THE 8 VITAL QUESTIONS

YOU MUST ASK

BEFORE YOU PURCHASE
TECHNICAL-ANALYSIS
SOFTWARE
Fourth Edition

Brought to you by:

If you have a friend or colleague who would benefit from receiving this document
please feel welcome to pass along a copy!

Copyright © 2008 – All Rights Reserved

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Dear Trading Enthusiast,

Thank you for stopping by www.MetaStock.ca and requesting a FREE copy of our MetaStock “Buyer’s
Guide” that we call The 8 Vital Questions You Must Ask Before You Purchase Technical-Analysis
Software.

You are reading this guide for one of many reasons, which likely include the following:

• You are new to trading and want to start out on the right foot by using a well known charting
software tool.

• You have been trading for a while, but have had little or no success. You have decided to
seek out charting software tool that will help you make more profitable trades.

• You are a seasoned trader using another piece of software. For whatever reason you do not like
your current software and are looking for a change.

• You are tired of leaving your financial security in your broker’s hands and want (at the very
least) to track the trades they have made on your behalf.

• You are highly competitive and take pleasure in beating the Dow. You are looking for the
right charting software tool to give you the upper hand in determining your trades.

To help you achieve your goals (whatever they might be) consider asking yourself these 8 questions
when determining which version of MetaStock® is right for you:

MetaStock End-of-Day MetaStock Professional MetaStock Pro FX

1. What kind of trader are you?

2. What experience do you have with the markets?

3. What charting software features are important to you?

4. How complex do you need the charting software to be?

5. How important is software training to you?

6. What amount have you budgeted for to purchase the software?

7. Where will you get your market data feed?

8. Which plug-ins and add-ons should you be looking at buying?

>> We have also included an extensive resource list of related investing websites at the end of
this guide that will definitely help you become a better investor/trader! <<

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We have found that asking the right questions early on in the process will save you a lot of time and effort
down the road by ensuring that you choose the right software in the first place.

Quick Tip: You can upgrade MetaStock at a later date if you decide to move from one
version to another without any worries. So don’t be afraid to try the MetaStock End-of-Day
version now knowing that you can upgrade to the MetaStock Professional version later.

Now let’s take those questions from the first page and flesh them out a bit:

1. What kind of trader are you?

MetaStock Professional is perfect if you:

• Don’t have a typical “day job” (or you are a non-professional day trader) and
absolutely need to see what is happening throughout the trading day with real-time or 15-
minute delayed data.
• Are a “Swing Trader” and need to see things on an hourly, daily, weekly and/or monthly
basis
• Enjoy the excitement and drama of being more of an “active trader” than a “buy-and-
hold investor”

MetaStock Pro FX is perfect if you:

• Are only interested in trading currencies in the FOREX market.

MetaStock End-of-Day is perfect if you:

• Have a “day job” and do your analysis after the markets have closed
• Are new to trading and would like to slowly get into the stock market
• Are a "Buy and Hold" long-term position investor and you are less interested in what
has happened hour by hour throughout the day
• Are more of an “investor” than a “trader”

2. What experience do you have with the markets?

Do you consider yourself a:

Technician who prefers to analyze the stock charts to make your “buy” or “sell” decisions

or a …

Fundamentalist who prefers to analyze a company’s financials (such as sales, earnings,

debt, management and growth potential) to make your “buy” or “sell” decisions?

MetaStock is first and foremost a technical analysis tool and if you are a technician then you are
going to fall in love with this program. Stock charts is what it does best!

If you are an active market fundamentalist then you might consider having a look at Quote
Center®. It provides both a real-time data feed and comprehensive market news from Reuters
with over 700 data fields to pour over including: trailing 12-month cash flow, accrued interest,
annual dividend and previous year’s earnings.

For more information go to: www.QuoteCenter.ca

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Do you trade online or call your broker to place a trade?

→ MetaStock allows you to link to your online broker’s website within the program so you
can quickly and easily initiate your trades.

Do you understand the power of computers and enjoy using them, or do you just get by?

→ MetaStock is easy to use, but if you do find you are having a problem simply contact
Equis® Technical Support by phone, fax or email and they will be happy to assist you.

→ On Demand Online Training is available by going to the following website:

www.MetaStock.ca/Resources/MetaStock-Videos.aspx

Quick Tip: Do you trade from an office or do you travel and work with a laptop?

→ MetaStock allows you to install the software on two computers (such as your desktop
and your laptop) so long as you only use one at a time.

3. What charting software features are important to you?

• Charts are a visual interpretation of a security and we each have our own preferences as
to how the charts are shown. You can view charts in any of the nine charting styles that
are included with MetaStock. You can choose from Candlesticks, Line, Bars,
Candlevolume, Point & Figure, Kagi, Renko 3 Line Break and Equivolume

You can also create your

own lines studies & add
comments directly on the
chart.

