PRODUCTS/SERVICES USED BY FACTOR LLC
This is informational ONLY. Peter receives no compensation for listing services he uses in some aspects of his trading operations. Factor Members will need to contact each company with further questions about cost, packages, and other offerings.
Risk Disclosure: Futures and forex trading contain substantial risk and are not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading, and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANTS (FCMs)
ADMIS
- Markets: Global futures markets and forex
- Contact: Email Jolleen Oleson at jolleen@peterlbrandt.com if you’d like to be introduced by email to our contact at ADMIS.
- Peter’s comments: For futures and forex, I use ADMIS — it is backed by a multi-billion dollar firm, Archer Daniels Midland. Financial strength is important to me because I’ve been burned a couple of times by the default and bankruptcy of previous FCMs. I personally am not a fan of ADM’s order platform (OAK), so I enter orders directed to ADMIS on the Trade Navigator charting platform (orders flow via an API link from Trade Nav through CQG Trader to ADMIS ) or directly on CQG Trader (for a few markets not tradeable the on Trade Nav platform).
- Markets:S. stock, most U.S. futures, spot forex
- Peter’s comments: The TDA Think or Swim platform is very well constructed and managing order flow is quite easy to accomplish. Traders can view all U.S. equity, U.S. futures and spot FX trades on a unified platform against a single pot of capital. This is very convenient. I use TDA primarily for U.S. stocks, but periodically (for convenience), I might carry a futures or spot FX position with the firm. The bid/offer spreads in spot FX are loose, but not prohibitive for a swing or position trader. For example, the bid/offer spread for EUR/USD might be 1.3 pips on TDA, but only .5 pips through other dealers. Reports are very easy to access.
- Markets: Foreign stocks, global futures
- Peter’s comments: Interactive Brokers is a very good alternative for equities and futures, but I would NOT use IB for forex — their accounting and tax reporting and way of offsetting trades requires an investigative accounting firm. Repeat – never trade spot FX via IB.
Peter does not have a recommendation for any retail brokers for spot forex, select at your own risk. As a U.S. citizen, Peter has never traded CFDs. Peter does not trade options on any asset class.
CRYPTO EXCHANGES
- Peter’s comments: I am probably not the right person to recommend crypto exchanges and services. I have very limited knowledge of the industry. I have used itBit/Paxos, Coinbase/GDAX, and Binance for buying cryptos, primarily Bitcoin. I do not short cryptos and do not buy cryptos on leverage.
TRADING PLATFORMS
- Purpose: Charts and order entry
- Contact: 800-808-3282 or sales@tradenavigator.com
- TN offers a free trial. Mention Factor if you are pursuing a free trial.
- Peter’s comments: See ADMIS comments. Trade Navigator has excellent customer service. In combination with CQG Trader, orders can be sent to numerous FCMs and FX dealers with a “point-and-click” order template. Most of the charts Peter posts on Twitter and Factor Report are from the Trade Nav chart platform.
- Peter does not trade individual stocks through Trade Navigator. He uses Schwab for U.S. equities and Interactive Brokers for global equities using each firm’s respective order platforms.
Bloomberg
- Of course, Bloomberg is the #1 source globally. But also, very expensive to subscribe to Bloomberg unless you are part of a large trading group or receive Bloomberg with soft dollars. A fully-loaded Bloomberg service can run several thousand dollars per month.
- Purpose: Orders
- Peter’s comments: See ADMIS comments.
CHARTING SERVICES
- See above
- Peter’s comments: TradingView has become my “go-to” for prices and charts when I am away from the office. I do not use TradingView for order placement. Traders who know coding can have a field day on TradingView.
SERVICES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
- Watch Peter’s interview with Jack Schwager here; timestamp 49:11 begins details on FundSeeder.
- Peter’s comments: For traders who want to obtain important metrics on their performance, compare themselves to other traders, develop a documented track record and/or position themselves to become a money manager, FundSeeder.com is an awesome way to go.
- Peter’s comments: Real Vision is the brainchild of Raoul Pal and Grant Williams, both giants in the world of international finance and trading. I have been honored to be a part of RealVision. RealVision offers a variety of content through several delivery mechanisms. Keep your eyes open on the Real Vision website for periodic special offers.
- Peter Brandt is a featured analyst at Bitcoin Live, where he shares his detailed analysis of the Crypto market and in-depth coverage of the top market cap Crypto coins.
Tech Charts Research & Trading
- Peter’s comments: Aksel Kibar is a personal friend who does his technical analysis from Bulgaria. Aksel has spent time with me in Colorado Springs and is a member of a small private group of traders with which I am connected. I know of no other chartist whose view of classical charting is so closely aligned with mine. Aksel is a “MUST” follow if you trade global equity markets. You can find Aksel on Twitter @TechCharts and follow his blog postings on his website. Aksel started a subscription service in May 2017; I highly recommend joining.
- Peter’s comments: If you have an extremely well-financed trading account, I cannot recommend the research from Nautilus more highly. Nautilus focuses on a specialized field of research known as Analog Correlates. If I were not a classical chartist, I would focus on analog year comparisons. This is a highly rewarding source of market insight. Nautilus provides a wide range of research in addition to analog year correlations. Nautilus Capital periodically does some special research for members of the Factor community at my request. This research is posted on the Factor member’s private Twitter stream or included in published Factor papers.
- Peter’s comments: The universe of stocks for me to monitor is far too massive. I use the IBD50 as a screen for growth stocks breaking out of congestion zones into new high territory.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Here is a link to our Amazon Influencer Page with Peter’s recommendations
What is an Amazon Influencer Page? It’s a program that we were invited to because of our large following on Twitter. It’s a custom branded page within Amazon, where we can list all the products Peter recommends. As an Amazon Associate Peter earns a small percentage from qualifying purchases, but you are NOT charged anything extra. We hope this is a more convenient way for us to share Peter’s recommendations with you.
Revised May 2020
