Our Take

TradeStation, a well-respected industry veteran, continues to offer excellent technology and trading platforms. There are many tools for traders to use, including features not available on many brokers, such as backtesting of trading strategies and automated trading. The platforms are easy to use, and there are many ways for users to customize their experience. However, TradeStation’s heavy focus on high-volume trading customers results in gaps in some of the features investors and less sophisticated traders might like to see on the platform.  

Introduction

Founded in 1982, TradeStation is one🌊 of the older online brokers. Initially, the company focused on building next-generation trading tools, including advanced charting and the ability to trade across various markets through direct broker connections. Impressively,♉ in 1987 TradeStation began offering the ability to backtest trading strategies, created its trade customization service in 1989, and launched the TradeStation platform in 1999.

TradeStation appeals most to high-volume traders who want utmost control over how their orders are routed and value the ability to backtest and automate trading strategies. While continuing to cater to the more sophisticated and high-volume client, TradeStation has made an effort to appeal to a broader group of traders and investors, but the results have been mixed.

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained

• Excellent platform and tools for advanced traders: TradeStation offers users the ability to create trading algorithms, allows them to route stage orders, and provides very good options analysis tools. Some of these features, however, may be too much for passive investors and less active traders.
• Ability to backtest trading strategies: TradeStation was one of the first brokers to provide backtesting capabilities, and it continues to offer this useful feature, setting it apart from many competitors.
• Control over order routing and good trade execution: TradeStation’s executions are superb, even for zero commission customers who can’t control their order routing. For traders who control their own routing, the execution is often even better.
• Easy-to-use language for developing algorithmic trading: TradeStation created an easy-to-use programming language called EasyLanguage for traders to develop automated strategies. 

Cons Explained

• Intimidating for less experienced traders: TradeStation is a platform that meets many of the needs of sophisticated, high-volume traders, but for new or novice traders and passive investors, it may be overwhelming. The system is still intuitive to use, and less experienced traders should be able to navigate well, even if they don’t need the most advanced features. 
• No cryptocurrency or forex trading for U.S. customers: TradeStation no longer supports cryptocurrency trading in the U.S. Traders looking for exposure to these markets will have to look elsewhere.
• No banking services or interest on excess cash: TradeStation does not have banking services like checking accounts, credit cards, automatic bill payment, or retirement/event planning available on its platform. Further, TradeStation only pays 0.15% annual interest on unused cash in your account that exceeds $100,000.
• Lacking account features: TradeStation has a lot of features and functionality, but some things that appeal to less active traders are not available on the platform. These features include fractional share trading, fractional dividend reinvestment, and banking products.
• Relatively high fees: While active traders and zero commission traders get value, TradeStation does have relatively high fees. One fee that does not exist on many platforms is an inactivity fee.

Usability

It is easy to get up and trading on TradeStation. The account-opening process is typic♎ally completed the same day. TradeStation’s platforms, including its website, are intuitive, and it is easy to find what you are looking for.

TradeStation has multiple platforms, including its most robust platform, TradeStation 10 (the newest version, but you can transfer data from the older platforms), a web-based platform that largely keeps the functionality of the desktop platform, as well as iOS and Android trading apps. All of the platforms provide trading capabilities, real-time streaming data and news, custom watchlists, and drawing on charts. Trading is also intuitive on all platforms.

Trade Experience

The trading experience on TradeStation is great, as the platform gives flexibility and advanced tools along with a well-designed an⛄d easy-to-navigate user experience. Users can also customize the order window so that it defaults to values set by the trader, such as the number of shares or contracts you will buy or sell, and you can easily check news, fundamentals, and techni▨cals.

TradeStation has built-in apps, such as Chart Analysis, a Hot List, Radar Screen, Matrix, Time &a🌞mp; Sales, TradeManager, and OptionStation Pro. In addition, TradeStation also offers many third-party apps. A useful feature of TradeStation is that you can set up the various apps to all change to a single symbol you’re looking at, which is a great time-saver. 

TradeStation gives users great flexibility to not only control how their orders are routed, but also provides very powerful tools to create algorithmic trading strategies usin𝓀g an easy and intuitive programming interface called EasyLanguage. TradeStation also supports order staging. There are a lot of bells and whistles, which may intimidate a new or less sophisticated trader, but the platform is intuitive enough that all traders should be able to analyze and trade.

Mobile Trade Experience

TradeStation’s mobile app is available for both iOS and Android. You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:options on futures from the mobile platform, which also💧 provides users with news, charting, and streaming quotes.

