How TradingView is redefining the chart-analytics spaceIf you are a stock or options trader, you might not have taken the trade without analyzing the charts. Gone are those days when traders punch orders just by looking at the prices. All professional traders prefer to take the shot after viewing the chart and that too after analyzing multiple timeframes.
There is one player who has made a heck of a difference in this space, it's TradingView (TV). When I started trading in 2010, I used the broker’s chart platform - it was okay, but I did not know what was missing. Later I switched to a new gen broker and for a while, I was stuck with the ChartIQ platform which the broker provided free of cost.
I had heard TradingView’s name then, and also visited their website and compared the plans. I thought, who in their senses would opt for a paid plan of TV when the broker is providing it free of cost? I said to myself - I would never pay for it.
Back then I had 5 to 7 indicators on my chart - MACD, Bollinger bands, RSI, EMAs, ADX-DMI, SuperTrend to name a few and my chart was pretty complicated. Just like a handwritten prescription by the doctor, I could not even read what came out from my chart. And predictably the streak of loss-making trades continued. Time passed and maybe I got mature enough to realize that the indicators were not the issue, my interpretation was.
The first thing I did was to switch to the free plan of TV. Since it had a limitation of 3 indicators per plan - I had to narrow down my selection of indicators. I was left with 2 EMAs and 1 ADX-DMI that I could use with the free plan. And that restriction became a blessing, my charts were not crowded anymore & the price stood out loud and clear.
My loss-making days ended there and I possibly matured as a trader. I did not switch to TV’s paid plan then - because I had no special need for it. That restriction of 3 indicators was what worked for me, a blessing in disguise.
Early this year, I switched to one of their platinum brokers - Dhan . This was to get my webhooks experimentation going and it required me to upgrade to a paid plan of TV. Even though I was hesitant, I took that leap of faith and upgraded. Seems like that was the 2nd best decision that I took this year, after switching the broker.
Few additional things come to you when you take a paid plan. I got access to add more watchlists and segregate them by themes. One of my recently added watchlists contains more than 249 stocks which I analyze over the weekends. These companies are with Mcap less than 3000 crores and I secretly believe 10 of them could become multibaggers over the next decade. Weeding them out is a pain though.
There are 2 features TV provides even on their free plan.
Publish Idea
Minds
Publish Idea - This is where you share your chart, analysis, or idea with the public. You need not be a professional chartist to do it - you can start at an amateur level. As your work inspires others and helps them in their trading, you start gaining their respect. Few of them may even follow you and subscribe to your ideas.
You get to choose the directional bias too. If you are long on a scrip, you can mark the “long” green colored button on the last page. If you are bearish, you could select the “short” red button.
Minds - TV Minds is a new feature that they introduced, it is like a room where you post commentary while trading. Other traders who are watching the same chart as yours can view, and comment on your mind and it can get pretty interactive.
Once posted, it will appear on your public page under the “minds” navigation. I love both these features as they immediately notify your followers via email too. TV minds give the exact feeling of entering a trading room. You get to interact with the experts, take their opinions, and debate a bit.
I am not quite sure if these can be done via their mobile app, I use it on their desktop version. And it may take a while for real deep penetration as the majority of traders in India are on a mobile device.
What is the feature you liked about TradingView the most?
