Keeping up with the markets when you're on the move can be a hassle. If you rely on a particular charting-software package, it usually means you have to lug your laptop around with you. Even then, there's always a risk that your machine will pack up just at the wrong time, or that you part company with it in some exotic location.
Because TraderMade's Maverick package is remotely hosted and browser-based, rather than stored on your machine, you never have to worry about having your laptop with you. You can access it from pretty much any computer with a decent internet connection and the latest version of Java. All the prices and all of your individual chart settings are stored on TraderMade's server. So, you see your own customised screen and settings from whichever machine you log on.
As well as being extremely convenient, Maverick's charting capabilities are among the best around. First of all, the prices you see displayed on screen are very trustworthy. With some charting packages, errors in the source data lead to awkward spikes and other distortions on the charts. But TraderMade clearly goes to some lengths to ensure that its data is as clean and accurate as possible.
The mark of a truly great charting package is that it can do complex stuff while being very simple to use. Maverick passes this test with flying colours. Everything seemed completely intuitive right from the outset. I had no trouble at all finding my way around and doing what I wanted to do. The layout is neat and accessible. The icons are well-drawn and generously sized, so it's obvious at a glance what they do.
A nice example of Maverick's niftiness is the way moving averages are plotted. By keeping your mouse clicked, you can automatically adjust the number of days used for moving averages, with the resulting changes in the line appearing live on the screen as you do so. This straightforward short-cut saves a huge amount of the laborious trial-and-error required when seeking the best-fitting moving averages with other packages.
As to more advanced features, Maverick offers a very slick alerts facility, whereby the user marks out important levels on the chart and the system then flashes up messages when these levels are reached. Users can also build their own indices within the package, which are then updated and displayed on screen in real-time. This would be a really worthwhile feature for the high-level individual trader or hedge-fund manager.
Overall, it's hard to find much wrong with Maverick. One small drawback is that, at present, it does not offer point-and-figure charting. However, TraderMade says that it is planning to add this function in due course.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, the cost of Maverick is certainly geared towards the high-end users like professional traders and wealthy individuals. A monthly subscription is £300 before VAT, although there are discounts when several months are paid in advance. This price includes a live foreign exchange feed, as well as several indices live or on a short-delay. Further feeds are available at additional cost.
Still, TraderMade does offer packages for traders of more modest means. TraderMadeWeb - for example - is another internet-based system, albeit with fewer features than Maverick. It costs around £100 a month before VAT, which gets you a number of live data-feeds.
