There is a range of trading software, but the most common are TradeStation and MetaStock.  Both run under Windows.  The benefit of either of these is the ability to build and backtest sophisticated automated trading strategies.

Trading platforms are typically provided by your broker, and they may be web based or Java based.  If you are trading a market that moves quickly such as forex, you will find that most platforms use Java for extra speed.  Most brokers let you try out a demo of their platform.  You will obviously need to be signed up with a broker before you start trading.

You may need to get some historical data to build your trading system.  Don’t just get your PC and broker account setup then launch into trading without first using a proven trading system.  Sometimes your broker will provide data, other times you will have to purchase it, and update the data separately and use a data provider for this.

This article covers the basics of setting up your trading room.  In summary, get your IT infrastructure up to scratch and reliable, make sure your room is comfortable and quiet and get the software tools (trading system and trading platform) and data that you need to make informed trades.

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Tags: mac, PC software, trading room

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 1:13 am and is filed under Trading Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.