Ultimately, you want something that can detect your logical conditions, execute orders, and be able to logically handle real world exceptions/errors that occur unattended. Personally, I think a lifetime license to MultiCharts is a good bet. Popular, well supported, can use with several brokerages, etc.

Metatrader 4 is ok if you want something "free" and (using tick data with Tick Data Suite) get a working mechanical system going + free datafeed + brokerage fast. Working directly with C# or C++ is better as MQL4 you cannot step through code and see how it acts in visual tester. MT5 might actually make something of itself 4-5 years in the future. The only way it will pick up steam quicker is if MQ allows mt4 EAs to be imported fully into mt5.

Amibroker, NinjaTrader or SierraChart are other alternatives. you don't want to have to jump around from platform to platform. Remember, the platforms and/or bridges are just a tool to detect and execute your orders....that's it.

You heard of iBooT?

Yes most institutions and hedge funds use MultiCharts (it's also free btw), SierraChart and/or NinjaTrader.. LOL (someone kick me out of this group already!!!)

Oh wait, I can do that myself :)

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Scott Boulette but if the trading frequency is 'medium' in that the avg trade hold time is say at least 20 minutes, wouldn't MC, NT, mt4/5 be sufficient? I assume that HFT by your standards is holding onto trades for < 1 minute on average?

@Adrian, what is wrong with MC/NT? It just needs to plugin a datafeed and give the user access to automation tools. Can you provide an alternative platform that you and your peers are using?

Also take a look a the institutional VisualStation from TickCOM, full development and trading platform non-programming; tickdata, cross market development, Direct Market Access, custom indicators and charts, automated trading, strategy development etc.

Ninjatrader + IB

@Jon, yes, you are correct on all points. I didn't mean to imply that an hour hold time is some sort of cutoff for using those packages. The real point is what type of calculations are you doing, how frequently are you doing them, what level of guarantee do you require in terms of getting all exchange messages in absolutely the correct order (as per the exchange) and do you require all fields available from the exchange.

Maybe I'm a little bit unfair to promote NinjaTrader but at least I'm tading with it very fast trades with 2 sec bars (FDAX) every tick and full market depth at all charts and strategies without any problem (trades are less than minute), very fast, can't expect anything more. And NinjaTrader 8 just released, finally. as waited those backtest possibilities.

Larger institutions like Deltix which has incredible back test functionality but it's too expensive for a personal project I would think.

@Joe, As far as automated execution is concerned, MultiCharts is fine in my view if the frequency of calculation is in the order of minutes. And it has the advantage that several brokers are supported.

However in terms of systems development MC has some limitations. It has a own native language for system development which is easy to use but does not allow OO programming. Thus to reuse code is quite tricky, cut and paste seems to be the only way unless, maybe, you use the API (but the license cost is quite high). That said, the backtesting / optimization features to fine tune and test the strategies are quite good. And there are many standard indicators avalable.

In terms of analytics I think it has the right amount of basic functionalities but if you want something sophisticated you have to build it on your own. A possible way can be to have MC print simulation results on file and process them via some other tool. Same story for risk management.

Hope it helps.

I would look at Interactive Brokers TWS platform

What about others such as TradeStation, ProRealTime, MT4, AmiBroker?

PTMC with their connect to IB or multiconnect IB+IQFeed. More connections will be soon

PTMC already connects to IB. Their institutional platform allows fixed income now too. MC has better scanning cappabilities though with .net programing. Ninja is awesome anyway with miryad of 500 addins. It is hard to find the perfect platform in the retail arena but some are pretty smart.

I have a personal bias for TradeStation ;-) By the way I am working on a new version of "Ask Mr. EasyLanguage" so I 1) invite you to visit Vista-Research.com and "opt-In" for my mail list and 2) send me any suggestions for topics to be covered. I already have material that may fall outside the scope of the book itself so i am looking at follow up presentations, possibly as "webinars".

Like Sam Tennis I also have been using TS for so long that you when you know all the pitfalls and workarounds you can get down to business with the platform. I just purchased a copy of MultiCharts standalone as a back up because honestly I'm always concerned about the internet tethering of TS's platform model. I also like to make sure I have at least some good simple systems in Excel.

X-trader pro

stocksharp.com - providing a free platform to use with paid full source code

This won't fulfil your execution needs but, for signal generation and risk management, it's pretty darn good. http://dataminr.com/

Disclaimer: I do work for Dataminr but happy to answer any questions you may have.

I use ninjatrader, I like them because I have 3 different Brokers and I can trade them all on one platform. I trade Futures but I also trade spot Forex. I like being able to use ninjatrader ATM strategies to keep my orders out of sight from the broker. Trust but verify

I like IB, and other brokers, but do you need a server farm in your office with your own multi-user access and compliance ? I can supply and install this for you and also set up a direct access dedicated line to any markets. The reality is that individual traders can have their own analytical software. The real crux is the data feed at the time and sales level, and the limit book posting is what is important. The order entry and market access has nothing to do with charts and analytical software. These are just the fluff you can get from many "trading" platform. I can set you up with the trunk and server for less then $2000. Cheers, Steve.

The search for an optimal trading platform datafeed & broker mix really depends on the type of trader you are (or looking to become) . Do you need off the shelf solutions or do you need to design and build your own? Can you code or do you need an easylanguage type translation interface?. You should also consider the time frame you trade in, the frequency & avg. daily volume. I've used Xtrader CQG Seirra Charts MC GreyBox Trade Station and a few more propeietary systems etc. They all offer something . . .wether value, light footprint (cpu usage),analytics, risk mngmnt tools, mltpl strategy traking & mngmnt. Most have demos through broker arrangements but the learning curve to properly asses can be prohibitive, which I assume is why you are asking. A bit more about your objectives would probably yield better . . .i could offer endless opinion on everything ive used pro and cons but if i had a few more details on what you're looking to accomplish i could b more pointed. Happy hunting.

All professional trading platforms have what you need so if you go with the most famous you will not be wrong: Multicharts, Tradestation, Ninjatrader.

Whichever trading system you use - whether off the shelf, self designed, or mixture of the 2 - make sure that your blotter / grid gives you everything you can possibly want and need. Its where you will spend a lot of your time and it needs to offer you everything you need in terms of saved searches, quick editing, shortcuts, views, layouts, plus/minus rules, audit history etc etc

Disclaimer: I run a start-up and our first product, Adaptable Blotter, is designed to be the very best Blotter on the street. It works will all major vendors so your choice of trading system is unaffected, but make sure you have a Blotter that does everything you need and helps you to be as productive and efficient as you possibly can.