only available to customers who have funded their TradeStation brokerage account.
Past performance, whether actual or indicated by historical tests of strategies, is no guarantee of future performance or success. There is a possibility that you may sustain a loss equal to or greater than your entire investment regardless of which asset class you trade (equities, options, futures or cryptocurrencies); therefore, you should not invest or risk money that you cannot afford to lose. Online trading is not suitable for all investors. View the document titled Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options at www.TradeStation.com/DisclosureOptions. Before trading any asset class, customers must read the relevant risk disclosure statements on www.TradeStation.com/Important-Information/. System access and trade placement and execution may be delayed or fail due to market volatility and volume, quote delays, system and software errors, Internet traffic, outages and other factors.
Securities and futures trading is offered to self-directed customers by TradeStation Securities, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and a futures commission merchant licensed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). TradeStation Securities is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Futures Association (“NFA”), and a number of exchanges. TradeStation Crypto, Inc. offers to self-directed investors and traders cryptocurrency brokerage services under federal and state money services business/money-transmitter and similar registrations and licenses.
TradeStation Securities, Inc., TradeStation Crypto, Inc., and TradeStation Technologies, Inc. are each wholly owned subsidiaries of TradeStation Group, Inc., all operating, and providing products and services, under the TradeStation brand and trademark. TradeStation Crypto, Inc. offers to self-directed investors and traders cryptocurrency brokerage services. It is neither licensed with the SEC or the CFTC nor is it a member of NFA. When applying for, or purchasing, accounts, subscriptions, products and services, it is important that you know which company you will be dealing with. Visit www.TradeStation.com/DisclosureTSCompanies for further important information explaining what this means. y apply.