My OptionVue Experience

OptionVue FINALLY came through. I refused to obtain a VPS but kept working with them to find a solution that did not involve me spending more money. They responded stating they were stumped and then got an e-mail yesterday afternoon with VM, TOS and OptionVue settings to try. So far so good.
:)
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Glad a solution was finally uncovered.

When using TOS with the correct volatility mode, it is more than accurate to trade with. I believe the Volatility smile approximation mode uses the same approach OptionVue uses, however, OptionVue is more refined and a bit more accurate as a result.

Not sure if I will renew my subscription next year or not. If I do, I will definitely switch to the monthly subscription. I will not make that mistake twice.

Scott
 
When most people are comparing TOS to OptionVue, they are most likely using the default TOS model, Individual implied volatility, which is very inaccurate.

I use the Volatility smile approximation model in TOS when analyzing the greeks. This model is much more accurate. Do not pay attention to the P&L on the Analyze tab when using this model. I switch back to the default Individual implied volatility model when I need to view the P&L on the Analyze tab. The P&L on the Monitor tab is accurate when either model is used.

Hope I was clear enough.

Scott

Scott,
I just changed my vol model on TOS to the smile. Before the change the delta was -2.8 after the change it was -9.12. I am in a WEIRDOR and made the adj based upon a delta of 15 on 10/14/15, I wonder if the delta setting indicated a much higher delta (indicating an adjustment is necessary) than was really the case. Thereby making the adjustment unnecessary.
Scott, really sorry you had issues with OV. I noticed in a later post things may turn out OK.
Also, really do appreciate the info on the TOS platform relating to vol/delta.
Duke

Posted by DukeB
 
Scott,
I just changed my vol model on TOS to the smile. Before the change the delta was -2.8 after the change it was -9.12. I am in a WEIRDOR and made the adj based upon a delta of 15 on 10/14/15, I wonder if the delta setting indicated a much higher delta (indicating an adjustment is necessary) than was really the case. Thereby making the adjustment unnecessary.
Scott, really sorry you had issues with OV. I noticed in a later post things may turn out OK.
Also, really do appreciate the info on the TOS platform relating to vol/delta.
Duke

Posted by DukeB

Duke if you follow Amy's guidelines to adjust weirdor, , she uses ONE which are the default TOS settings not volatility smile. Ie she has been successful in adjusting based on default settings.

Thanks

Posted by Al G.
 
Duke if you follow Amy's guidelines to adjust weirdor, , she uses ONE which are the default TOS settings not volatility smile. Ie she has been successful in adjusting based on default settings.

Thanks

Posted by Al G.

Al,
I was unaware of her settings. I did not know enough about this subject to ask her before reading this forum. Her track record is excellent.
I am new to this type of trading. It strikes me as odd that for such a critical measurement (delta) that there could be such a huge discrepancy. Could it be that at the time of the adjustment that the OV delta and TOS delta were very close?
Thank you, Al,
Duke

Posted by DukeB
 
Could it be that at the time of the adjustment that the OV delta and TOS delta were very close?

Doubtful.

If you're going to follow a particular strategy, be it John Locke trades, or Brian Larson's Rhino, or Amy's weirdor, then I'd recommend that you use the same software (and settings) which they use.
A 25 delta in OV (eg for the Rhino delta adjustment guidelines) is going to be different than what you see in TOS, regardless of whether you're using the standard "individual implied volatility" or the "volatility smile approximation".
 
Doubtful.

If you're going to follow a particular strategy, be it John Locke trades, or Brian Larson's Rhino, or Amy's weirdor, then I'd recommend that you use the same software (and settings) which they use.
A 25 delta in OV (eg for the Rhino delta adjustment guidelines) is going to be different than what you see in TOS, regardless of whether you're using the standard "individual implied volatility" or the "volatility smile approximation".

Based on my testing, TOS when using Volatility Smile Approximation caused me to stop adjusting way early or way late when using TOS. OptionVue is clearly more accurate yet which is why I am happy that OptionVue is usable for me now. I use my own manage by the greeks management style so accurate greeks is important.

I agree that one should start with the software and settings the strategy creator uses.

Scott
 
Scott,
If you're a programmer, then you may be interested to know that TDAmeritrade have an API you could hook into as well.
https://www.tdameritrade.com/api.page
http://apiforums.tdameritrade.com/

I asked them, if I could get access to this API for BBpricer - no positive response yet. Just some standard answer.