TradeStation watchlists can be used across the platforms. Further, the home screen can be customized so it shows what the user wants to see, such as positions, balances, a watch list, or news. Clicking on✱ a symbol will open a chart, and from the chart, you can trade directly or hit a green button to brin🦹g up an order page. Further, you can easily bring up options information for the symbol you are looking at.

Despite the many features built into the mobile app, it remains intuitive and easy to use for trading, monitoring positions, accessing news, and analyzing securities. 

Range of Offerings

TradeStation offers multiple assets for trading, but there are some notable items missing. One is cryptocurrencies. TradeStation used to offer them, but exited the market in February 2024 after regulatory issues with the SEC. Forex trading is not available to U.S. customers on TradeStation, but forex trading is supported for non-U.S. clients through TradeStation Global. Further, TradeStation does not offer bond trading beyond the futures market. Currently, TradeStation offers trading in the following:

• Stocks and ETFs
• Options on stocks and ETFs
• OTC stocks
• Futures
• Options on futures
• Mutual funds (which require broker assistance to transact) 
  

Order Types

TradeStation supports multiple order types, including market, limit, stop market, stop limit, trailing stops, and if-touched orders, as well as more complex orders such as one-cancels-other (OCO) and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:one-sends-other (OSO). In addition, TradeStation allows almost unlimited order types based on the price, technical, or fundamental criteria of a security, including based on other securities, such as an order to buy a Treasury bond futures contract if the cash S&P trades at a certain level.

Trading Technology

TradeStation has solid trading technology. One of the impressive features is TradeStation’s Ea♎syLanguage, an intuitive programming language that allows traders to create algorithmic trading strategies. Complementing this, TradeStation also offers backtesting, allowing t𝐆raders to check their strategies against historical data.

Advanced, high-volume traders will appreciate TradeStation’s excellent executions and the flexibility to route their own orders. TradeStation obtained an average price improvement of $0.87 on equity orders and $17.53 on options. 

However, there are some features that many online brokers have that are not available at TradeStation. This includes 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:fractional share trading, fractional dividend reinvestment plans, and a trading journal. 

Costs

Tradestation’s TS SELECT plan has no commissions in exchange for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:payment for order flow (PFOF) and no control over order routing. Customers who want control over order routing, wꦗhich often results in better price execution, will need to pay trading commissions. Beyond trading costs, fees at TradeStation are high relative to other online brokers. The company even charges inactivity fees, no longer commonly charged by competitors. Here are breakdowns of costs and fees at TradeStation.

Commissions and trading charges are:

• U.S. stocks, ETFs, and OTC stocks:
• TS Select (only available in the U.S.): $0 commissions for the first 10,000 shares of exchange-traded stocks or ETFs with a value of at least $1 per share. For exchange-traded equities below $1 per share and OTC equities, commission is $0.005 per share, with a minimum commission of $1 per order and a maximum commission of $50, and a commission cap of 5% of the notional value of the trade. Direct-routed equity orders will incur an additional fee of $1 per contract per execution.
• Professionally designated accounts, with quarterly volumes exceeding $50 million shares per month, are subject to a $0.0003 professional trader execution fee.
• Stock options: $0.60 per contract, per turn. While within the range of reasonable pricing, active options traders may choose to look elsewhere for lower commissions, especially since you pay commission on each leg of multi-leg options strategies. 
• Futures: $1.50 per contract, per side for standard futures, $0.50 per contract per contract, per side for micro futures
• Futures options: $0.85 per contract, per side. Note: There is no minimum funding, but you need a minimum starting day equity of $5,000 in order to place opening transactions.
• Mutual funds: $14.95 per transaction
• Fixed income: U.S. Treasury securities cost $50 per trade, while corporate and municipal bond transactions (which are only accepted as closing transactions) are $14.95 plus an additional $5 per bond.
• Accounts that have $500,000 or more can speak directly with TradeStation to negotiate trading costs, including commissions, margin rates, and income on excess cash. 

Fees

TradeStation has additional fees, incluꦫding on things other brokers don’t charge for. Here are some of them:

• External wire transfers cost $25.
• Sending wires from a futures account is $25 ($35 for international futures accounts).
• The broker-assisted trade cost is $25 per transaction.
• There is a $50 void check fee if a check becomes stale by not being cashed within 180 days.
• Inactivity fee of $10 per month; this fee is waived if there is a $5,000 average end-of-month equity balance or there were at least 10 trades during the previous 90-day period. 

