Hi guys,
Sorry for the long post, but I think this is very important to mention.
Ninjatrader is an awesome software. I know, I know, most of us are trading futures / forex, Ninjatrader is not intended to be DAS Trader, Ninjatrader has its own niche and is better in its field than others, etc.
But the thing is that Ninjatrader is an incredible, top-notch and powerful software for trading stocks... If you are some kind of a configuration wizard. When I first tried the demo of Ninjatrader (and the demo of several other trading platforms in parallel), it was awesome, I thought: ok great I have found it, this will be the best choice on the long term for my trading platform.
However, I am trading equities only - this is what I love - I have found that in the real field (out of simulation), there was at least half of the features that were not really working truly for me. Fortunately, I have programming skills in python and I have been able to modify in ninjascript all the features that were not working specifically on stocks, to add a new behavior to the software or modify the existing functions. After maybe 3-4 months, I can say that Ninjatrader does everything - and more! - that I was hoping for when I have bought my license. But I am writing this post because I am sure many equities traders have never been able to set up the software correctly and must have left this platform, simply because it was not working in basic areas that you just need to work for trading. So here are some of the fields that are missing for trading stocks IMO, that I needed to change by ninjascript or extra configuration:
****
- need to populate the nasdaq / nyse / amex database manually (I could not believe this at first haha), and update any new ticker manually at IPO's
- charts simply don't work with the Interactive Brokers data feed, because of IBKR limitations. It took me 2 weeks to figure out that this data feed was the cause of all my problems with the platform, nothing was working! Please don't say that it can work! It does not work! Just tell us frankly that we need Kinetick subscription for reliable software performance!
- ATM do not work with equities After Hours. Don't let any menu option, configuration web page, forum post deceive you, it simply comes down to the fact that ninjatrader cannot place an limit sell or limit buy order with equities only outside of regular trading hours. As simple as that. It was so easy to configure a ninjatrader strategy that allows that, given the fact that I am a python programmer... I am sure the NT team would do it even more easily than me, in less time lol.
- value of an order indicated somewhere (stock price multiplied by number of shares ordered...)
- This one is mind-bending for me, but I understand it's because I am trading stocks. But why isn't there no fundamental window for symbols that we could put beside the chart (or even better on chart trader)? No easy way to see the market cap, float of the stocks while it's all available by default in the market analyzer.
***
I think that it's great that Ninjatrader is the best in what it does - trading futures - and it should continue to focus on that for the majority of the users, and long-time traders that constitute the core of the user base. But it would be so great to just raise the level of the lower-third a little bit over the time, to just insert some "Quality-Of-Life" basic features that are missing for stock traders. Not asking much! Just the basics
Ninjatrader has unmatched features (alerts and orders on indicators, attaching indicators, ATM, ninjascript, drawings on indicator panels) that also makes it the most powerful platform, by far, that I have tried for trading stocks. I don't want to remove dev firepower from futures or anything, but just one good junior or mid-level programmer dedicated to improving some basic features for stock traders would be a blessing haha.
Good luck with your trading, and thanks for the awesome software!
Sorry for the long post, but I think this is very important to mention.
Ninjatrader is an awesome software. I know, I know, most of us are trading futures / forex, Ninjatrader is not intended to be DAS Trader, Ninjatrader has its own niche and is better in its field than others, etc.
But the thing is that Ninjatrader is an incredible, top-notch and powerful software for trading stocks... If you are some kind of a configuration wizard. When I first tried the demo of Ninjatrader (and the demo of several other trading platforms in parallel), it was awesome, I thought: ok great I have found it, this will be the best choice on the long term for my trading platform.
However, I am trading equities only - this is what I love - I have found that in the real field (out of simulation), there was at least half of the features that were not really working truly for me. Fortunately, I have programming skills in python and I have been able to modify in ninjascript all the features that were not working specifically on stocks, to add a new behavior to the software or modify the existing functions. After maybe 3-4 months, I can say that Ninjatrader does everything - and more! - that I was hoping for when I have bought my license. But I am writing this post because I am sure many equities traders have never been able to set up the software correctly and must have left this platform, simply because it was not working in basic areas that you just need to work for trading. So here are some of the fields that are missing for trading stocks IMO, that I needed to change by ninjascript or extra configuration:
****
- need to populate the nasdaq / nyse / amex database manually (I could not believe this at first haha), and update any new ticker manually at IPO's
- charts simply don't work with the Interactive Brokers data feed, because of IBKR limitations. It took me 2 weeks to figure out that this data feed was the cause of all my problems with the platform, nothing was working! Please don't say that it can work! It does not work! Just tell us frankly that we need Kinetick subscription for reliable software performance!
- ATM do not work with equities After Hours. Don't let any menu option, configuration web page, forum post deceive you, it simply comes down to the fact that ninjatrader cannot place an limit sell or limit buy order with equities only outside of regular trading hours. As simple as that. It was so easy to configure a ninjatrader strategy that allows that, given the fact that I am a python programmer... I am sure the NT team would do it even more easily than me, in less time lol.
- value of an order indicated somewhere (stock price multiplied by number of shares ordered...)
- This one is mind-bending for me, but I understand it's because I am trading stocks. But why isn't there no fundamental window for symbols that we could put beside the chart (or even better on chart trader)? No easy way to see the market cap, float of the stocks while it's all available by default in the market analyzer.
***
I think that it's great that Ninjatrader is the best in what it does - trading futures - and it should continue to focus on that for the majority of the users, and long-time traders that constitute the core of the user base. But it would be so great to just raise the level of the lower-third a little bit over the time, to just insert some "Quality-Of-Life" basic features that are missing for stock traders. Not asking much! Just the basics
Ninjatrader has unmatched features (alerts and orders on indicators, attaching indicators, ATM, ninjascript, drawings on indicator panels) that also makes it the most powerful platform, by far, that I have tried for trading stocks. I don't want to remove dev firepower from futures or anything, but just one good junior or mid-level programmer dedicated to improving some basic features for stock traders would be a blessing haha.
Good luck with your trading, and thanks for the awesome software!
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