Currency Trading

In my previous forex trading system software article I defined what a forex trading system was and I stated that, as a minimum, any good forex trading system software should include two important functionalities – the ability to carry out historical performance tests and the ability to carry out simulations i.e. buy and sell currencies using the signals given but without risking any actual money.

In this article I would like to be more specific and detail what functionalities I would expect my forex trading system software to have.

Firstly my choice of forex trading system software must operate in real-time.

Secondly, I have prepared a laundry list of the functionalities I would expect to see in my forex trading system software:

• PC based;
• Preferably a Windows based operating system;
• Easy to use with one click execution of orders;
• Very flexible;
• Short response time, preferably no more than 30 seconds;
• Fully customizable to the user’s requirements;
• Menu driven;
• Data should be viewable on a single screen;
• Ability to view up-to-the minute prices, news headlines and market commentaries;
• A full suite of professional charting tools to help identify trends in the market;
• A full suite of order management tools (buying and selling);
• Facility to easily and quickly toggle between multiple charts and trade setups;
• Real-time visual tracking and easy management of open orders;
• Real-time visual tracking and easy management of open positions;
• Facility to have an automatic interface with your broker in real-time;
• Facility to have an automatic interface with your broker in real-time;
• Real-time facilities to set, monitor and track position, stop loss and other limits by a range of pre-defined criteria including rate, pips, Profit and Loss in your chosen base currency;
• Audible trade alerts and confirmations;
• Streaming ticker of major market data and indices;
• Facility to accept trade signals from third party charting applications;
• Ability to print screen displays;
• In-built support for fully automated real-time trade execution and confirmation;
• Real-time prices in a minimum of 20 currency pairs including the majors;
• Full range of printable up-to-date portfolio, position and Profit and Loss reports, margin and any deposit account balances;
• Real-time facility to revalue and mark-to-market open positions;
• Ability to provide back-up and hard copies of all important data such as positions, orders placed and end of trading day reports;
• Reliable with professional backup and support facilities;
• Appropriate documentation, user manuals and/or live online help facilities;

The choice of forex trading system software should be based on a proper check of the functionalities rather than smooth sales talk or nice looking glossy brochures.

There are several forex trading system software packages on the market. In the next few weeks I hope to independently review some of these packages and report back to our readers in subsequent posts.