Finding the Best Stock Trading Software

Finding the Best Stock Trading Software

Posted on 10. Jul, 2010 by in Stocks

You’ve been trading stocks for awhile.  You’ve even done very well in the stock market and made a few bucks at it.  Perhaps you feel like it’s time to take your stock trading to the next level but you’re not quite sure how to go about doing it.  Or perhaps you’d like to spend a little less time on market research without making any trading sacrifices.  In other words, you’re looking for more “bang for the buck.”

The one sure-fire way to take your trading to the next level or free up some of your market research time for leisure activities is to purchase stock trading software for your computer.  This software would let you make a detailed analysis of market trends, use technical indicators and allow you to back test trading strategies to see if they’re worth using in the real world.

There are a lot of different options out there so you need some way to pick out the gold nuggets from the crowd.  There are three important things, however, that you should look for when checking out any stock market software package.  The best stock trading software companies have three important attributes in common.

First, these companies should offer superior customer service.  If you have a problem, is there a toll-free phone number you can call to get help?  Is help available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?  You don’t want to get stuck with a serious problem and not be able to talk to an actual person to resolve the issue.

Second, the software should offer simulation tools.  These tools allow you to “practice trade” a strategy in real time to see if it works.  This is a very valuable service.  If, for example, you’ve just read about a great new strategy by a stock trading guru and you’re anxious to try it out, you can first practice trading the technique to see if it pans out.

Finally, the best stock trading software should offer technical and fundamental analysis.  This is critical.  If you want to take your trading to the next level, you’ll need to be able to use your software to analyze a stock’s candlestick chart patterns, moving averages, ceilings and floors, and others.  This information is crucial to making good, well-planned and executed stock trades.

There are many stock trading software packages that you can purchase that meet these criteria.  What you may not realize is that you can often get all of this for free.  Many of the online stock trading brokerage companies now have sophisticated analysis tools you can access right from their websites.  These tools are free to use as long as you open a trading account with them.

An example of a company that does this is Optionsxpress.  Optionsxpress is an online stock and options brokerage company that is highly ranked by Barron’s year after year.  When you sign up for an Optionsxpress account, you can download their powerful stock analysis software, Xtend, at no cost.

Finding the best stock trading software isn’t that hard.  Check out each of the major online brokerage firms to see what they have to offer.  Go with the one that gives you the most for your money.

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