The following line studies

are available:

• Trend lines
• Fibonacci lines
• Gann lines
• Regression channels
• Tirone levels
• And many more …

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4. How complex do you need the charting software to be?

• MetaStock is as simple or as complex as you need it to be! You can:

i. Look at charts
ii. Run daily scans to find new stock picks

Quick Tip:
One of your biggest
challenges is finding
which securities to
watch.

MetaStock’s Explorer
saves you time by
quickly scanning through
your universe of
securities and finding the
opportunities that match
your criteria!

For example – MetaStock’s “Explorer®” can quickly scan through multiple

securities to help you find which security has just generated a “buy” or “sell”
signal based on the MACD expert.

iii. Run detailed back tests to test your trading ideas on one or more securities

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iv. Use over 200 built in indicators and experts to determine when to buy or sell

Quick Tip: For a complete list of the indicators included in MetaStock please
go to the following website:
www.Metastock.ca/end-of-day/indicators.aspx

If the indicator that you are interested in does not appear on the list, then consider:
1. Building your own indicator (more info on the next page) …
2. Looking at purchasing one of the many add-ons or 3rd party plug-ins that are available
for MetaStock …

3. Visiting the Custom Formula section of Equis’ website where users have posted their
own formulas …

The Expert Advisor allows you to

"consult" a built-in trading expert for
advice on what to do in your
particular situation.

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v. Build your own indicators and formulas using MetaStock’s custom programming
language

Quick Tip: For more information on MetaStock’s custom programming

language please go to:
www.Metastock.ca/Resources.aspx

Download the FREE MetaStock Formula Primer [PDF] as it will explain the MetaStock Formula
Language and how it works.

5. How important is software training to you?

One of the nice things about purchasing MetaStock is that you are never alone and left to “fend
for yourself” once your purchase has been made.

In fact, opportunities abound when it comes to getting answers to any questions you might have
about MetaStock or trading in general!

These opportunities include:

→ On Demand software training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on our website:

www.Metastock.ca/Resources.aspx

→ Live Webinars & Seminars put on by Equis International (the developer of MetaStock).
For details go to the website:

www.Equis.com/Events/

→ Assistance from Equis’ Technical Support. For details go to the website:

www.Equis.com/Customer/

→ Getting Help From Your Peers via the Equis Forum or MetaStock User Groups
Forum.Equis.com

www.Equis.com/Customer/Resources/Usergroups/

www.Equis.com/Customer/Resources/Onlineusergroup/

(Note: Equis holds weekly online user group

meetings to discuss current trading topics.)

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6. What amount have you budgeted to purchase the software?

Another important thing to consider is how much you want to spend on the software. If you have
done any research you’ll already know that the cost of this type of software ranges anywhere
from $500 to over $5,000 (market data feed not included).

MetaStock is priced (if you wanted to purchase the software outright) as follows:

MetaStock End-of-Day $449 USD Buy Now

MetaStock Professional for Quote Center $1,395 USD Buy Now

MetaStock Professional for eSignal $1,495 USD Buy Now

MetaStock Pro FX $1,095 USD Buy Now

Note that the software is identical and is configured to only work with this particular data feed

It is also worth pointing out that you can subscribe/lease MetaStock instead of buying it outright!

The subscription version will be of interest to those people who:

→ Would prefer to pay for the software over time (rather than upfront) …

→ Know that they can cancel their subscription at any time (i.e. there are no contracts to
sign) …

→ Know that when a new release of the software comes out they will automatically get a
copy without having to pay more for it …

The monthly fees for the subscription versions are as follows:

MetaStock End-of-Day $34 USD/month Sign-Up Now

MetaStock Professional for Quote Center $100 USD/month Sign-Up Now

MetaStock Pro FX $80 USD/month Sign-Up Now

If you click the above Sign-Up Now links, you will be taken to a sign-up page that will let you try the
subscription version FREE for 30 days including market data!

These monthly fees will be charged in addition to your monthly data fee so your total monthly
charge would be:

MetaStock End-of-Day (with Reuters Data Link) $59 USD per month Sign-Up Now

MetaStock Professional for Quote Center $235 USD per month Sign-Up Now

MetaStock Pro FX $179 USD per month Sign-Up Now

> Real-time data may have additional exchanges fees (visit here for a list of fees)

Remember, if you have an older version of MetaStock, you can easily upgrade to the latest
version (10.1).

Also, if you want to start off with MetaStock End-of-Day, upgrading to any of the Professional
versions is easy to do!

Pricing for the upgrades and cross-grades can be found at this website:

www.Metastock.ca/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=5

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7. Where will you get your market data feed?

