TradeStation is an online brokerage firm that has carved its niche in the financial market with its advanced technology and comprehensive trading solutions. The company, based in Florida in the United States, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monex Group Inc. and caters to both individual traders and institutional clients, offering a broad range of investment options from stocks and options to futures and cryptocurrencies.
About TradeStation Group Inc.
TradeStation Group Inc. is the partent company of several online securities and futures brokerage firms and trading technology companies. It is headquartered in Plantation, Florida, U.S. and has offices in several other locations, including Chicago, New York City, Richardson (TX), London (UK), Sydney (AU), and Costa Rica.
TradeStation Group was a Nasdaq GS-listed company in 1997-2011, but became private when it was acquired by Monex Group Inc. Monex Group is the parent company of one of Japan´s major online brokerage firms for securities and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Origins and early history
Background
The roots of TradeStation goes back to 1982. That was long before the boom in online retail trading and TradeStation is one of the pioneers in the field.
The founders of TradeStation were the Cuban-born brothers William “Bill” Cruz and Rafael “Ralph” Cruz. Back in the early 1980s, their aim was to build something that could be used to design, test, optimize and automate their own trading strategies. Despite their youth, they were experienced traders. Bill had started learning about trading at age 16 and when he turned 18 the brothers pooled their resources together to open a futures trading account and fund it with $2,400. The brothers meticilously compiled trading data and plotted it into charts, which they then utilized to test their strategies. Despite not having any formal coding trading, Bill developed EasyLanguage – a proprietary coding language suitable for non-specialists.
The company established by the Cruz brothers was called Omega Research, and aimed to help clients that wanted to program and test their own trading strategies. With help from Omega Reserch, you could do this without having any computer programming education or experience.
In 1987, the brothers released System Writer, a piece of software that made it easier to back-test trading strategies against historical market data. Two years later, System Writer Plus was launched, feautering innovative charting tolls.
Launch of TradeStation
Omega Research released TradeStation in 1991. Three years later, Dow Jones began offering TradeStation as a premium service to Telerate’s institutional clients around the globe.
In 1999, an online version of TradeStation became available, and in 2001 Omega Research went through a major change, became a securities broker for online clients, and renamed itself TradeStation.
In 2003, they fully integrated all the tools for back-testing, order-generation and trade execution for both securities and futures market. Soon, TradeStation also became a self-clearing equities and options firm.
Over the years, the company has evolved from a software company to a fully-integrated online brokerage firm. Today, TradeStation has built a reputation for its high-quality tools, competitive pricing, and an overall excellent trading experience.
TradeStation’s Offerings
TradeStation offers exposure to stocks, ETFs, options, futures, forex, cryptocurrencies, and more. Whether you’re a novice investor or a seasoned trader, the platform is designed to cater to all levels of trading experience.
The TradeStation Platform
The cornerstone of TradeStation is its innovative, user-friendly platform. The platform provides powerful real-time analysis and trading tools, with advanced features such as customizable charts, back-testing capabilities, and automated trading strategies. With its robust technology, the TradeStation platform provides a seamless trading experience for its users.
One unique feature of TradeStation is “RadarScreen”, a real-time market monitoring tool that allows traders to track opportunities with over 180 different criteria, making it easier for traders to make informed decisions.
A downside with using a bespoke trading platform offered only one broker is that it makes it bit more of hurdle to change broker or start using an additional broker for another trading strategy. Some traders prefer to learn and get accustomed to a major independent third-party trading platform instead, such as cTrader, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), or MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Once you know how one of these platforms work, you can chose between a wide range of brokers without having to learn a new trading platform each time you get a new broker account.
TradeStation Pricing and Commissions
The commissions and other costs will depend on the circumstances and caracteristics of your trade, but in general, TradeStation have some pretty nice offerings for the retail investors, including the opportunity to do certain stock trading and EFT trading without paying any commissions. At the time of writing, options trading is available from 0.60 USD per contract, with no base fee. Future contracts costs 1.50 USD per side.
When comparing brokers, it is always important to research what it would cost to employ your specific trading strategy with them. You also need to be ready to leave if the broker changes its terms and conditions in a way that is no longer favorable for your trading.
Account types
TradingStation offers several different account types, including individual, joint, retirement, and entity accounts, each with its own set of rules.
TradeStation’s Learning Center
Beyond its advanced trading tools, TradeStation also offers an extensive learning center aimed at educating its users. The learning center provides various resources, including articles, videos, webinars, and live classes, catering to all levels of trading experience. This commitment to education reflects TradeStation’s focus on empowering its users to make informed investment decisions.
Final thoughts
TradeStation has emerged as a powerful player in the world of online trading, offering cutting-edge technology, extensive investment options, and competitive pricing. Its commitment to user education sets it apart from other online brokerage firms and makes it a commendable option for traders of all experience levels. Whether you’re making your foray into trading or you’re an experienced trader looking for advanced tools, TradeStation provides a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that’s worth considering.