Interactive Brokers

[Faurholdt]

Hello,

Is it possible to trade the Index CFD's Interactive Brokers through Ninjatrader with the API? I see some products offered by Interactive Brokers are not supported. I have already contacted Interactive Brokers about this, and they said if NinjaTrader does not have any limitations added, it should not be a problem to trade Index CFD's. Therefore, I would like to know if NinjaTrader has any limitations regarding these Index CFD's? (chart trading, position management, PnL, replay etc.)

I would specifically like to trade the S&P500 (symbol at IB is IBUS500)

Thank you,
Andreas Faurholdt

[QuantKey_Bruce]

Have you tried using the NinjaTrader symbol SPX500? That is the S&P 500 Index CFD and the mapping is to Interactive Brokers IBUS500||||USD.

[NinjaTrader_RyanS]

Hello,

You can trade CFD's via your Interactive Brokers connection, though some may require additional setup or even creation within the instrument database. If you are attempting to load a CFD that is not within the native NinjaTrader Instrument database it will need to be added as a custom instrument. When adding as a custom instrument it is possible to encounter symbol mapping issues that prevent the instrument from loading, which may simply mean that particular instrument is incompatible for use within NinjaTrader.

With that said you should be able to load any native CFD instrument using this connection, given your account is enabled for live (not delayed) data and enabled for trading.

[jeronymite]

NinjaTrader_RyanS As noted here, supported brokers should always have up-to-date symbol maps in NinjaTrader. That's really part of what "supported" should mean.

Thanks.

[QuantKey_Bruce]

You should consider that IB connects to 26 major exchanges around the world, with access to many hundreds of thousands of securities, and there are ECNs in the hundreds each of which supports different things. The number of changes to the symbol list per day would be in excess of a hundred, and possibly much in excess of a hundred.

NinjaTraders' inbuilt symbol list should support the most commonly traded symbols, and tor the symbols it does include, the map should be accurate on a best efforts basis. But, there will always be cases where symbols have to be added because they're not the most commonly traded symbols.

[jeronymite]

QuantKey_Bruce I agree. The issue is that the currently listed symbols are not "supported" with appropriate mappings. Yes, that is a "not insignificant" number of Instruments, but when an Instrument is added, it should have all the definitions filled in.

Of course, updating existing Instruments is an exercise, but once done, it's just maintenance. It may even be possible to automate the maintenance, and that could be used to update existing and new Instruments and keep them in sync. It would be a very sensible approach.

It is possible to update Instruments individually if one so desires, but all those "user updates" are lost if one refreshes the list in Database Management. This is not the Remove user-defined Instruments option -- that is about an entirely new Instrument. This is about changes to NinjaTrader-defined Instruments. Those changes disappear on an update, making it a choice between having what you really want and staying up-to-date with what is distributed. Not as simple a choice as it may appear.

Thanks.

[Faurholdt]

Thank you all for your replies.

If I just want to use NinjaTrader for charting (not trading) and have the live data feed from Interactive Brokers, will I have to purchase the lifetime license or the monthly subscription? Or can I use the free version? NinjaTrader_RyanS

[NinjaTrader_RyanS]

Hello,

You would need to either subscribe to the monthly or lifetime account plan to trade an Interactive Brokers account (or any 3rd party account).

[Faurholdt]

NinjaTrader_RyanS
I am aware I need it if I want to trade. If I only want to use NinjaTrader for charting (not trading) and have data feed from IBKR, will I still have to purchase NinjaTrader?

[NinjaTrader_RyanS]

Hello,

You can enable 'multi provider' mode to simply connect to an IB data feed and trade in simulation. Below is a guide to enabling multi provider mode, as well as our connection guide to Interactive Brokers:

https://support.ninjatrader.com/s/article/How-To-Enable-Multi-Provider-on-NinjaTrader-Desktop

https://support.ninjatrader.com/s/article/Connecting-to-Your-Interactive-Brokers-Account