Virtual Account Overview
Virtual Trading gives you the real trading experience without risking any money. It is a valuable “next step” learning tool – designed to mimic the trading experience as closely as possible.
Trades are executed during Market hours – 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time, however there is a 15 minute delay after Market open for orders to begin executing.
As with Live Accounts, there are limits on trades if there is not sufficient Buying Power in your Virtual Account. There can be expensive Spread/Margin Requirements to adhere to.
Virtual Accounts do have limitations that Live Accounts do not have:
Virtual Accounts are not subject or responsive to Corporate actions such as buyouts, name or symbol changes, stock/option splits and strike price adjustments to name some examples.
Virtual Accounts are “Auto-Journaled”. This automatically keeps record of all trades for later analysis and reconciling.
These practice accounts are identified by a yellow bar on the left side of the account window.
Virtual Accounts are powered by Choice Trade to provide the real trading experience.
Color Tag Trading Accounts
Select a unique color for each trading account on the Account Summary tab. Each trade in that account will display that color on the Journal trade tab entry.
Now it’s easier than ever to identify trades at a a glance.
Expand Trade Detail - Positions Tab
There are 3 ways to expand multi-leg trades in the Positions Tab.
Smart Icon – Click on the 
icon to the left of the stock symbol, select ‘Expand/Collapse’. Repeat to close.
Expand All – Click the button above the trade entries if you wish to expand all multi-leg trades. Once clicked, the button will change to Collapse All.
Double-Click – if you want to expand one trade or specific trades, simply ‘double-click’ on an open space of the trade entry line. Repeat to close.
Journal Account Multi-Selector
Reviewing your Journal Accounts is made easier by using the Multi-Select tool on the Journal Tab. Control your Journal Account Views by selecting from Live, Virtual, Manual accounts or Notes or any combination of these.
Use the “Toggle All” button to switch or toggle your selection. Example: If you have your virtual selected and not your real accounts, Toggle will switch to real account and unselect virtual account. This can be a great way to analyze your results and compare real and virtual.
You can further sort by Symbol, Tags, Notes or Date Range within an Account by using the following tabs in the Journal:
NOTE: Any filtering, including account selection, will refine your analytics results too. Want to find your results from a specific account. Select just that account and analytics will refect accordingly.
Position Download Ability
Downloading/exporting capability added to the Positions tab.
This feature is also available in the “Gains” tab.
This allows even greater flexibility with record-keeping from the Journal/Brokerage Account.
Reconcile Trade Notice
The Tags including the P/L Summary, Graph and new Insight tabs rely on updated Journal entries which includes reconciled trades.
The following notice appears in the Journal when trades needs to be reconciled:
All trades in the trading account(s) selected will display with the option to change back to Regular View:
Individual trades are reconciled by clicking on the “Reconcile” tab outlining the Journal Entry.
The Journal Tab will update showing the trade had a profit/loss or adjustment in the underlying.
Updating Journal Entries
Logging into your account will update Journal entries for up to the last two months. However, trades that expired will need to be Reconciled. If the system is unable to match trades, a Yellow ‘Close’ tab will result, requiring manual action to close.
Follow the steps as shown below to reconcile your trades.
Note: Step 2 is not required, however, if you are just learning to use the Journal and it’s features, sorting by Symbol, especially if you have multiple trades, simplifies the process.
Symbol Journal
This is more than just documenting trades
This Journal has benefits and features that allow you to truly customize a vital part of the trading process. Each trade allows you to: Make Notes, add Tags for organizational purposes as well as Color Tags you customize, Outlook icons further customize each trade entry.
Journal Tag Analytics
Want to know how effective your trading strategies and practices are? This is where you’ll get your answers
Get visual feedback broken down by strategies and analytical data including a Profit Graph, Average Gross P&L, the frequency of each strategy executed, % Win Ratio, Number of Days in a Trade.
Journal Analytics is a powerful tool to reinforce consistency in the practice of the trading process- from the overview, evaluation, research, execution and exiting. Journaling identifies what works, what needs more discipline, etc. Analytics provide this information in easy-to-read data.
Updating Journal Entries
Updating closed or adjusted trades in the Journal Tab is easy by the following steps:
1. Go to the Order Status Tab, change the default “Today” in the upper-right area of the tab for previously executed trades.
2. Click “Journal” for the trade you want to update.
3. You can add Notes, #tags, outlook to be included in the Journal. Click “Save”. (Note the Account Name where this trade will appear)
4. The trade is now updated in the Journal Tab. Expand the tab to see trade detail: Number of days in the trade, the profit (loss), order execution details, notes, tags, the Account Name containing the trade, etc.
The Analytics section will update using tags from these trades, further assisting in tracking progress in your trading.
