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I like TradingView charts and want to stay with that but I don't want to trade from their platform, I hear its not reliable. What broker would you all recommend that has a decent platform to enter trades on that will show entry and stops on the chart? I'm currently using ToS but the commissions are eating a quarter of my profits.
The response I've seen on r/Futures is AMP and EdgeClear are the best of either end of the spectrum, and I tend to agree. I have accounts at these two and only use them anymore, tho I have accounts open elsewhere too.
AMP. AMP does not have it's own platform, like TDA/Schwab. You have to pay a platform provider or use a free one. But AMP is the cheapest (in terms of all-in fees) but is the lightest on any kind of support. They are cheap because the broker and the FCM are under the same umbrella or company. Schwab is the same; so is Ironbeam and Ninja. The broker does "broker things" and the FCM clears and settles your trades at the end of the day in accordance with CFTC.gov requirements. Yadda yadda. You can trade your AMP account directly through TradingView. Go here to see all-in totals for "per side" and "roundturn." https://www.ampcostcalculator.com/
EdgeClear. EC has "their own" platform called EdgeProX even though it's a whitelabel of MotiveWave. And they offer support for that platform, unlike AMP which doesn't offer much support for a platform because no platform is theirs. EC is tops on personal support. I find the all-in fees/commission cost difference is negligible. But ... I think ... EC does its Rithmic fees differently than AMP, so it actually ends up being about the same price unless you do more than 125 round turns per month. After that, EC is only negligibly more per round turn but offers real support. I could be wrong on that math, talk to them to pin it down. Either way, it's a small difference, won't make or break your success. I like EdgeProX, which is pretty cheap at $35/month. It can do anything any other platform can do (it's basically IRT plus Bookmap, altho some may argue with me on that). They publish their all-ins for micro equity contracts: https://edgeclear.com/low-micro-indices-rates/ But again this includes your Rithmic data fee. Which is not the same as the order routing fee. It also includes the routing fee.
Ninja.NinjaTrader is a broker/fcm/platform, but there was some reason why I stopped using it years ago. Can't even remember now.
You have to choose:
the broker
the FCM, unless you go with a broker that has an FCM in-house (like AMP or Ironbeam or Schwab or Ninja), I use Phillip Cap because they do free ACH withdrawals (and deposits). AMP's and Ninja's FCM is the same. The FCM controls how to put your money in and pull it out, the broker doesn't touch your money.
the data feed provider; used to be either CQG or Rithmic, but there are other options such as Teton if you join the Sierra Chart mafia. CQG is usually cheapest, but there are reasons you want Rithmic. I use CQG on my AMP acct and Rithmic on my EC account.
the platform or platforms you will be using. Get this decided first. Right now, you may pay a lot in commissions but I don't think you pay any platform fees for ToS, so maybe think about that. I use EPX and TradingView and some other side stuff.
Everyone bounces around in the beginning, until they settle in to something they like on a more permanent basis. Make sure wherever you settle in (which broker, platform, whatever), that you settle in for the right reasons. ...Why do I feel like I'm giving dating advice to my teenage son? oh lawd, I'm done.
Trading: Primarily Energy but also a little Equities, Fixed Income, Metals, U308 and Crypto.
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Just FYI, and to expand on the subject even more, while I believe Ironbeam and Phillips are CME Clearing-FCMs, I think AMP, Ninja and Schwab are Non-Clearing-FCMs which means they actually pay another Clearing-FCM to clear their CME Trades.
