With the advent of the Internet, the Forex market instantly became accessible not just to banks, brokers and financial agencies, but also to regular Joe’s. All you need for this business is a computer with an Internet connection, knowledge and the right Forex Software. But if you Google ‘Forex Software’ you will see a staggering amount of choices, so choosing the best one for you is not a simple task. Research and finding a mentor are your best options. This article briefly outlines what Forex Software is, and what features you should look for. A list of free forex software is also available at the bottom

Forex trading software helps investors make quick decisions in an ever changing market. Long gone are the days of reading newspapers or magazines in an attempt to make the right forecast. Today’s decisions must be made in matter of seconds, so every investor must have the most current information and ability to make trades quickly. This is exactly what FX software should do for you.

To find the right forex software: get a recommendation from a friend or mentor who knows the ins and outs of the game.
Another option is to go online and read the reviews of the various different FX applications available. Take advantage of a free trial so you can demo it in a real live test market or under real conditions but with virtual money. This will allow you to test your knowledge and fortitude. FX is not for the feint at heart. Spend some time testing the features.

Forex Software is usually web-based or client-based. HTML or Java with my preference being the Java edition. Sometimes you maybe required to download Java but most time you will not be required to install anything on your computer. Login on any PC anywhere in the world and you are off. Client-based applications must be installed resident on your personal computer. Some argue trading the FX is more efficient with client based FX Software versus web-based versions.

All of the following useful trading software programs are available free of charge.

SHIVA - SHIVA is an advanced, extremely high performance trading system development program.

The PORT-F program reads the trade profit/loss or daily equity files from a trading system analysis program like Tradestation, SuperCharts or MarketMaker and combines the results across a number of different markets or trading models into a single easily analyzed portfolio report.

Carlo - Monte Carlo simulator predicts drawdown probabilities, ending equity, many other performance and risk parameters, using actual trades of a trading system or portfolio of systems. Works with all technical analysis programs.

Pattern Master - State-of-the-art price pattern analyzer tests entire families of patterns simultaneously and produces a simple table of results. Accomplishs in minutes what would take days with any other technical analysis program.

Optioneer - The only option analysis software which simulates the trading of any futures option strategy over many years, locating optimal systems. Derives option prices from underlying futures price histories using advanced algorithms.

Update - is the proprietary data distribution program for updating daily foreign exchange rates. This allows for simple databank maintenance and updating.

Perf - is an add-on utility program for PORT-F. Perf creates monthly composite performance tables, which allow users to analyze single trading system or multiple system portfolios results on a monthly and yearly basis for efficient and effective decision making.

Eqtyplot - produces a drawdown spectrum the same as the one, MarketMaker produces, except that it is calculated on an entire portfolio.

Spotlyze - is a statistical analysis/error checking program. Statistics created by Spotlyze are yearly OHLC, yearly percentage range, yearly high excursion, yearly low excursion and average volatility. Spotlyze allows for quick analysis of large amounts of data and outputs the results into an easily usable format.

Lines - will extract the last summary results line it finds in each optimizaton or rolling optimization’s .SUM file to MASTER.OUT. This enables user to analyze large amounts of optimization results and sort these results automatically.

Eqlyze - produces an output report to analyze the consistency of trading models. The equity changes can be broken down by year, month or periods of specified days. Eqlyze.exe also calculates equity drawdowns in each period and computes averages, standard deviations, and both Sharpe Ratio and K-ratio on the equity curve.