A notable update has been made to a well-known trading platform, providing enhanced functionality specifically for futures traders through improved Paper Trading features.
Previously, the Paper Trading function allowed users to perform basic actions like opening and closing futures trades, which posed limitations for those looking to develop and test in-depth, long-term trading strategies. The recent upgrade permits users to simulate a futures contract’s complete lifecycle, from execution and expiration to accounting for associated fees and changes in account balance. This development results in a more effective and realistic testing environment.
In this enhanced system, expiring futures are now settled at the final settlement price. This new feature delivers clearer insights into realized profits and losses, aiding traders in assessing their strategies’ effectiveness under conditions that closely resemble real market scenarios.
As part of the update, expired positions will now be closed automatically, and any active orders tied to those expired contracts will be canceled. This streamlines the process by reducing the need for manual adjustments, allowing accounts to represent only active positions. Consequently, this fosters a smoother simulation experience that’s less prone to user errors.
Comprehensive execution details are now logged in both the Account History and Trading Journal, ensuring transparency regarding trading performance. This allows for meticulous analysis of each trade, enabling the identification of patterns, improvement of trading discipline, and refinement of strategies.
A new feature introduced into the trading panel includes an Expiration date column for both positions and orders. This enhancement improves visibility into contract expirations, allowing for better risk management and minimizing unexpected surprises as contracts near maturity.
In this new framework, all futures contracts are treated as cash-settled, regardless of their actual classification. This means they are closed based on the cash difference between the entry price and the settlement price, which provides users the flexibility to test strategies without any constraints.
The new enhanced features are automatically activated for both new and existing Paper Trading accounts and are applicable to all expiring futures contracts. However, it is important to note that these updates do not extend to perpetual or continuous futures.
Overall, this significant enhancement aims to empower traders with a more comprehensive set of tools for backtesting their futures strategies, leading to improved decision-making and outcomes in their trading practices.