How This Broker M🅠akes Money From You and For You

Brokers generate revenues in multiple ways, often at the expense of the account owner, but there ♔are also some instances where the broker shares the revenue with clients. Here are some of the key ways TradeStation makes money from you and for you:

• Payment for order flow: TradeStation does receive payment for order flow for no-fee orders. The customer gives up control of order routing in exchange for commission-free trading, which generates income for TradeStation. If you choose not to use the free commission/pay for order flow account option, you will pay TradeStation commission.
• Price improvement: Price improvement is where the broker is able to save the account owner money because the broker’s trading technology provides an edge on trade execution. TradeStation obtained an average price improvement of $0.87 on equity orders and $17.53 on options. 
• Stock lending: TradeStation will look for opportunities to lend the stock held in customer accounts to traders who want to short the stock. In this situation, and always with customer approval, TradeStation lends the customer’s securities and then shares the revenue with the customer.
• Commissions: Customers who want control over order routing do pay trading fees, as do those who trade futures and options on futures.
• Interest on excess cash in accounts: TradeStation pays an annual interest rate of just 0.15% on cash balances greater than $100,000 in non-IRA securities and futures accounts. Customers with balances of $500,000 or more can negotiate a better rate. Given today’s high interest rate environment, TradeStation’s offering is not competitive.
  

Account and Research Amenities

TradeStation offers news, charting, calculators, and other tools on its platform to help customers make trading and investment decisions, but it does not offer its own quantitative research. Here’s what TradeStation provides.

Stock and ETF Screeners

The stock and ETF screener on TradeStation is excellent. Called TradeStation’s RadarScreen, it allows users to scan the universe of stocks and ETFs using technical and fundamental criteria. The screener is fully customizable and can be saved, and it is easy to create a watchlist directly from the screened results. RadarScreen can also be used to create real-time alerts.

Options Screeners

TradeStation’s OptionsStation Pro allows users to analyze multiple options strategies. Traders can use a screener or one of TradeStation’s hotlists, then bring that security into OptionsStation Pro to help determine the best options strategy. This includes the ability to see how changes in various components of the option will change its price; for example, the trader can change the stock price, strike, or maturity criteria to gain additional insights on potential options trading strategies. Also, as with the stock and ETF screener, options screener results can be converted to a watch list.

Mutual Fund Screener

TradeStation has generally attracted more sophisticated and higher-volume traders who are not mutual fund investors. TradeStation also only offers mutual fund trading with broker assistance and lacks no-fee funds. As a result, TradeStation’s mutual fund screener is basic and can only help users search through fund company offerings.  

Fixed-Income Screener

As with mutual funds, fixed income trading (outside of futures) is also relatively limited on TradeStation, and broker assistance is required. TradeStation’s fixed income screener is a basic tool that could help a user find fixed income securities. 

Tools and Calculators

TradeStation has various tools to help traders, including time and sales, market depth, news, and fundamental and technical tools and indicators. While these are helpful for traders, TradeStation does not offer features that might appeal more to investors and less experienced users. There are no retirement calculators, portfolio management tools, or event planning tools.

Trading Idea Generator

Although TradeStation does not have an idea generator, the platform offers multiple ways to filter, view hot lists, and identify trading opportunities. For an additional fee, traders can see buy, sell, or hold ratings for thousands of stocks and ETFs. This service, VectorVest, can be accessed directly through TradeStation’s website. 

News

There is an easy-to-use news app, powered by Benzinga, that provides headlines and can be customized to filter for different news categories and sources. Individual stock symbols can also be used within the filter.

Charting

TradeStation offers robust charting tools. There are multiple technical tools that can be applied to charts in real time, and you can trade directly from charts on the desktop and mobile platforms. The toolbar is also intuitive to use, making it easy to change time frames on charts or change drawing tools and other studies.

Cash Management

While TradeStation’s traditional customers have been more sophisticated traders, the company’s weak cash management features may negatively impact its ability to attract less experienced traders. TradeStation pays a paltry 0.15% on cash balances in excess of $100,000. Further, TradeStation does not offer banking services such as credit cards, bill payment, or checking.

Fractional Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)

TradeStation does not offer 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:fractional dividend reinvestment. This may not be an issue with sophisticated high-volume traders, but clients with passive investment styles may be disappointed that TradeStation does not have a DRIP.

