Thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade
I chose to write about
the web application, Thinkorswim, available by TD Ameritrade. Thinkorswim is an
electronic online trading platform used to monitor, analyze, scan, and trade
stock equities, futures, and options (How to Use Thinkorswim: The Ultimate
Guide 2021, n.d.). This is an app that I use every day for trading options and
stocks. It is also available as a mobile app or downloadable software for
Windows computers.
Thinkorswim has various
features and tools available for everyone, from beginners to experts in trading
the market. It provides how-to guides and in-depth tutorials on how to get the
most out of the platform. For beginners in trading, it offers a demo account
for free, which can be used with up to $100,000 in virtual cash. The demo
account can be used for virtual paper trading to get to know the platform and
its features without spending real money.
The design of the
platform is simple, with the home screen showing only the essential tools. The
home screen shows your account information, which can include your account
balance, favorite stock watchlist, and open positions. There are different tabs
on the home screen for monitoring open positions, performing scans of stocks,
stock charts, tools, and an Analyze tab. I like the way the panels are put
together in a user-friendly interface. The panels can also be detached as a
separate panel, or ‘gadget’, for a multi-window appearance.
Figure 1.
Note: Thinkorswim home screen with chart.
The
functionality of Thinkorswim is unique. It uses a programming language called
Thinkscript, which is a “built-in programming language that gives you the
capability of creating your analysis tools such as studies, strategies,
watchlist columns, etc. (Learning Center - ThinkScript, n.d.).” Users of the
app can use thinkscript to develop their studies and scan queries using
specific criteria. Thinkscript also provides the ability to combine indicators
and create your personal strategies based on your trading methods. One of the
popular functions is using color coding for the individual gadgets. For
example, if more than one gadget or chart is set to blue, and you change the
stock ticker (stock symbol) on one gadget, it will also change the other
gadgets with the same color to represent that stock.
Figure 2.
Note: Gadget showing Thinkorswim alerts.
They are a few
improvements I would suggest for the Thinkorswim app. The app allows you to
create alerts that can notify you via text message or email if the price or
study of a stock meets a criterion. However, the ability to create alerts on
the indicators themselves would be helpful. Secondly, the app uses a lot of
local resources, such as memory and processor power. Reducing the number of
resources needed would speed up the program since the market moves every second
of the day. The difference could be hundreds of dollars if the app cannot keep
up with the market. Finally, it needs an easier way to backup all the studies
and scans you create with thinkscript. You must save the required files from
the program directory and correctly place them in the same directory on a new
computer. I suggest an easy one-click back solution for anyone who wants to use
the app on another computer.
Marlon
References
How to use Thinkorswim: The Ultimate Guide 2021. (n.d.). DAYTRADINGz.Com. Retrieved
September 8, 2021, from https://daytradingz.com/how-to-use-thinkorswim/
Learning Center - thinkScript. (n.d.). Thinkscript. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from
https://tlc.thinkorswim.com/center/reference/thinkScript
