AgenaTrader Testimonial – Mike Seidl, Professional Trader

My name is Mike Seidl. I have been active on the stock exchange since the end of the 1990s. Since I began to make trading more than just a part-time activity in 2013, I have spent a lot of time developing and refining my own trading strategies. In the beginning, I dealt extensively with chart technique. Any attention I paid to fundamental data was mostly only marginal.

During this time, I still carried out the search process exclusively by hand. For this reason, the number of shares I observed was relatively small and it took a very long time until I could locate relevant price patterns in abundance. In retrospect, this process was still a benefit for my development, because in this way, I learned to read the market. It is similar to today’s navigation devices. Anyone who has never learned to orientate themselves by means of a map and their surroundings will have difficulty finding their way if technology breaks down. I can do both, and this gives me an advantage in my understanding of the markets.

At some point I figured out that with a little bit of programming effort, I could create my own technical signals. Admittedly, at that point in time, I had absolutely no knowledge of the current programming languages. Various forums and Google served me well in my search for suitable software. I became aware of a well known trading tool in the Futures space, which works with the programming language C#. It was clear to me that I had to learn a little bit of this programming language if I wanted to monitor a whole universe of shares. And so I began to study the necessary facts. My goal was to find the best options in this global spectrum of shares. After many hours of trial and error, my first trading signals were there. However, the scanning process in in this tool took an eternity with so many shares. I had to change something in my selection process.

It was very fitting, then, that with my growing trading experience, the fundamental data played an ever more important role. It was clear to me that I had to initiate a filter process here, too. The software that I was using at the time to scan shares did not possess such a function. For me, the logical consequence was to build up a database. Subsequently, I familiarized myself with this topic, too. Using an access database, I requested available information for US values. From this, I then put together my preferred calculations. As the end result, I had a very manageable list of shares to which I could apply the technical analysis according to my own specifications. Now I just had to create a list for this software and import this. For me, this was a minor revolution. Because this cooperation between the database and chart tool filter saved me a lot of time in the pure selection process. However, for me back then, these were workarounds more than anything. I worked on being able to obtain my fundamental and technical trading signals all from just one tool. This would save me a great deal more time, since afterwards, I only had to record the orders on my trading platform.

As luck would have it, during this development process, I heard about AgenaTrader through a friend. He explained to me that this software could do a lot of what it took me a huge effort to carry out. And so I spent some time getting to know AgenaTrader. Quite frankly, in the beginning I was not sure whether the price for this acquisition was justified. However, a thorough test convinced me of this. I had learned early on from others areas of my life that professional tools may cost a lot of money. But they can also often simplify the work on a massive scale, and the improvement in the result is worlds apart. Once I had bought the license, I could cease my developmental work on the database and concentrate exclusively on filtering my own individual signals. I was even able to import the indicators I had developed in the previous platform with just a few clicks.

When it comes to the topic of fundamental data, I was and still am thrilled that I can put together a dynamic list with my fundamental criteria with very few steps, from which my technical signals can then be filtered. This is very quick, and for me it is highly effective. It saves a lot of time and ensures that I can focus on the really important things. I no longer have to manually take care of keeping the list up to date.

What also surprised me very positively was the fact that I can connect various data providers and brokers to AgenaTrader. This, too, greatly relieves my workload as a trader. No longer do I have to deal with all of the different trading platforms. I can simply register my orders in my favorite software and I’m all set. The issue of further development and expansion of AgenaTrader is going in a good direction, in my opinion. Even if there are differing opinions from time to time in the support forum. More and more contents are being built in that make my work easier. For example, since a recent development, I can create synthetic orders that do not appear in the order book. This is a fantastic advantage particularly in markets with slightly lower liquidity. Or: the “dates calendar”, available starting with version 1.8, will once more get rid of a little extra work. I currently scan the upcoming dates every day and note down the most important in my calendar with an alert function. With the new additional tool in AgenaTrader, this is once again taken care of with just a few clicks. When it comes to the “trading journal”, the software also does an excellent job of supporting me. Each trade is documented as an image file in an optically clean way. This enables me to later make sense of which chart situations caused me to carry out which trades. I can check exactly how well something worked according to my trading plan and, if necessary, I can make the according changes to my actions.

All in all, AgenaTrader is precisely the solution that I need for my work as an exchange trader, no matter which timeframe I am active in. I use it daily with great enthusiasm.