Commsec ProTrader1 - FAQ and Tips

[markrmau]

Admin Note:

- This thread is for ComSec ProTrader1 queries only.
- This thread used to cover PT1 & PT2 but there is now a separate thread on PT2.
- Please determine which version of the software you have and post in the appropriate thread.
- For the CommSec web platform see this thread.

RichKid
Moderator
------------------------------

Protrader is very good, but I am in the process of cutting all ties with the commonwealth bank [1]. Etrade and hsbc offer equivalents.

[1]. When I was a kid, the comm bank gave me a little grey book and encouraged us all to put the odd 20c or $1 into the account. I ended up putting a few hundred dollars into it. I recently got a letter from commbank stating the account was now overdrawn as they had been taking $5/month out of it.

My current activities earn the commonwealth bank about $10-$12k/year.

 

[dutchie]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

Fair point Mark

Banks often "bite their own noses to spite their face" to get that last dollar out of you.

I am using Protrader at moment and would be interested in your comments once you have switched to see how it rates.

 

[keebab]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

I've been using the CBA Protrader system for about 12 months, I get the feeling that the honeymoon will be over for those of us that trade options regularly enough to get the system for free.

Good strategy I guess, hook em then raise the price.

I would also be very interested in systems other than Protrader.

Cheers

Keebab

 

[RichKid]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

I've been using the CBA Protrader system for about 12 months, I get the feeling that the honeymoon will be over for those of us that trade options regularly enough to get the system for free.

Good strategy I guess, hook em then raise the price.

Keebab,

About your 'feeling', if that is true (I haven't heard any rumour of increasing prices), would you like to start a new thread on it and fill us in?? There are quite a few people who use Comsec here. Maybe call it 'CommSec Protrader price hike' or something like that if you are sure it's happening.

thanks!

 

[keebab]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

<BEGIN RANT> Well under the current pricing model for ProTrader Platinum you pay:

$77 per month if you make less than 45 Share Trades or 1 Option Trade per quarter. $77 a month work out to $924 for a trading platform. Add to this what you pay for charts, data etc with other vendors.

45 Share Trades a quarter is quite a lot! Is anyone trading shares with this consistency throughout the year??

My rationale for using ProTrader was the fact that I make approximatly 2-3 option trades per month or 6-9 trades per quarter. The brokerage is very cheap and the system is very easy to use. My worry has always been the quite large (in my opinion) discrepency between share and option volumes. CBA makes in brokerage a minimum of $1710 for share traders getting free access to ProTrader and $38 for option traders getting free access. What did I do to deserve such a good deal?!?!

Obviously ProTrader is geared towards hooking option traders like myself. To my mind its whats known as a "loss leader". This means they give you access to the system, get you dependant on it then raise the expected volume of option trades in order to maintain your free access.

Think Homer Simpson's quote "It's like those Reader's Digest Subscription, the first one was free! Then they jacked up the price! BWAHAHAHAHHAA"

Maybe I'm just being cynical and I haven't heard anything that would prove this thought. Look at the end of the day the system is good and the deal is great for option traders. Just don't expect it to last forever. </END of Rant>

 

[keebab]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

Sorry if that last post seemed over the top, just happy to have my internet back on!

MICK

 

[RichKid]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

Sorry if that last post seemed over the top, just happy to have my internet back on!

MICK

G'day Mick,
No that was fine, thanks for the reply, I'm hoping to check it out too, a hellavu lot cheaper than getting the data and platform via subscription or via another provider. I'm hoping to use the one option trade min offer per quarter to keep it free as I may not trade 45 times every quarter. I do understand that they may hook me and then jackup the rates but I'll enjoy it while I can. Still new to options but have traded warrants so will look for low risk 'insurance' strategies first.

I think competition will keep them fairly honest but let's see how it goes. thanks for flagging the issue, worth keeping an eye on comsec so they don't pull the wool over our eyes. Wonder how long it will be before they offer CFD's??

 

[keebab]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

At the end of the day it works fine for me trading options. One thing is that you don't get is a market depth view of individual options. This can be handy especially when trading smaller positions.

Let me know what you think of it.

Anyone else use a different system?