SRI/ESG Research Amenities

TradeStation does not offer customers socially responsible investment (SRI) options to find investment opportunities that meet environmental, social, or governance criteria. While TradeStation’s focus is on higher-volume traders, there are competitors in this space, such as Interactive Brokers, that have added SRI/ESG research amenities to their platforms.

Portfolio Analysis

TradeStation has Portfolio Maestro, a powerful portfolio backtesting tool that runs on historical data to help trading strategy developers, quantitative traders, and alternative investment managers. Strategies can be simple or complex, and can be applied across large baskets or groups of stocks. Portfolio Maestro is a third-party application but is accessible directly from the TradeStation platform.

Education

TradeStation provides good educational content, with an entire dropdown menu under the heading “Learn,” with choices that include New to Trading, Using TradeStation, Getting Started, Options Education, Master Classes, Events, FAQs, Support Forum, and Retirement Planning. While TradeStation has traditionally catered to a more advanced trader, it is clear that the company has taken steps to also support less experienced traders. Content is delivered through articles, videos, webinars, and events.   

Under the “New to Trading” option, there are further sections to help gain a basic understanding of different products, with sections for Stocks & ETFs, Options, Futures, Futures Options, Cryptocurrencies, and a Trading Glossary. The “Using TradeStation” section contains separate content covering different platforms: TradeStation Mobile, TradeStation Web, TradeStation Desktop, OptionStation Pro, and Futures Plus, with links under each for an introduction, course, quick tips, and FAQs. Master Classes are for advanced traders looking to maximize the power of TradeStation platforms and trading tools. 

Customer Service

Customer service at TradeStation is geared towards assisting customers with the platform, as well as assisting customers with fixed income and mutual fund transactions. Further, like many of the online brokers, responsiveness can greatly vary depending on how busy the markets are. While TradeStation received scores on the higher end of our evaluation range, it is not best in class for support. Support is available at TradeStation in the following ways:

• Phone and live chat: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time
• Trade desk: 
• Stocks and Options: To place a trade, for margin inquiries, and position balances, the desk is available Monday through Thursday from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET and Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
• Futures: 24-hour support from Sunday at 5 p.m. through Friday at 6 p.m. ET
• Institutional support: Available by phone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Educational content, FAQs, and a trading glossary are available on the website 24/7.

Security and Reliability

TradeStation is a secure and reliable bꦜroker. Its technology and additional insurance provide accounts with protections that go beyond SIPC insurance. Here are some of the steps TradeStation takes to secure and protect your account.

• Account and trade monitoring
• Customer alerts when trading or activity is changed
• Strict privacy policies
• 256-bit data encryption to protect accounts
• Segregation of user accounts
• Login security
• Unique user names and strong encrypted passwords
• Two-factor authentication
• Biometric logon for iOS app
• Strong customer login verification
• Login attempts are limited
• Extended secure website verification
• The SIPC protects accounts up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash, but TradeStation has arranged for additional protection. The broker has additional insurance through Lloyd’s of London that insures accounts up to $24.5 million, subject to a maximum of $900,000 for cash, with an aggregate firm limit of $200 million.
• The TradeStation website also provides computer security tips to users.

Available Account Types

TradeStation supports multiple account types across individual/joint accounts, entity accounts, and retirement accounts. Here is a listing of accounts available at TradeStation:

• Individual accounts
• Joint accounts with right of survivorship
• Joint tenants in common
• Custodial accounts
• Trust accounts
• Corporation accounts
• General partnership accounts
• Limited liability company accounts
• Sole proprietorship accounts
• Traditional IRAs
• Roth IRAs
• SEP IRAs
• Simple IRAs
  

The Bottom Line

TradeStation is a very solid online broker. It offers many features🌃 that advanced users will appreciate. Some of these include the ability to route your orders, an easy programming language for creating your own algorithmic trading rules, backtesting of strategies with historical data, tools for technical and fundamental analysis, charting, and many other features to help you analyze, execute, and monitor a potential trade.

Traders with over $500,000 in their accounts can negotiate individual pricing, such as lower margin💦 rates and higher interest payments on excess cash in𒅌 the account. 

However, investors and less active traders may still find TradeStation less appealing, despite the company’s efforts. TradeStation lacks certain key features, including checking and automatic bill payment, as well as portfolio management tools and support for things like fractional share purchases and a fractional dividend reinvestment programs. Even more importantly, paying investors and traders just 0.15% on their excess cash balances is not competitive in today’s higher interest rate environment.

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