Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: OmniTrader 2002
Ian Waugh charts the markets with OmniTrader
| Product | OmniTrader 2002 |
|---|---|
| Company | Nirvana Software |
| Web | www.nirvanasystems.com |
| Price | OmniTrader 2002 Stocks $395
OmniTrader 2002 Futures $695 OmniTrader 2002 RealTime $995 |
| We like | Automatic trend and S&R lines, customisable signal generation, direct link to the Web, Game mode |
| We don't like | Customisation requires application |
| Rating | 8/10 |
| Requirements |
If you trade stocks or commodities, you may already use a charting package to display indicators such as moving averages, stochastics, RSI and so on. The typical charting program has many tens of such indicators. Some traders may use the charts available on financial web sites and many allow you to overlay the chart with indicators. One of the problems with indicators is that they don't always give clear signals and when one does, others may give an opposite signal, making it difficult to decide what action to take.
Unique OmniTrader has a unique approach to the use of indicators and systems. Acknowledging that different indicators work on different charts in different ways under different conditions, its System Confirmation process can test around 120 systems and select the best. The results of the systems are show below the charts and the consensus of opinion is shows above them on a vote line.
A list of performance factors is shown in the Focus List. These include the Back Test Hit Rate, profitability, number of trades and so on. You may decide only to go with trades with a hit rate over 80 percent or you may think overall profitability is most important.
The Focus List also shows if a signal has been triggered on the current bar and how long existing signals have been in the market. The combinations of systems are at the heart of the program and it comes with several preset combinations called Profiles although you can of course, create your own. In addition, you can select various trading models such as short-, medium- and long-term and aggressive, trending or reversal.
Trendy
One of the program's best features is the ability to draw trend lines, support and resistance lines, swing points and identify candlestick patterns automatically in short, medium and long-term time frames. The customisation options are quite thorough and cover signal testing and signal generation. These can appear quite involved and it's something to grow into rather than jump into. There is also an order entry and alerts window and a portfolio window for keeping track of your trades. You can also get fundamental information (although not on UK companies) direct from the Nirvana web site.
There is also an Updater program that will check your version against the latest release on the Web and download and update it if you wish.
One interesting feature is the Game mode. This draws bars on the screen at a selected interval (anything from 1 second to 1 minute per bar) and you have to make buy or sell decision. It's good fun and will test your ability.
Even more sophisticated is lab mode which essentially works like the full program but allows you to works with several shares or commodities at once so it's more realistic.
New to 2002
With OmniTrader 2002, Nirvana has introduced several new features. One is the System Confirmation feature mentioned earlier. It allows you to use any system as a "filter" for the vote line and specify additional systems to generate exits. One of the Profiles is configured so that two systems must agree before a buy or sell signal is given. This makes OmniTrader more customisable than it was before.
Also new is a Swing Profile that finds swing points (important highs and lows). There is now a set of Drawing Tools enabling you to draw support and resistance (S&R) lines, trend lines and text on a chart. They include a Rule of Eighths tool that divides a trading range into eight zones. The object is to move your stop each time the price moves through one of the zones, locking in profits.
The Trend Line Alerts tool will let alert you when the price crosses a trend line. OT 2002 also includes improvements in the performance of the Real Time version so you can run twice as many symbols with no detrimental effect on performance.
The new features will be welcomed by existing OmniTrader users, particularly those who wanted more control over the signal generation. Although you can use the signals generated by OT, you ought to check them carefully. Even the developer suggests it be used more as a prospecting tool to find good trading candidates than as a trading system, blindly taking all trades it generates. In other words - if trading was as simple as following the signals generated by a piece of software, everyone would be doing it. You still have to perform, as they say in the US, your due diligence.
Summary
The wealth of features in the program and its unique approach to the markets make it a viable consideration for anyone wanting a charting program with built-in and easy-to use indicators and systems.
