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Am I the last one to figure this out? (Probably) You'all can laugh now...
I don't even want to start re: my feelings about this (the time, the effort,
the money...), but I do want to confirm, or counter-confirm, the facts (and
offer my conclusions).
What I believe the facts to be, for equity traders, based on the existing
TS6 platform and the announced feature set for TS7:
1. Any strategy set for automated operation WILL fail at some point when
the strategy's idea of your position disagrees with your actual position.
This is because strategies have NO IDEA what your actual position is. They
just guess, and eventually the guess is wrong. Period. When the 'position
match' goes FALSE, the strategy stops operating.
2. Even a skilled programmer cannot work around the problem imposed by the
Automation Engine (See #1). EasyLanguage does not offer access to factual
data on the trader's actual positions.
2. TS7 does not fix either #1 or #2 (at least not for equity trading).
3. TradeStation Technologies, Inc. (if I am referring to the appropriate
entity here), has not committed to fix this problem, ever. They offer only
the usual, if I may paraphrase, "thank you for your comments, we are always
considering ways to improve the platform" commentary on this CRIPPLING
issue.
If these are not true facts, I'd like to be corrected by the members of this
list.
My own conclusions, based on the above facts:
a. TradeStation Technologies, Inc. does not want to fix this problem.
Why I conclude this:
- They didn't build TS6 for automation.
- In the subsequent couple of years, they did not build TS7 for automation.
- They have not stated a commitment to fix it, ever.
- They refuse to implement the simple expedient of disabling the "position
match FALSE" shutdown.
- They have not been willing to even engage in detailed discussion about
this problem.
b. Advertising for Tradestation which claims or implies that the platform
can be used for automated trading is fraudulent to the extent of that claim
or implication.
Why I conclude this:
- Because the platform cannot be used for automated trading.
So, what we are left with, IMO, is a nice backtesting product, which also
offers connection to the market for manual trade execution. This is the
context in which we must judge whether TS6/7 is right for us, now and in
the future.
Again, If my facts are wrong, I invite correction. If you believe that TS6
can be used for automated trading, I'd love to hear how - what CAN be done,
what are the caveats, what's worth spending time on and what is a guaranteed
waste.
Also, if anyone knows of third-party products or other platforms which DO,
IN FACT, enable automated trading, I'd really appreciate the references.
THANKS!
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