Top 5 Features of Interactive Brokers Trading Platform

Introduction

Interactive Brokers is one of the most powerful platforms available to traders. However, very few Indian traders are familiar with this platform and its functionalities. Let’s discuss the Top 5 features of Interactive Brokers Trading Platform i.e., Traders Work Station (TWS) that can be very useful for Indian traders.

1.Chart-Based Trading:

Chart Based Trading is the ability to directly trade from the charts without even using the keyboards. You can simply drag and drop buy and sell order lines and as soon as the price hits those lines, the orders get executed. Watch the video above for live chart based trade.

At the bottom, you can also check out the orders, trade log, portfolio etc. There is no reason for you to step away from the charts. You can place any kind of order sitting right here.

If you are a visual trader who prefers to work through charts and candlesticks, this can be a great tool for you.

2.Real Time Scanners:

Using these scanners, traders can scan the market in real-time, easily find out the top gainers and losers of the day and check out the stocks that are near their
52-week highs and lows and do a lot more. There are also a lot of filters that can be applied to narrow down the list of stocks, for example, you can choose to see only large-cap stocks or Futures and Options stocks.

I use these scanners to get a pulse of the market. If you are an intraday trader in stocks, like me, these scanners can come in very handy.

3.Watchlists:

Stocks should ideally be analysed along with the other stocks in the same sectors and Interactive brokers have this great screen where the stocks can be neatly organized and arranged to fit in one big screen.

There are a lot of benefits of looking the stocks this way. First, just a glimpse of red and green gives an idea about the texture of the market. Second, we can pinpoint exactly which sector is relatively weaker and which sector is relatively stronger. These inputs can be further taken to decide where to take long or short positions.

4. Advanced Alerts:

Interactive Brokers has by far the most advanced alerting system that I have ever seen. You can set alerts directly at the charts and I find it very useful because I can visualize the levels at which the alerts will be triggered. I can quickly set alerts so that when HDFC Bank bank breaks the highs or lows of the day, I will also get a pop-up.

You can also add different sound effects for different kinds of alerts and add descriptive notes that would later help you reminding your analysis of the stock. Truly, a great feature!

5. Hot Buttons:

The hot buttons can do a lot of things at the click of a button.

For example, you can place buy and sell orders worth say 1 lakh rupees, just by clicking a button. This amount of Rs.1 lakh can be set to anything that you want and doesn’t matter which stock you pick as the system automatically calculates the number of shares that much amount can buy. It’s a cool feature.

In the same way, with one click of a button, you can cancel all the orders, reverse your position, add to an existing position, add a profit booking order and do a lot more.

Conclusion

So, these were the Top 5 features that I found useful in Interactive Brokers. I have been using Interactive Brokers Trading Platform “Traders Work Station” for several years now but I still feel that I am not fully utilizing all the bells and whistles available in this platform.

All the best.

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Top 5 Features of Interactive Brokers Trading Platform

Introduction

Interactive Brokers is one of the most powerful platforms available to traders. However, very few Indian traders are familiar with this platform and its functionalities. Let’s discuss the Top 5 features of Interactive Brokers Trading Platform i.e., Traders Work Station (TWS) that can be very useful for Indian traders.

1.Chart-Based Trading:

Chart Based Trading is the ability to directly trade from the charts without even using the keyboards. You can simply drag and drop buy and sell order lines and as soon as the price hits those lines, the orders get executed. Watch the video above for live chart based trade.

At the bottom, you can also check out the orders, trade log, portfolio etc. There is no reason for you to step away from the charts. You can place any kind of order sitting right here.

If you are a visual trader who prefers to work through charts and candlesticks, this can be a great tool for you.

2.Real Time Scanners:

Using these scanners, traders can scan the market in real-time, easily find out the top gainers and losers of the day and check out the stocks that are near their
52-week highs and lows and do a lot more. There are also a lot of filters that can be applied to narrow down the list of stocks, for example, you can choose to see only large-cap stocks or Futures and Options stocks.

I use these scanners to get a pulse of the market. If you are an intraday trader in stocks, like me, these scanners can come in very handy.

3.Watchlists:

Stocks should ideally be analysed along with the other stocks in the same sectors and Interactive brokers have this great screen where the stocks can be neatly organized and arranged to fit in one big screen.

There are a lot of benefits of looking the stocks this way. First, just a glimpse of red and green gives an idea about the texture of the market. Second, we can pinpoint exactly which sector is relatively weaker and which sector is relatively stronger. These inputs can be further taken to decide where to take long or short positions.

4. Advanced Alerts:

Interactive Brokers has by far the most advanced alerting system that I have ever seen. You can set alerts directly at the charts and I find it very useful because I can visualize the levels at which the alerts will be triggered. I can quickly set alerts so that when HDFC Bank bank breaks the highs or lows of the day, I will also get a pop-up.

You can also add different sound effects for different kinds of alerts and add descriptive notes that would later help you reminding your analysis of the stock. Truly, a great feature!

5. Hot Buttons:

The hot buttons can do a lot of things at the click of a button.

For example, you can place buy and sell orders worth say 1 lakh rupees, just by clicking a button. This amount of Rs.1 lakh can be set to anything that you want and doesn’t matter which stock you pick as the system automatically calculates the number of shares that much amount can buy. It’s a cool feature.

In the same way, with one click of a button, you can cancel all the orders, reverse your position, add to an existing position, add a profit booking order and do a lot more.

Conclusion

So, these were the Top 5 features that I found useful in Interactive Brokers. I have been using Interactive Brokers Trading Platform “Traders Work Station” for several years now but I still feel that I am not fully utilizing all the bells and whistles available in this platform.

All the best.

Subscribe to our channel Now.

Must-Read Articles