I have experienced these bugs while trading a live cash account using NT v8.1.6.0 and 8.1.6.1. This is a warning to anyone else using NinjaTrader to trade live.
I would summarize the bugs as a connection issue, or maybe a lagging threading issue, with the broker. And, Ninja doesn't do a periodic re-sync check to validate Ninja's broker data with the broker. I would consider that a mandatory safety check when two separate entities are involved.

The first bug is with the CC - Positions tab. As the screenshot shows, NT said I had a Long and Short position open at the same time which the broker does Not support (and some of you may have already experienced is NT support first tried to point fingers at the broker). This bug was triggered by using the Chart Trader - Reverse button. I was short in the morning, and reversed short around noon.

Ultimately, they washed their hands of it by blaming a custom indicator. How can an indicator affect Ninja's account position state? IMO, a bogus answere so they don't have to spent time fixing this bug.

The second bug is with the profit & loss amount. As the screenshot shows, NT shows I was up $158, but NT failed at acknowledge the first trade's loss of $104. After seeing the first loss was missing, I called the broker to confirm I was only up $44.

I didn't bother sending this in to support, because they will blame a custom indicator again even though indicators have nothing to do with tracking P&L data.


Their support was better in the past. I submitted an ATM bug (#14164) which they did look in to and fixed it in v8.0.20.1.
I have been using Ninja since 2007, so I have pretty good experience with what bogs NT down. When trading live, NT workspaces should be lean and clean, even though it's multi-threaded.

In conclusion, this is pretty scary stuff when a trading platform can't keep track of basic trading metrics. For new traders, NT's free version is great for testing ideas and highly customizing indicators. But, when it's time to trade live use a different platform. Don't bother paying for a license.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues while trading live?

zacharydw00 

Has anyone else experienced similar issues while trading live?

This happens quite a lot especially when using a trade copier to trade more accounts. Somehow NinjaTrader doesn't receive or doesn't process the confirmation message from the broker that the trade is closed. This results in a pending order (NT CC Orders Tab) and an open position (in NT) while in fact the position is closed. Often people hit the buy/sell/close button thinking they are still long/short (while flat) which leads to an open position in the other direction without them knowing. Some lose their whole account.

I have a separate window open with all open positions at my broker (RTrader Pro from Rithmic). That way I always know the real positions I have.

When my broker shows I am long/short while I should be flat I close the trade via the broker window (RTrader Pro).

When my broker shows I am flat but NinjaTrader shows me long or short I place a limit order distant from the price and then cancel it. You could also disconnect and connect again. This will ensure that the NinjaTrader positions are updated and displayed correctly.

Hope it helps.

zacharydw00 

NT said I had a Long and Short position open at the same time which the broker does Not support. This bug was triggered by using the Chart Trader - Reverse button.

@zacharydw00,

17 years on NT -- yeah, you know the drill.

The reverse button fires two ops sequentially -- flatten, then enter opposite direction. If there's any lag between NT and the broker mid-sequence, the internal state can temporarily reflect both sides. I'd shoot NT support your logs on this one, they've been good about chasing down stuff like this. Might already be patched in a newer build.

For the P&L thing:

• Check 8.1.6.2 release notes, could already be addressed
• Cross-check your broker's own confirms/dashboard against NT's execution log after the session
• If you can reproduce it consistently, definitely report it -- reproducible stuff gets fixed faster

Their question about custom indicators isn't totally off base either -- third-party indicators subscribing to position events on the same instrument can cause threading issues in NT8. Not saying that's what's going on here, but easy enough to test with a clean workspace.

Anyone else hit this with the Reverse button?

-- Fi
"Your broker's dashboard doesn't lie -- when in doubt, check there first."