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I’m a huge fan of Worden’s charting software, and I’ve been a user of it for 8 years. During that time, Worden’s product line has expanded and they’ve continually improved the product I started out with, TeleChart. I’ve tried products from other vendors and just haven’t found them to be any easier to use, more affordable, or better than what Worden offers. Worden strives to improve their software and service at all times, which is something I can definitely relate to! Worden also has something on the way which has the ability to do just about anything you’d ever want it to do - I know because I’ve been using it for several months. Needless to say, I’m not going anywhere!

So let’s take a look at some of the features of Worden’s charting program.

Worden’s basic charting package is called TeleChart 2005 or TeleChart Gold. It is $29/month and offers 20-minute delayed data, which is ideal for the end-of-day user or those who are swing trading based on daily charts. It comes with a host of canned features, such as:

- Entire stock market on your PC. You will literally have the entire market on your PC, with the ability to see every stock traded on the major US exchanges (bulletin board stocks or penny stocks not included). Every index is included too.
- Sectors. Seeing a stock on the move leaves traders like me looking for others in the same group which will move in sympathy. TeleChart allows you to see what sector a stock is in and then view all other stocks in the same industry or sub-industry.
- Component Watchlists. Ever wonder if a certain stock is in the Dow or S&P or NAZ 100? TeleChart keeps a current list of all stocks in these major indexes as well as many others, so the next time you’re wondering if that small-cap favorite is in the Russell 1000 Index, you’ll quickly be able to find out.
- Sorting. TeleChart allows you to sort by almost any criteria you can think of, right ‘out of the box.’ This is such a valuable feature, and the ability to sort a huge list of stocks with the click of a mouse is a tremendous time-saver. Among the limitless sorts are Volume, Beta, Capitalization, Float, Symbol, etc. The list goes on and on and you can even create your own.

TeleChart offers a host of charting possibilities as well:
Chart Templates. You can have unlimited chart templates, which are kind of like pages of charts which each have their own properties. Say you look at moving averages for trending stocks but you don’t want to see them otherwise – you could set up a chart template and with the push of one button instantly have those moving averages displayed. Maybe you sometimes look at candlesticks and other times you look at bar charts. Set up a different template and you can have them both anytime you want them.

Chart Customization. You can set up your charts to look however you want them. Make the bars or background whatever color you want. Add or remove gridlines. Add indicators (and custom indicators) to the chart window or down below, colored however you want them. Resize the charting area or indicator panes, or put indicators in panes above the prices.

Indicators. TeleChart comes pre-installed with just about any indicator you can think of. Whether you want moving averages, stochastics, Bollinger Bands, or almost anything else, it’s right there waiting for you to use it. You can even create and use your own.

EasyScans. EasyScans are appropriately named, as they’re a cinch to set up and they allow you to scan the entire market instantly for whatever you want. Let’s say you want to create a new watch list looking for all Nasdaq stocks which are above $5.00 but below $25.00 and have an average daily volume of 100,000 shares or greater. An EasyScan will let you do that and it will take you just a couple of clicks and you’ll have that list in seconds. Even better, once you have the list, you’ll be able to sort it by whatever criteria you want. It’s really amazing.

PCF’s. Personal Criteria Formula’s (PCF’s) are formulas which you write that add a new sort and scan criterion to the program. This is an advanced feature but a formula wizard can walk you through creating PCF’s. An example PCF would be if you wanted to be able to sort your stocks by something like “Price Percent Change last 50 Days.” This advanced feature has unlimited possibilities, which makes it a valuable function to many users.

TCNet. TCNet is the real-time version of TeleChart, also called TeleChart Platinum. TCNet is $99/month and provides real-time streaming charts, news, and live chat with other TCNet users. TCNet also offers alerts, which are an excellent feature if your trading platform doesn’t offer them. The alerts can be set for stocks you’re monitoring, and it can notify you via pop-up, email, or pager. The alerts are real-time, which is great in a fast-moving market compared to other providers of free alerts which are on a 20-minute delay.

