Trading Software and Books Reviews

Stator Professional Review

Trader One

I found the Stator software installation process simple and standard. From there the setup process did take me several hours of exploring the program before I understood what I was doing. I completed both the brief online tutorials offered, but was left needing still further assistance. Fortunately, I found the customer service help for the setup was extremely responsive and helpful.

The best aid in the setup process was the comprehensive help file, which contains all information required. The only stumbling block was that I did not always find it easy to locate that information. This is where I found the technical support via email very handy, as they promptly pointed me to the relevant help files.

Once set up, I found the most useful information the program generated was the performance charts feature for closed trades. It made a difference to see my trading performance represented graphically. This gave me new insight into patterns in my trading.

Stator updates prices from Yahoo data, which is great because it is free (great for trading on a budget). With the data updates I had an instant statistical view of the overall performance of my portfolio on that day. There are certainly more statistics generated than the novice trader needs, but this means there is room to grow with the program. There are a lot of statistical averages given and this I thought was interesting although not as helpful as the equity charts.

In short, it took several hours of trial and error to set up my trading information. However, the program delivered an abundance of performance information and gave me a good perspective on my trading.

Trader Two

Not having a strong accounting background, I initially approached my review of Stator Pro with some trepidation, but my fears were quickly allayed after I worked through the online tutorials. I was soon up and running, and after a few hours exploring the program’s numerous features I felt I had sufficient grasp of what it offered to begin using it.

Stator is a portfolio management program designed to monitor all investment transactions and provide money and risk management strategies for portfolios from the simple to the most complex. It is easy to navigate, and offers a lot of help for the new user.

Users may have multiple systems within multiple accounts, and these can then be consolidated to give a complete overview of the portfolio, or sub-consolidated into smaller groups as required. The position sizing and position overlay features allow for customised money management rules so that positions are quickly and easily calculated and risk minimised.

It was a simple matter to open an account, establish some trading rules, and then start entering transactions. Closing prices are updated each day either manually or through a simple online system. These functions may provide sufficient record-keeping for the novice with a small account, but for the more sophisticated user trading a large account with different instruments or foreign currencies, a wide range of tools is available to facilitate such things as currency conversions, adjustments made for splits and rights issues, and entering of irregular finance costs.

The program contains a wealth of sophisticated features including detailed analysis to enable performance to be monitored, the ability to import trades from a spreadsheet, and importantly, produces a range of comprehensive reports for your accountant. It offers a flexibility and functionality that will be enjoyed by all traders from beginner to the serious professional.

Trader Three

Stator is a position management platform allowing one to keep track of multiple trading systems across a variety of instruments and markets and apply analysis techniques to measure risk, exposure, and performance.

Stator has an extremely comprehensive and readable help file and a range of online tutorials in flash and text. The program runs very efficiently and provides multi-user support.

At its core, Stator is a portfolio management system, but it also provides some powerful performance-chart analysis tools, cost management analysis tools, and quick and useful access to a host of statistics about a given trading system.

Stator is easy to customise, allowing grouping of trades and systems together; the display of data can also be tailored to show data you want to see efficiently.

It is easy to use Stator immediately to log trades and combine a number of instruments into systems. While the more advanced analysis tools take a little experimentation to learn, they are not hard to master (Stator’s excellent online tutorials help a lot here).

It is also easy to make the transition to Stator: a flexible data import interface can bring in your past trading history easily; price data can be obtained free from Stator and updated with a one-click interface, or updated manually from their website or a text file.

Stator also tracks the relevant taxation details of any trade through a taxation module. This module is updated as tax laws change.

Stator is a worthwhile investment regardless of whether you are just starting out or have been trading for years. New traders will find it a boon, particularly to trading discipline, while experienced traders will find it saves a lot of time. The quick and powerful statistics and performance management tools are worthwhile for any trader.

Anfield Capital Pty Ltd Response

Stator provides one of the most comprehensive portfolio management solutions available in the market today. Stator’s market leading position is gained by providing both traditional trade management functionality and a wide range of performance metrics in an easy-to-use platform. It is designed to provide the flexibility required to manage multiple, sub-consolidated and consolidated portfolios.

Stator allows control over the entire process from entering a trade to closing a trade, and allows a user to manage risk, reward and performance at both a trade and portfolio level.

Stator allows a user not only to manage trading activity but also to use this information to help become a smarter trader. For example, a user can analyse trading statistics to comprehensively assess and enhance trading strategies.

All of the features mentioned above are encapsulated within two versions of Stator – Stator Standard and Stator Professional. Stator Standard provides portfolio management for a single currency and trading instruments like shares, share CFDs (leveraged or GSL), options, managed funds, trust units and warrants. The Professional version accommodates all Standard version functionality plus multiple-currency trading and support for more complex trading instruments including foreign exchange, index CFDs and futures.

Frequent upgrades to Stator meet the needs of traders and the changing face of the trading landscape. A user can upgrade to a new version from within the program itself, which makes upgrading an efficient process.

Proudly Australian made, Stator enables a user to manage trading activity with a truly global perspective. In-depth reporting, data exporting, dividend and trust income management, performance statistics, trading pools, accounts management, performance charts and a trading journal are just some of the many features which are included.

A full range of tutorials, material and support is available online and an electronic help file is included within the software.

This article was originally published in the Sep/Oct 07 issue of YourTradingEdge magazine (www.YTEmagazine.com). All rights reserved. © Copyright 2009, MarketSource International Pty Ltd.

No comments yet.

Leave a comment