Aspen Graphics

[TL Staff 10]

Aspen Graphics started up sone 27 years ago or so. I love their application - very powerful, better charts than CQG, and some nice tidbits. More affordable - so most of us can actually afford it too.

[Alpine_Analyst 10]

I have been using Aspen Graphics as my primary analysis platform for a little over three years now. Although there is no means of order execution or routing integrated into the platform itself, I seem to get by fine and dandy by using a third party OE platform side-by-side with Aspen.

 

One of the strongest points of this platform is the built in formula writer. Although I can't say that the language is as "intuitive" as the "Easy Language" found on some other platforms, Aspen's formula writer really provides an unrestricted whiteboard. I have invested a great deal of time writing formulas that will accomplish everything from identifying and labeling entry points on charts based on several study values, to creating my own studies from scratch. It takes a little time, but it sure works well. In regards to this same area, the other function I really enjoy about Aspen Graphics is the wide range of customizable parameters for the preexisting studies. There is almost never a field that cannot be modified to fit your demands.

 

At the present time I run Aspen Graphics on four monitors, it runs very smoothly on about three, but at times I do experience a minor slowdown when I am using all four - especially when running options contract volatility analysis and different strategy scenarios. With all four screens up and running it does lock up, and I have to exit out and reboot. This really is something that I ONLY see when I have all four going.

 

By far my favorite feature of this platform is their charts. They claim to have some of the best graphics around, and I would have to say that this is not a false claim. The default chart colors are a little bland for my personal tastes, but once again, easily customized to my liking. They are clear, clean, easy to read, quick to update, and totally customizable. I have not found a chart that I would rather work with on any other platform. Also, all of the indicators and overlays (even my own) can be added or removed from the chart itself so there is no need to go fumbling through endless menus or poorly designed buttons to find them.

 

Aspen's Market profile is very nice, and even has a basket function where it will automatically group sessions for you. Their "OptionAlysis" module is great for evaluating what-if scenarios, and their Quote pages are fantastic.

 

Overall I don't know how I could continue to do as well as I do in this industry without having access to Aspen. There are undoubtedly some quirks in the platform, but nothing so severe that it has resulted in lost profits or enough agitation that I seek out another charting platform. I would really like to see some integrated order execution in the future, but for the time being, and for only an Analysis platform, this really is the best one I've seen so far.