Comparisons With CQG

Hi,

I have been programming systems into CQG but have found it quite inflexible and also it lacks support. By that i mean if youre stuck with a question youre pretty much left to figure it out yourself, i like the fact Tradestation has books and forums where you can ask questions.

Has anyone here used CQG as well as Tradestation and able to give a decent comparison? Is it worth changing?

Also, how reliable is the Tradestation data and how far back in history can you go?

Thanks for your help

I have used both. CQG data is excellent, but coding anything custom up for it is a challenge. Tradestation is massively more flexible, especially if you use some of the external array library's like ELcollections.dll, but TS has problems when the market get fast.

I'd suggest you check out MultiCharts as it supports the same coding language as TS, and use it in conjunction with a fast feed.

what is the cost of CQG.I am told it is very expensive?

£5-600 per month depending on the features you need

cheers arb,

The fact TS is a little slow in fast markets isnt too much of a problem i wont be executing through it, i just like the fact the coding is so flexible

Tom,
its not just execution, TS data often gets laggy when the market picks up.. if you run it side by side with CQG you can see there is visible delay in the ticks. Watch it over news or some fast conditions and what you'll see is that it seems to freeze or slow up, and then suddenly a lump of bars will appear on the chart all at the same time as the data catches up, instead of them appearing progressively.

If you use TS data to base your strategy decisions on, then this is the sort of problem you'll find... slow data means slow execution. Hence the MultiCharts suggestion, as the platform itself is much faster and you can pick & choose a data feed that best meets your requirements.

Just IMHO of course

Arbitrageur,

MultiCharts seems pretty good. I've also looked at SmartQuant's OpenQuant which is pretty impressive. Any thoughts on OpenQuant?

Any idea if either of these can run via X-Trader (X-T/TT isn't listed as compatible on MC's site). If not, I'm guessing a dde could solve for both.

Grant.

I have also been coding a system in CQG recently and to just make some basic exit rules has been the bitch of my life for the last few weeks. Currently the tech guys at CQG are programming it for me but they have found it equally as difficult.

Also, for the the back testing software, it costs an extra £170 a month.

Grant,

I had real trouble trying to use a TT feed for another charting package. IIRC TT don't offer a DDE but an RTD (an updated version) that I found difficult to intergrate with other systems. Perhaps the API could get around it, perhaps this says more about my IT skills than anything else.

Mr Gecko,

IT skills are irrelevant, mate. It's more a question of endurance in trying to reconcile contradictions and inconsistencies. Fckin' nightmare.

Grant.

hi guys. you guys sound like you know whats what. i want the cheapest way to get into the market. trading bunds on eurex. i want the cheapest overall package. primary concern of course is brokerage fees. but after that would be a decent user front end and charting system. is tradestation a front runner? heard ninja is good too. mirus offer $3 a round trip on the bund. only need $5K to trade a 5 lot.

these are the considerations anyway. i don't want to put in too much money into this. just want to dabble in the market. trade a few break outs intraday. pick and choose my moments.

any help much appreciated!!!!

sangchough said:

hi guys. you guys sound like you know whats what. i want the cheapest way to get into the market. trading bunds on eurex. i want the cheapest overall package. primary concern of course is brokerage fees. but after that would be a decent user front end and charting system. is tradestation a front runner? heard ninja is good too. mirus offer $3 a round trip on the bund. only need $5K to trade a 5 lot.

these are the considerations anyway. i don't want to put in too much money into this. just want to dabble in the market. trade a few break outs intraday. pick and choose my moments.

any help much appreciated!!!!

Click to expand...

FREE MONEY IN THE BUN EVERYBODY

Grant you lucky guy, i might switch over, dont hog it all

grantx said:

Arbitrageur,

MultiCharts seems pretty good. I've also looked at SmartQuant's OpenQuant which is pretty impressive. Any thoughts on OpenQuant?

Any idea if either of these can run via X-Trader (X-T/TT isn't listed as compatible on MC's site). If not, I'm guessing a dde could solve for both.

Grant.

Click to expand...

I've looked at OQ but I only have a vague idea of its capabilities as I've never used that platform at all. It does look pretty sweet however, if you want a real "institutional" standard strategy trading platform.

I think you can use TT data in MC, but you need to buy a custom patch which costs $5k... they are rolling this feature out for general use in around 3 months, though, so probably best to wait before you shell any dosh out.

black-star said:

I have also been coding a system in CQG recently and to just make some basic exit rules has been the bitch of my life for the last few weeks. Currently the tech guys at CQG are programming it for me but they have found it equally as difficult.

Also, for the the back testing software, it costs an extra £170 a month.

Click to expand...

yeah, "intuitive" is not a word you'd associate with anything at all to do with CQG programming.

sangchough said:

trading bunds on eurex. i want the cheapest overall package. primary concern of course is brokerage fees. but after that would be a decent user front end and charting system. is tradestation a front runner? heard ninja is good too. mirus offer $3 a round trip on the bund. only need $5K to trade a 5 lot.

Click to expand...

Ninja and TS are generally considered retail platforms, and $3 roundtrip is definately a retail rate. Grant is your man for a very thorough assessment of the rates available, but
(depending on volume) i think you could cut that rate in half and more.

sangchough said:

i don't want to put in too much money into this. just want to dabble in the market. trade a few break outs intraday. pick and choose my moments.

Click to expand...

Having said what i've just said, i'll probably need to take that back, as what you've just said does not sound like you're serious about succeeding in trading. So you'll probably be just fine with TS or Mirus and those rates.

cheap rates wont give you success, it'll just prolong the pain. if learning is what you want, better to use a simulator till you've proved yourself ready, or not (at which point it wont have cost you much).

Arbitrageur,

I’ve managed to nail this (almost). For any charting package - OQ, MC - TT tell me my FCM has to have TT’s Fix Adapter on his server. IT at the FCM can’t confirm this at the moment as they are tied up with moving offices. However, TT may be able to confirm this.

To avoid further delay I’ve determined that my Euro 65 per month feed/charting package is adequate. It may lag by a couple of ticks occasionally but this isn’t a problem as the entry points are usually 5 ticks at least from the high/low points. Exit points are discretionary. Combined with X-Trader (I’ve got a two month free trial plus sim) it’s the perfect combination. Moreover, X-Trader’s prices will determine my exit point, thus no risk of lost data. (I certainly prefer X-Trader’s order-entry front-end compared to CQG’s).

I’m just waiting for my new, higher spec pc then Flipper had better stand aside.

$5k for a patch? That’s a bit steep. I haven’t made a detailed comparison between MC and OQ but I would favour OpenQuant.

“Grant is your man”. That made me laugh. Thank you for the recognition, mate.

Regarding round-trip costs my basic rule of thumb is, the shorter the timeframe the lower the rate to maximise profit. If your scalping for a tick or two, holding for seconds to a minute or so, it has to be the lowest, ie absolute maximum of Euro 1.00 round-trip. And viability at this level further depends on a high(ish) win/loss ratio.

If you’re a long-term trader looking to take say, 100-points plus then the comm’s are perhaps immaterial. $3 for 100 points isn’t such a big deal in point terms (probably equal to the spread), although still better to get the lowest rate you can.

Grant.

DC STOXX said:

I have also been coding a system in CQG recently and to just make some basic exit rules has been the bitch of my life for the last few weeks. Currently the tech guys at CQG are programming it for me but they have found it equally as difficult.

Click to expand...

Do you mean you coded this system using CQG toolboxes and stuff, or you found CQG API difficult to work with?