Cheers

MIck

 

[RichKid]

Commsec ProTrader: problems and tips

I've been having some trouble with Protrader2, wonder if any of you have had the same issues?
Basically I find that the chart templates are a bit of a pain to use. In the old PT1 all you had to do was bring up the chart from the saved files list/templates and hey presto all the lines were in the right place. I find with PT2 that sometimes old templates (lines, labels) from an unrelated chart remain on a new chart of a different stock, even when no new templates are selected. Not sure what is going on. I accidentally deleted the 'default' option in the dropdown menu- didn't think it would be possible but it happened- d'oh!!

Any other comments or tips and tricks on protrader2 would be welcome, it's still early days yet. BTW, markmau suggested in another thread that you can copy a chart as an image by using the printscreen/sysreq button and pasting into MSpaint (hit ctrl+v)- a great tip since you can't right click to save as in PT1.

I also found that if you close a window that has been docked you sometimes lose the whole worksheet (all the tabs disappear). So I disable the option under settings where it automatically remembers the settings at exit- so I can recover the old worksheet when I re-login.

For those whe aren't aware (including Commsec callcentre support staff) you can import your old watchlists from PT1 to PT2- see the watchlist menu. When I first asked they said that you couldn't as they were different platforms. So much for customer service, so you don't have to type in all the stock codes again.

To end on a good note- the extra charting tools are excellent! Fib studies, multiple label options etc. I still can't figure out how to edit a lable once it's created- anyone know how to? (I have IncredibleCharts and with IC you only have to click on the label and you can edit it.) To delete the label or a line in PT2 you just click on the line (to select) and then hit the delete button on your keyboard. I wish the online help manual that come with PT2 was more detailed, PT2 is a bit frustrating at first to use as it's not the most intuitive, I can see this one building up to be a top platform though, if they can introduce stock screening functions (eg to scan for stocks which meet certain criteria from all ASX stocks 24/7) that would be great too but I can see how it would be a drain on their servers.

Hope this helps those who are new to PT2, note the competiton from CFD providers who provide free platforms may have resulted in the improvements.

 

[markrmau]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

Protrader1 stopped working for me on 1 computer, so i D/L V2.

Can I get the old frames look with tabs to switch between say depth and course of sales? The best I can do is put multiple things in one window, but not the tabs to switch between them.

Thanks, Mark.

 

[RichKid]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

I've gone back to the old Comsec Protrader (PT1) as I find it quicker and more reliable, has anyone else done the same? If you want the weblink to download PT1 I can send it to you- you'll need to be an existing client of ComSec with requisite clearance for PT1 from what I understand as you'll need to log in with username and password.

It appears that they are gradually improving PT2 but it's not upto standard yet imho. There were rumours that ComSec will be introducing CFD's (which is bound to happen imo) but I'm not sure when. I can only assume they'll use the same platform so I hope they fix it up soon so I can switch over to PT2 for good.

 

[Hanrahan]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

I never liked PT2 and when I couldn't find how to cancel an order I went back to PT1.

A month back I downloaded an upgrade and it has never worked since so I'm full time PT1. Don't take that as a critisism of PT2, more a comment on my limping windows OS. If they gave me a Mac version I would consign my Wintel box to the scrap heap.

I my iMac.

 

[pete152]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

I've gone back to the old Comsec Protrader (PT1) as I find it quicker and more reliable, has anyone else done the same? If you want the weblink to download PT1 I can send it to you- you'll need to be an existing client of ComSec with requisite clearance for PT1 from what I understand as you'll need to log in with username and password.

.

Yes I am interested in the old trader as the new one is a pain.
Thanks,
Peter

 

[markrmau]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

RK sent me this link for PT1

http://images.comsec.com.au/downloads/protrader/protraderinstall.exe

I uninstalled and reinstalled, and my problem with PT1 is fixed (refused to connect to server on one computer)

 

[RichKid]

Re: Feedback on Protrader software

Protrader1 stopped working for me on 1 computer, so i D/L V2.

Can I get the old frames look with tabs to switch between say depth and course of sales? The best I can do is put multiple things in one window, but not the tabs to switch between them.

Thanks, Mark.

Hi Mark,
Although it's not as easy as in PT1, in PT2 you can have the windows tabbed so that when you click on a tab (the tabs end up at the bottom of the screen) the whole screen is filled with that one window (eg market depth or a chart). I think the option is at the top right of the screen in options or settings or something like that- look for the 'tab all' setting or similar. I don't have PT2 installed anymore so let me know if you have trouble I'll try to reinstall so I can find the correct path and send you the exact link. It's basically one of the menus at the top right of the toolbar.

