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Hi Toe,
If you want a good comparison, check for the comments Dan wrote in
evaluation of both TC and QP this past summer (look about the end of July,
first part of August, thread subject: Report on Quotes Plus Data, or search for
Quotes Plus). For several reasons he switched to QP3 from TC2005. I
continue to use both.
I'm a TA trader (swing and intraday), I trade for a living, and do some
sorts/explorations on fundamental data (usually on the weekends). I use
end of day data feeds from QP and TC2005 (TC also has intraday updating, ~ 15-20
min delayed), and intraday data feeds from eSignal, and (via QuoteTracker)
Prophet.net and several brokerages. Intraday I mostly rely on the eSignal
data to feed AB (trades and watchlists) and do some scans on large watchlist
using TC2005 delayed. I have multiple computers, multiple
broadband connections and maintain multiple data bases (both end of day and
intraday) for AB. But to respond to your questions:
1st: If I do a FA scan or sort in
QP3/TC2005, can the results be imported into AB, so I can then run TA over those
results? Yes -- but for the most part, I don't know why you
would want to do so -- AB explorations run much faster than either QP or
TC. You can access most (if not all) of the fundamental data fields in QP
using the "GetExtralData()" command. TC has virtually no fundamentals
exposed to AB. But yes, ticker lists generated from any source can be
imported into AB watchlists from .lst, .tls, .txt, or .csv files with
a simple Import procedure.
Conversely, if I approached things via TA 1st in AB, can I export
results from AB into either QP3 or TC2005 for further FA? Yes, you can export explorations or scan results to .lst,
.tls, .txt, or .csv files with a simple export procedure to create a list to
import elsewhere. If you just want to create a watchlist to track in QP,
TC or Excel, certainly that can be done. I rarely use the chart or other
programs that come with QP as AB "does it all" for me so QP (and for the most
part) TC2005 are merely data feeds any more.
Is there any validity in purchasing *both* products given the redundancy of
many features in each if I had both? This is
idiosyncratic -- I do, as each has data and features that I find useful
(intraday updates in TC so I can quickly scan larger stock watchlists, albeit
delayed, fundamentals in QP not available in TC, etc). The nominal cost of
25-30 a month is a fraction of my trading expenses (several
trade commissions) and I believe they easily pay for themselves -- can't
say that about other data vendors I've used, however. It is no
problem to have both databases on the same machine, to export/import
scan/exploration results between the two (e.g., I scan for low float issues in
QP, then send to a watchlist in the TC supported AB database to scan against
because TC doesn't provide float data). As to program features, I really
don't use either QP or TC programs much -- perhaps I'll look at TC
occasionally for a fast intraday update to a PCF/EZ Scan generated
list.
2nd: I am an EOD swing style trader, but would
like access on some occasions to *intraday* data for optimal entries and
exits. Is there a way that this data can be obtained easily and cheaply
for those times I need it, for certain equities?
Depends on what you want and how you trade -- I time my
entries on the shorter trades, and somewhat for the longer swings as
well. I use intraday updates from TC2005 for delayed data (to
update a larger database for general scans) and other real-time data
vendors (for trade, breakout and other watchlist updates) .
I do not use (or recommend) "free" data, as many years ago I found
that it was not reliable enough to risk my trading money on (especially
Quote.com's stuff). It sounds trite, but Robert
Heinlein's TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
applies. But it's up to you. You might want to check out Medved's
QuoteTracker (http://www.quotetracker.com/) as a means
to track issues and import data cheaply/freely to AB. As noted above, I
can use intraday data from Prophet.net data ( http://www.prophet.net/), PCQuote, and data
from my brokers in QT and then access it in AB (via the QT plug-in).
QT supports a number of free and inexpensive data vendors and
brokers (see: http://www.quotetracker.com/qsources.shtml ),
including some in Australia. Note as well that if you want intraday data,
you will want to get the RT version of AB (AB Pro), not the
standard.
I don't really understand what "backfill" is, but
I suspect that has something to do with what I'm asking here...
Backfill is simply getting data for periods prior to the
time you start accessing the data (whether in AB or some other program).
It is data vendor specific. Some data vendors provide it (and in varying
amounts and periods), others do not (see the QT data vendor list for
examples). ESignal (www.esignal.com)
provides 10 days of tick and 120 days of 1 minute
historic intraday data. Unless you have been accumulating data
for a particular issue, get a vendor that provides it if you need it. You
need it if you want to look at intraday support and resistance, pivot points,
volume at price, etc. to help time your entry. If you've had the stock on
a watchlist you've been tracking and accumulating intraday data (in AB
there's no limit to the amount you can accumulate), then you may
not need it. If you like to trade a stock you've done no workup on
but hear that there's some news that's moving it, or want to look at recent
intraday history of a stock that you've identified from an end of day scan and
added to AB, you need it. Again, you will need AB Pro.
3rd: It is essential to me that GICS
breakdowns into Sector/Industry Group/Industry etc are available and updated in
whatever DB I use. Who maintains this - the data supplier or AB?
I'm not certain what you mean by GICS breakdowns.
To me industry and sector assignments are a secondary issue, not
essential, so I've not spent much time on it. I trade patterns
principally, but do look for them in Sectors. Generally, if your data
vendor does it (both QP and TC have their systems of assignment) it saves
you al lot of time, but you can set up your own in AB. You might read
Dan's comments or ask him as he is much more attuned to this issue, and there
was a discussion with in the past couple months on sector
assignment issues.
4th: I realise that QP3 and TC2005 only provide
their data for the US stock markets. Does anybody know where similar (ie
GICS-sorted, OHLC and key fundamentals) might be available for ASX (Australian)
listed stocks? Ask Graham or the other Aussies
here and look in the files section for the ASX files. ESignal does
supply foreign exchange data, so do other data vendors. I have no
experience with any as I trade the US NASDAQ issues almost exclusively.
Try GTW - (Google the Web).
I would need such data to be usable in AB, and
again, a cost effective solution would be
preferred! Is is possible to maintain you own ticker lists and somehow use
them to gather free EOD data (eg: Yahoo) for use in AB, or is this not worth the
effort given all of the GICS groupings and constant changes etc. Yes, you can set up and manage your own ticker list database and use
a free data source in AB. But repeat after me, " Cheap,
Quick, Working" -- pick any 2, but you can't have all three (AB is
the only exception I know of that proves this rule). If it's
Quick and Working, it's going to cost more, if it's Cheap and Working, it's
going to take some time, and if it's Cheap and Quick, it won't
work well. My time is spent trading, not adjusting data bases
(for splits, mergers, new tickers, ticker changes, dividends, etc.,
as well as maintaining assignments to Sectors, Industries, etc), so I'm
quite willing to pay a data vendor to do that, provided they do. QP and TC
are worth it.
I am quite adept at writing complex excel formula,
so I hope that a)the AFL is similar in construction and concept, and that b) I
can contribute in a worthwhile manner here in the future!! I'm not a programmer, not particularly adept (but moderately
proficient) in excel, and I've been able to learn to program AFL.
IMHO, it's not hard. Others are certainly better than I and there
are some capabilities of AB that I've never bothered to learn, but the user
group is a great community of sharing, Tomasz is a paragon of patience and
exemplar of incredible user support, and (as Dan has eloquently explained
at diverse times) AB is like an onion with layers of capability that can be
peeled to suit any user's needs and abilities. Welcome, good luck
and do let us know what you come up with.
Peace and Justice --- Patrick
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