History

TradeStation was founded by Cuban-born brothers William (Bill) and Rafael (Ralph) Cruz, who sought to create a way to design, test, optimize, and automate their own custom trading strategies. Bill started studying trading at the age of 16, and two years later, the brothers pooled $2,400 to open a futures trading account. They gathered trading data to create charts, which were used to test trading ideas. Bill began to test strategies himself without the benefit of formal coding knowledge, a process that resulted in the development of EasyLanguage®, the company’s proprietary coding language for non-specialists.

Bill and Ralph decided to start their own company, then known as Omega Research. The brothers focused on selling tools that would give clients without a technical or computer programming background the ability to program and test their own trading strategies. In 1987, they released System Writer, a software product that enabled users to develop and “back-test” their own trading ideas using historical market data. In 1989, System Writer Plus was released with new and innovative charting features, which the publication Commodity Trader Consumer Reports likened to “the system trading software equivalent of putting a man on the moon.”[5]

In 1991, Omega Research released TradeStation and, three years later, struck a licensing deal with Dow Jones Telerate to offer TradeStation as a premium service to Telerate’s institutional clients worldwide. In 1997, Omega Research conducted an IPO and became listed on the Nasdaq National Market. The company launched an online version of its product in 1999. In 2001, the company converted itself from a trading software company to an online securities brokerage, and renamed itself “TradeStation.” The software’s back-testing, order-generation and trade execution capabilities were fully integrated for both securities and futures markets in 2003, and forex was added soon thereafter. In 2004 and 2005, TradeStation became a self-clearing equities and options firm. An entire industry eventually grew up around TradeStation’s software, including seminars, publications, and user networks.[6]

1982 - Company is formed under the name Omega Research, Inc.
1989 - System Writer, a trading strategy software application, is launched.
1991 - TradeStation, the company's flagship product, is launched.
1992 - SuperCharts, a charting and analytics software application, is launched.
1994 - Telerate agrees to offer TradeStation as a premium service to its institutional customers worldwide and launches the service in 1996.
1996 - OptionStation, an options trading analytics product that enables traders to explore complex options trading strategies, is launched.
1997 - The company launches an initial public offering (IPO) and is listed on the Nasdaq National Market.
1999 - RadarScreen®, a software application that enables traders to scan hundreds of symbols to identify buy and sell opportunities based on the user’s custom criteria, is launched; the company also acquires Window On WallStreet and in 2000 launches WindowOnWallStreet.com, the company's first Internet-based charting and analytics service.
2000 - TradeStation 6, the Internet-based trading platform that serves as the foundation of the company's direct-access brokerage service, is launched; the also company acquires a direct-access securities brokerage, Onlinetrading.com, which is subsequently renamed TradeStation Securities, Inc.
2001 - TradeStation Group replaces Omega Research as publicly-traded Nasdaq company as parent of two operating subsidiaries – TradeStation Securities, Inc. (formerly onlinetrading.com) and TradeStation Technologies, Inc. (formerly Omega Research); trading symbol on Nasdaq is changed from OMGA to TRAD; launches TradeStation 6 for institutional and active traders, which for the first time combines custom strategy design and testing, automated trading, and direct-access execution of stock trades.
2003 - Company launches TradeStation 7, which includes execution of futures trades; TradeStation Securities launches forex analytics and execution services.
2004 - Company commences self-clearing of equities markets, and launches TradeStation 8, which includes execution of options trades.
2005 - TCompany commences self-clearing of options markets.
2006 - TradeStation Europe Limited receives approval from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an introducing broker.
2007 - Fundamental data is incorporated in the software’s historical database for strategy testing. Integrated forex execution is launched.
2009 - Launch of TradeStation Prime Services, a division of TradeStation Securities based in New York, offering prime brokerage services for small to mid-sized buy-side institutional firms, including hedge funds.
2010 - The company launches TradeStation 9.0 and Eurex execution.
2011 - TradeStation Group is acquired by Japan's Monex Group;[7] newly formed subsidiary, TradeStation Forex, Inc. (later renamed IBFX, Inc.), becomes self-clearing retail foreign exchange dealer;[8] TradeStation Securities is ranked “Best Online Broker” by Barron’s for third time.[9]
2012 - TradeStation releases online web app for trading U.S. equities by Japanese customers; is named “Best” in six categories in Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities Readers’ Choice Awards; earns the highest overall ranking – 4 ½ stars – in Barron’s annual review of online brokers.[10]
2013 - TradeStation is ranked a “Top Five” Online Broker by Investor’s Business Daily for the second year in a row;[11] is rated “Best for Frequent Traders” for a third consecutive year by Barron’s;[12] and is rated Best Trading System - Stocks and Best Trading System - Futures for the 9th year in a row by Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine.[13]
2014 - TradeStation enters the Korean and Chinese markets through license arrangements with Shinhan Investment Corp. (Korea)[14] and Guosen Securities Company Limited (China);[15] is rated Best Trading System - Stocks and Best Trading System - Futures for 10th year in a row by Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine;[16] launches new online TradeStation TradingApp® Store, featuring hundreds of custom products offered by third parties which reside on the TradeStation platform.[17]
2015 - TradeStation is ranked “Best for Frequent Traders” and “Best for International Traders” by Barron’s,[18] a “Top Five” Online Broker and #1 for Equity Trading Tools by Investor’s Business Daily,[19] and is rated Best Trading System - Stocks and Best Trading System - Futures for the 11th consecutive year by Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine.[20]