Learn in minutes not months
Frequently Asked Questions
Paper-Trader is purpose built to help people gain knowledge and experience in the Stock Market without risking real money.
And because it mimics the real market you can practice in minutes what would normally take months. Paper-Trader's Time Travel capability means that you can practice a complete trade, from start to finish, with the click of a button.
Use Paper-Trader to practice "what if" scenarios, revise real trades to see how you could have done better, practice two approaches simultaneously or even pit yourself against someone else.
Here are some of the common questions we're asked...
Where does the stock data come from?
I already subscribe to a data service, can I use this?
What stock exchanges does Paper-Trader support?
How does Paper-Trader get Option data?
Can I use Paper-Trader to place real trades?
Can I use Paper-Trader to store and re-run my real trades?
How does the Scan function work?
What strategies does it come with?
What technical indicators does Paper-Trader have?
What are the system requirements?
Where does the stock data come from?
Paper-Trader is pre-programmed to use Yahoo Finance free data service. This provide end of day stock data for the stock exchange modules. ASX Yahoo Finance data can sometimes be quite late and so we have included a second pre-programmed data service that is much faster and is also currently free.
To change to this service go to Trade -> Exchange Settings and select the Stock Data Tab. Then change the "Stock data source".
I already subscribe to a data service, can I use this?
Each exchange can be programmed with its own custom data feed. Most CSV data services are compatible. Paper-Trader does not come standard with Metastock so if you require this please contact us and we can let you know when this will be available.
What stock exchanges does Paper-Trader support?
Paper-Trader currently includes the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ and ASX. We are working on adding the FTSE. If you require another exchange please let us know.
How does Paper-Trader get Option data?
Paper-Trader automatically calculates option fair values and, in the absence of an option data feed, uses this for trading. This provides a good approximation of the real option prices and is perfect for practicing short or medium term trading strategies. Particularly so because it's free.
If you require real option prices then you'll need to subscribe to an options data service which will feed into Paper-Trader. This feature will be available shortly, let us know if you need this and we'll let you know when it's available.
Can I use Paper-Trader to place real trades?
No Paper-Trader is not a trading platform, its purpose is to give people the knowledge and experience to trade in the real world but without risking real money.
Whilst Paper-Trader uses real prices, and has a Broker Module that behaves just like a trading platform, it cannot be used to place real trades.
Can I use Paper-Trader to store and re-run my real trades?
Yes that's a very powerful way to get better at what you do. As you're re-running your trade you can actually take two or more different approaches to the same trade simultaneously.
How does the Scan function work?
All the pre-programmed strategies and any that you've built with the Strategy Builder are available for the Scan function. You simply select the watchlist you want to scan, then the strategy to scan with and the criteria, if any.
Paper-Trader then will automatically apply the strategy to each stock in the watchlist and return the stocks that meet your criteria e.g. ROI greater than 10%, Breakeven -4%. If you don't enter any criteria Paper-Trader will return the ROI and Breakeven for all stocks in your watchlist.
Some Paper-Trader packages provide Intraday data for Historical Day Trading. This is extremely powerful to practice day trading strategies and test investment outcomes. Depending on the instrument this will be TICK data or MINUTE data which Paper-Trader uses to create the various candle sizes.
Day Trading requires subscription to the Intraday Data service. Please contact the Support Centre if you'd like information on this service... Support Center
An Intraday Data service for Live Day Trading is not yet available.
What strategies does it come with?
The pre-programmed strategies include Naked Call, Naked Put, Covered Call, Bull Credit Spread, Bear Credit Spread, Bull Debit Spread, Bear Debit Spread.
The Strategy Builder lets you create any strategy you like. These can comprise a maximum of eight legs i.e. two stock, two cfd and four option legs.
What technical indicators does Paper-Trader have?
Paper-Trader comes standard with SMA, EMA, MACD, RSI as well as OHLC, Candlestick and Closing chart prices.
We are shortly adding Stochastics and Bollinger Bands. This upgrade is provided free.
Upgrades and fixes are provided free for the current release of your Paper-Trader. Your release is indicated by the first digit of the version number e.g. v3.4 is Paper-Trader release 3.
Additionally, new major releases within three months of your purchase are also provided free.
What are the system requirements?
Minimum system requirements:
Pentium III 700MHz or higher processor
256MB RAM
1GB free disk space
Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution
video adapter and monitor
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 or Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Recommended system requirements:
Pentium IV 2GHz or higher processor
1GB RAM
1GB free disk space
XGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution video
adapter and monitor
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 or Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Note: Paper-Trader does not run on native Mac.
Can I run Paper-Trader on more than one machine?
Yes you can as long as it's for your own personal use. If you want to run your Paper-Trader on more than one machine, contact the Support Center.
Can I run Paper-Trader on Windows Vista?
Yes from v4.0 Paper-Trader is supported on Windows Vista.
I can do a dozen complete trades in an afternoon! This fantastic program has accelerated my learning exponentially
and has given me more confidence in the market. Thanks Richard!"