Whether you go with Gold or Platinum, you’ll have the exact same charting program with either one, the main difference is real-time vs. delayed data. If your trading platform has a real-time data feed and you do your intraday charting with it, then the delayed TeleChart Gold should serve you well. However, if you want to be able to do all of your charting in one place and you want the alerts, news (including Briefing.com’s InPlay), live chat, and the ability to share your charts with other users, then TeleChart Platinum or TCNet is the one for you. It’s an amazing product and I won’t trade without it – I haven’t for 8 years now.

Take a free 30-day trial of TeleChart and check out what all it has to offer. I’m betting you won’t find anything that offers you an easy way to perform so many functions, especially at the price.

(By the way, Worden has a ton of help/tutorial videos on their site which will walk you through how to do virtually anything. Once you’re there, click the “Training” link at the top of the page.)

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
www.TheStockBandit.com

Technorati Tags: Trading Software, Stock Trading, Stock Market, Stock Chart

Once your trading account grows from a small seedling into a giant tree, just remember to buy some bigger clothes when you’re fat and happy. This guy forgot to.

In Part 1, we discussed some general ideas about how to grow your trading account. Here in Part 2, let’s check out the impact of this concept.

Jack and Jill are two hypothetical traders with different personal motives which lead to different plans for their trading profits. Keep in mind that both Jack and Jill have the same trading strategy.

Jack is a part-time trader looking to pull some money out of the market each year to supplement his income and help pay for his boat. Hypothetically, the same trading results will cap his earnings going forward, although it allows him some additional income each year. Every year, though, Jack’s account resembles these figures:
Jack: $100,000 trading account, withdrawing profits annually:
Beginning: $100,000.00
Profits: $20,000.00 (20% return)
Withdraw: $20,000.00
Ending: $100,000.00

Jill is a full-time trader who is performing the same as Jack each year, making 20%. Her husband works and they live off his income, which allows Jill to leave her trading account and subsequent profits intact. Jill begins to make more and more money every year with the same 20% performance. Look at the rapid growth Jill enjoys in her account:
Jill: $100,000 trading account, leaving profits intact:
Year 1 Beginning: $100,000.00
Profits: $20,000.00 (20% return)
Withdraw: $0.00
Ending: $120,000.00

Year 2 Beginning: $120,000.00
Profits: $24,000.00 (20% return)
Withdraw: $0.00
Ending: $144,000.00

Year 3 Beginning: $144,000.00
Profits: $28,800.00 (20% return)
Withdraw: $0.00
Ending: $172,800.00

Year 4 Beginning: $172,800.00
Profits: $34,560.00 (20% return)
Withdraw: $0.00
Ending: $207,360.00

WOW! Jill more than doubled her trading account in 4 years, whereas it will take Jack 5 years to double his initial stake. For Year 5, Jill would only need to make 9.7% to match Jack’s profit of $20,000! Or, she could match his 20% performance and more than double his profits for the year.

We all know the amazing results of compounding money, but hopefully this example of two hypothetical traders will get you thinking about what to do with your trading profits. If the freedom to access your trading profits each year is something you need, then regular withdrawals are for you. However, if you’ve got the savings put aside or an additional income to get you by, leaving your profits in your trading account even for a few years can do wonders for your trading results, even if your methodology never improves!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
www.TheStockBandit.com

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Technorati Tags: Trading Strategy, Stock Trading, Trading Account, Trading Profits

You and I may have different trading strategies and styles, but our goal is the same: extract profits from the market. I love trading, and I hope to continue doing it one way or another for many years to come, no matter how large I can grow my account.

During George Costanza’s brief career as a hand model, he provided this image of a beginning trader’s limited account.

Account sizes vary from trader to trader, and not just due to different financial situations. Some traders sweep excess funds at the end of the month out of their trading account, while others leave the majority of their money in their trading account feeling like it’s the best place for it.

Better trading means a bigger account, right?

Isn’t a growing account the result of making profitable trades? Well, yes and no. It is not necessarily the same as just making money trading. After all, you can be a profitable trader and as long as you are withdrawing the profits from your account it won’t get any fatter! Growing your account is the result of profitable trades, yes, but also results from a decision on your part to commit to leaving those profits alone.

Why trade a larger account?

Trading a larger account has numerous benefits if you’re a disciplined trader:

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