 

[RichKid]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

I've found these useful after tinkering (and some sorrowful mishaps) so will share it with everyone in case someone finds it as helpful as I have. If I have made an error or if there is a better way to do it (or if some of you programmers out there think I'm going to stuff up the software) please let me know. The following only applies to PT1 from what I gather. I don't know much about IT so excuse me if my terms are mixed up.

Saving Watchlists
If you have multiple drives (partitioned) on your hdd you may find that the main programme will be saved in one directory and the settings (which include the watchlists) will be saved in another. Browse your drives for 'documents and settings' folder (I assume it's in every windows directory) and find your way to the Commsec folder which has the application (PT1) data. You will find a 'WatchLists.ini' file which stores your watchlists- click on it and you will recognise your stocks. I save this whenever I unistall the programme so I don't have to type in all the stock codes again.

Saving Chart Templates
As above but ths time look for the 'chart templates' folder, this'll have all the charts you've saved through PT1. There is also a 'remembered charts' folder but that's just for the ones you've tagged as remembered (see charting function in PT1). I guess it'll be helpful to save these folders if unistalling so you can use them again without losing it all.

ETO theoretical bid/ask values
I often find it a hassle not to get an idea of an option's market price or the last spread available. The comsec price quotes for options in the watchlists aren't always available or are not up to date, ie unlike with stocks you don't always see a last price or bid/ask spread on Comsec's ETO watchlists. This is partly because of low liquidity and market-makers not always maintaining a market.

To find a theoretical spread value for an option you need to get to the Comsec website- quickest way I find is to click on the company research link in the toolbar and it'll take you there (it logs in automatically) (NB. PT2 has a theoretical value calculator but it doesn't give bid/ask spreads).

Once in the Comsec Website click on 'Derivatives' in the left frame/panel and you can get a theoretical quote for the option you are interested in (the site also has watchlists). The fine print on the site will tell you more about the calculation of the prices. It's done at certain times during the day.

I've found this saves me time when it comes to working out strategies as I have a rough idea of how much each option will cost on market. Good for pay off diagrammes but remember all the other detailed, nasty stuff about options trading still applies so make sure you learn about voalitility, market makers, fair value etc first.


NOW for the important bit: I'm not IT expert, nor am I and expert in trading or PT1 or PT2, so some of this stuff may have worked for me but may not work for you and may well stuff up your whole computer and you may lose everything you have on it in the process so check with Comsec first before doing anything- it's all at your own risk. There is a lot of this stuff that I don't understand (I have no idea why all the PT1 files are not on the same drive in the same folder- must be something to do with the way windows arranges itself).

 

[DTM]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

I've gone back to the old Comsec Protrader (PT1) as I find it quicker and more reliable, has anyone else done the same? If you want the weblink to download PT1 I can send it to you- you'll need to be an existing client of ComSec with requisite clearance for PT1 from what I understand as you'll need to log in with username and password.

It appears that they are gradually improving PT2 but it's not upto standard yet imho. There were rumours that ComSec will be introducing CFD's (which is bound to happen imo) but I'm not sure when. I can only assume they'll use the same platform so I hope they fix it up soon so I can switch over to PT2 for good.

Yes, I've gone back to PT1 too. PT2 is such a pain and simplicity is missing. It would be nice to get live candlesticks on PT2 but that wasn't working too well.

Also Rich, if you want the marketmakers bid/ask spread, you could also call Commsec's options desk (1800-245698) to get a quote. Once you have it, the market makers are forced to make a market for you.

 

[pete152]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

Yes that is the main problem ,I feel,is that the simplicity is not there ,which PT1 had.
Peter

 

[markrmau]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

WARNING -

Don't rely on PT2 for trading.

There was a massive delay on close which screwed me.

The market didn't seem to close on PT2 until 4:12 (of course I was sitting here saying what the hell is going on)

I am absolutely serious.

When the course of sales was finally updated, it was of course a 4.05 finish.

 

[pete152]

Re: Commsec ProTrader- FAQ and Tips

Gees mate , that would be very helpfull,not.
Another reason I like pt 1.
Peter