Credit: Shutterstock photoSpecial Report: 2013 Best Online Brokers
For those who want to take charge of their investments, TradeStation points the way online.
"Our platform is so customizable, it means so many things to so many different people," TradeStation CEO Salomon Sredni said. "It's important that people trade the way they want to trade."
TradeStation, for a second year, placed among the top five brokers in Overall Customer Experience in IBD's 2013 Best Online Brokers survey. Founded in 1982, the firm presents a wide array of investments, including stocks, options, ETFs, forex, mutual funds, bonds and futures.
Top Traits
The Plantation, Fla.-based firm ranked in the top five for seven of the 12 broker characteristics studied. Those features were stock trading tools, research tools, trade reliability, portfolio analysis/reports, educational resources, ETF choices and options trading platform.
TradeStation offers investors more than 40 years of historical data for equities trading. Clients can back-test trades through Portfolio Maestro. Its charting capabilities allow for in-depth analysis, where investors can customize more than 200 indicators and studies.
OptionStation Pro lets options traders analyze potential paths with two-dimension and three-dimension profit-and-loss charts.
TradeStation caters to active traders, whom Sredni identifies as making anywhere from five to seven trades a month to hundreds more.
Bruce Tandy, a trader since 1997 who also writes software for TradeStation, said the firm "goes above and beyond to make the customer as profitable as possible."
The degree of customization available through TradeStation's platform lets clients trade with increasing efficiency. Its proprietary EasyLanguage lets investors customize how they trade.
Clients can share and sell their work on TradeStation Strategy Network. Some products are offered for free; others can cost $500 a month or more.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Tandy started writing software for TradeStation's platform to improve his own trading. Now he writes apps that other customers can use as well.
The Backing
Tandy notes that writing software isn't easy, so it helps that TradeStation offers top-notch technical support.
"They have effectively taught me how to program," said Tandy, of Elmsford, N.Y. "One of their senior engineers has spent countless hours teaching me."
Sredni says TradeStation is committed to offering a robust educational component to traders. Live webinars, seminars, workshops and online tutorials walk investors through platform, charting and trading capabilities.
"We can't just rely on offering great technology; we have to educate our customers," the CEO said. "Our platform grows with you; you don't grow out of it."
Customer service is available by phone, mail or live chat. Client service is accessible 12 hours every day. Technical support is available 24 hours a day five days a week.
Both TradeStation Web Trading and OptionStation are free for all clients, with no monthly service fee charges. "If you're serious about the craft, we are very much the firm for you," Sredni said. "We want you to be successful."
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