IB is very different! The API is documented publicly and open for everyone. So, while I would love to support TOS in BBpricer, I don't know how.
 
I asked them, if I could get access to this API for BBpricer - no positive response yet. Just some standard answer.

IB is very different! The API is documented publicly and open for everyone. So, while I would love to support TOS in BBpricer, I don't know how.

Hi Uwe,

Did you ever get access to the TDA API? It is VERY hard to get access. I had to complain massively for weeks and raise it to the VP level, with genuine threats to stop high volume trading and then leave as a TDA customer, get your local representative involved, and they finally granted access. You must be a good coder and able to work without current documentation or current code examples. The existing documentation is very old (~2009). There is an example of a streaming REST API that is pretty instructive, but it is old too. There is no support available like the Trade Desk. The API Forums are locked dead for editing, so we cannot ask questions. We can only troll through old forums Q&A and OLD code examples contributed by customers. The examples work, but they are incomplete demos of what is possible. My opinion is that it is all really lame, like they wanted to kill it completely and almost totally succeeded. It is obvious that they don't want people using it, because it is unsupported. I've looked at the IB API and it is MUCH better, modern, and has some direct support by IB.
 
Hi Rich,
no, they didn't even reply. As I am not a customer (living in Europe, no account possible) I can not make any pressure.
So my software will be IB only for now.
 
Hi Rich,
no, they didn't even reply. As I am not a customer (living in Europe, no account possible) I can not make any pressure.
So my software will be IB only for now.

You mean European residence can't open a TOS or TDA account ?
 
Correct Kevin. TD Ameritrade killed a LOT of a accounts a few years ago.
 
Did you ever get access to the TDA API? It is VERY hard to get access. I had to complain massively for weeks and raise it to the VP level, with genuine threats to stop high volume trading and then leave as a TDA customer, get your local representative involved, and they finally granted access. You must be a good coder and able to work without current documentation or current code examples. The existing documentation is very old (~2009). There is an example of a streaming REST API that is pretty instructive, but it is old too. There is no support available like the Trade Desk. The API Forums are locked dead for editing, so we cannot ask questions. We can only troll through old forums Q&A and OLD code examples contributed by customers. The examples work, but they are incomplete demos of what is possible. My opinion is that it is all really lame, like they wanted to kill it completely and almost totally succeeded. It is obvious that they don't want people using it, because it is unsupported. I've looked at the IB API and it is MUCH better, modern, and has some direct support by IB.

Rich, please let me know of any useful content you may have found out regarding the TD API.
I do have access, but I haven't got around to coding anything yet.
Any useful reference material you may have come across would be welcomed.
Thanks.
 
You mean European residence can't open a TOS or TDA account ?

As German citizen I can only open a cash account. So no short options, and you have to wait 3 days after selling something before you can reallocate the money. For our trading an useless account.
 
Hi uwe,
http://optionworkshop.net/ -----Not for backtesting so not a replacement for OV, but may help with real time analytics...They have finally released their software but needs work to be able to cope with our style of trading. They seem to be able to get data from IB without any of the issues that OV has. So it can be done, guess its a matter of which technology you use, something I'm not an expert on..
 
Hi uwe,
http://optionworkshop.net/ -----Not for backtesting so not a replacement for OV, but may help with real time analytics...They have finally released their software but needs work to be able to cope with our style of trading. They seem to be able to get data from IB without any of the issues that OV has. So it can be done, guess its a matter of which technology you use, something I'm not an expert on..

Thanx for shaing. Optionworkshop looks interesting. How much is the s/w subscription?

I don't have IB. They seem to suggest CQG in their documentation. Is there extra fees for data?
 
I don't know how much it will cost, still on their trial version. You have to provide the data, from their documentation, CQG, IB & IQ. I'm sure that they can add TOS if requested. I find them very responsive to ideas, they are new to this space & I suspect would want customers.
 
Every time I make an adjustment on my trade, the P/L numbers are completely wrong. Anyone else having this issue? I called OV support but no one got back to me with any solution.
 
Every time I make an adjustment on my trade, the P/L numbers are completely wrong. Anyone else having this issue? I called OV support but no one got back to me with any solution.

Did you checked on the "G/L to include previously realized G/L's" ?

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