Think of the calm before the storm.

Think of the change that suddenly makes the way things were previously done seem quaint – like a rotary phone or a phone booth.

Here comes something we know will have a similar effect on financial market participation.

Let me put it into historical context: A tale of two markets. 

My career in trading started in 1994 after graduating from The University of Texas in Austin. E*TRADE was a private company. A small group of savvy retail investors were already taking advantage of technology in the market in a way that would make most traders today very jealous. It was the time of the SOES Bandits. Mind you they were called SOES Bandits by the market makers who did not like other people taking their easy money. SOES Bandits were the pioneers of day trading. These small offices were set up because at that time it was the only place you could have fast T3 Internet and direct connections to the NASDAQ Work Stations.

Here’s what Market Makers disliked: The instant access to market liquidity gave SOES Bandits the ability to beat Market Makers at their own game. You pressed a button and instantly had stock – instantly at the front of the line, ahead of the majority of others who still used phones to place their trades!

Using Level 2 data SOES Bandits could determine which of the big firms were in line to buy or sell – an effective tool at the time that determined once Bandits where at the front of the line, which direction to trade.

The days of the SOES Bandits are long gone. Today we find a market with virtually zero technical advantages for the individual investor.

That is until now . . .

Trade Ideas’ recent development focuses on the creation of a completely new way for participants to understand the market moments before they make a trade. The tool is code named “Barreleye” and if you want to understand why just google the term 🙂

Order entry will completely be transformed! No more phone booths!

Stay tuned.