Account Delay Tradovate/APEX

Traders Helping Traders
1

Hello traders,

I usually trade via APEX with NinjaTrader, but since I scalp and often use tight stops and take profits in combination with multiple partial positions, NinjaTrader is unable to completely avoid crashes with counter orders in the APEX connection (since OCOs of ATM strategies are held locally instead of on the server side). This involves spikes, which in such cases convert stop orders into opposite positions faster than the local OCO can prevent. And with long momentum, this then results in deep losses with multiple short orders. The trade is ruined – and the result is a heavy loss.

That’s why I’m currently testing Tradovate as a trading platform. The app should be faster, but yesterday, at unspectacular times, I experienced a price freeze – while the web platform continued to function. That’s why I prefer trading with Google Chrome – even though that would normally be my last choice for trading with a browser.

The executions are taking longer than expected. After checking the DOM using “AutoHotkey Windoes Spy,” I am relatively certain that Tradovate’s demo account has a 500 ms delay. The measured values are consistently around 510 to 515 ms (with only minimal fluctuations of a few ms), which is far too narrow to be natural.

Now my question: is this 500 ms = 0.5 seconds normal for a demo account? Would this be irrelevant for a live account with Tradovate? What about the APEX evaluation and the PA account: do these also run in simulation mode, i.e. with a delay? If so, can we turn this off (or have it turned off)?

I haven’t done a test using APEX yet, as I don’t currently have an active account. I would like to clarify these questions.

Side note: I’ve been told that Rithmic operates with local OCO connections. Therefore, this competitor would not be an alternative for me.

Best regards,
Rainbowtrader

2

Aloha there @rainbowtrader, welcome. I trade APEX accounts and have not experienced the delays you’re talking about. I would try using an “Incognito” mode so all your Chrome extensions get disabled to see if something might be interfering with your connection, or try Edge temporarily to see if it is any better.

The connection to the Tradovate system is over a websocket which is a direct connection with the least lag possible when placing your orders, so it should be near instant - so it’s also possible your tool is not measuring the actual order placement times. Happy to troubleshoot further if you shoot me a DM (click my name and then “Message”).