In the new world of trading the modern trader is more likely to follow markets on an iPad than tied to a desk manually charting each market tick by tick. With more markets to follow busy traders dealing with clients, responding to e-mails and performing numerous tasks throughout the day need help. Information is at our fingertips but the quantity and breadth of that information creates its own problems.
We decided to ask our experts what apps they found most helpful in managing their trading in today's not stop information age.
Here is what they had to say.
Carl Larry @oiloutlooks
I have the regular Bloomberg app, CNBC and Thomson Reuters. I also use TMZ. The way I see it, the only thing I can do is keep up with what is going on in the world. It may be oil, economics or the Kardashians, but in a pinch I always have a good story to tell.
Carl Larry is the president of Oil Outlooks and Opinions LLC. He provides daily oil market guesstimates with a dose of pop culture.
John Caiazzo @jlc7111
John Caiazzo has over 40 years of experience at brokerage firms across the United States. He provides the end of week market wrap-up.
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Dan Gramza
I have a number of accounts with different brokers. The indispensable apps that I use are provided by these different brokers. I primarily look for simple to use and easily accessible information sources. I also use news apps from Bloomberg, Thompson Reuters and financial times. I find that this combination keeps me informed.
A wonderful thing about all the various apps is that they can provide so much information and the bad thing about all the various apps is that you can get information overload. I’ve seen this happen where users try to gather too much information because they feel that more information must be better.
Oftentimes a false sense of security is created by gathering as many apps as possible regarding the markets. The bottom line is that they often lose sight of what they need to guide their decision process. This can also lead to the user feeling overwhelmed and frozen in indecision. When it comes to apps, more is not necessarily better.
It is very important for the user to identify information that directly contributes to their trade identification, execution and management. If it does not provide direct assistance in these areas do not use it.
Alan Rohrbach @MacroMeister
After years of frustrating challenges in updating data and charts from the road in the 1980s, most of the data vendors were able to take advantage of increased internet effectiveness by the mid-1990s. That meant projections and indicators remaining resident on the laptop computer, yet drawing down data from their major online databases.
The bigger challenges now are all about quotes and news when away from the laptop, or in a situation where a solid wi-fi signal is not available. My S4 Android has been very useful in that regard. Relatively current price quotes and some news are available from the CNBC mobile app, my broker and others.
The handheld is also very useful for communicating with clients when any sort of wi-fi is available for Skype video calls or sending over files which clients might have missed earlier. While full market analysis and advisory content creation still requires the trusty laptop, late generation smart phones are a real plus.
Lead Analyst and President of Rohr International, Inc. Alan Rohrbach is an international equity index, interest rate and foreign exchange trend advisor. His forte is ‘macro-technical’ analysis of how fundamental influences blend with technical aspects to drive trend psychology. Clients include international banks, hedge funds, other portfolio managers and individual traders.
Julian Yosovitch @julianyosovitch
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The world is awash in geopolitical risk. What countries/crises should you be watching (as a driver in price) and why?