The final thing you need to think about when purchasing your technical analysis software is your
market data source. After all, you can’t do your analysis without market data!

Some people who call us ask us what we think about the free data services. We usually tell
them to consider the following:

→ There are no free lunches; you get what you pay for …
→ What about support or guarantees on how accurate the data is?
→ Updating the data may require manual importing so MetaStock can read the data. What
you might save in money you waste in time and accuracy …
→ Manipulating the data manually also means you yourself might create an error in the data
that you might not catch …
→ Why risk making a mistake that could cause you to lose some of your hard earned money
on free data that could very well have errors in it?

It is certainly your call though -- it is your money!

If making your buy/sell decisions are based on quality, and dependable data is important to you,
then here is who we recommend you consider for your market data needs:

Software Data Service Monthly More Information

Cost

MetaStock End-of-Day $24.95 USD www.ReutersDataLink.ca

MetaStock Pro for

www.QuoteCenter.ca
Quote Center $135.00 USD

MetaStock Pro for

www.eSignal.com
eSignal
$125.00 USD

MetaStock Pro FX www.QuoteCenter.ca

$99.00 USD

1) If you are interested in considering the major differences between Quote Center and eSignal data, please go to:
www.QuoteCenter.ca/eSignal.htm

2) It is worth pointing out that this monthly data fee is by “data group” and these “data groups” are typically divided
by geographical areas (i.e. North American, Asian & European markets). To see how each data package is
organized please go to the following websites:

→ Reuters Data Link www.ReutersDataLink.ca/data_and_exchanges.htm

→ Quote Center www.QuoteCenter.ca/data_and_exchanges.htm
→ eSignal www.eSignal.com/esignal/pricing/default.asp

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8. Which plug-ins and add-ons should you be looking at buying?

Plug-ins (developed by MetaStock) and add-ons (developed by third parties) enhance the
functionality of MetaStock by providing you with additional indicators and trading systems.

They are organized as follows:

They vary in price from $99 USD up to $629.10 USD with most priced at $269.00 USD.

For exact pricing go to:

→ Plug-Ins: www.Metastock.ca/plugins.aspx
→ Add-Ons: www.Metastock.ca/addons.aspx

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Plug-In Matrix

What Type of Trading: Stocks, Futures, Options & Forex

Version of MetaStock Suited For: End-of-Day (EOD), Real-Time (RT)

Trading Timeframe: Short-Term (ST), Intermediate (Int), Long-Term (LT)

Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Name (Cost)
Be,
Bollinger Bands System ($269 USD) S, F EOD ST, Int, LT Int,
Adv

Adapts to a security’s recent movements and uses these movements to evaluate your trade.

Int,
FX Trader’s Advantage ($99 USD/month) FX RT ST
Adv
Multiple time frame analysis for the Forex market. FXTA gives signals based on several times frames at
once.
Be,
S, F, O,
John Murphy’s Chart Pattern Recognition ($269 USD) EOD, RT Int, LT Int,
FX
Adv

Identifies 9 popular patterns through scanning the market and understand how to use those patterns.

Be,
Nison’s Candlesticks Unleashed ($269 USD) S, O EOD, RT Int, LT Int,
Adv

Uses Steve Nison's favorite candlestick patterns to identify trading opportunities.

Be,
Performance Systems Plus ($269 USD) S, F, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,
Adv

Gives 54 additional strategies to test against your tradable instrument to find the most profitable

Int,
PowerPivots Plus ($269 USD) S, F EOD, RT ST, Int, LT
Adv

Looks for market reversals based on market direction

Be,
MediaSentiment HeadsUp ($99 USD/year) S EOD, RT ST
Int

Uses market sentiment of earnings reports to give buy/sell decisions.

Be,
MediaSentiment UpperHand ($99 USD/year) S EOD, RT ST
Int

Uses market sentiment of earnings reports to give buy/sell decisions.

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Add-On Matrix

What Type of Trading: Stocks, Futures, Options & Forex

Version of MetaStock Suited For: End-of-Day (EOD), Real-Time (RT)

Trading Timeframe: Short-Term (ST), Intermediate (Int), Long-Term (LT)

Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Name (Cost)
S, F, O, Int,
Adaptive Cycle Toolkit ($359 USD) EOD, RT ST, Int, LT
FX Adv
Strategies based on the work of John Ehlers. Uses Digital Signal Processing to eliminate whipsaws in the
market.
Be,
S, F, O,
AlphOmega Elliot Waves ($269 USD) EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,
FX
Adv

An affordable tool that gives you all the power of ElliotWaves.

S, F, O, Int,
Dr. Elder’s Trading Room ($269 USD) EOD, RT Int, LT
FX Adv

Based on the work of Dr. Elders. This gives you a great insight into the market.

Be,
ETS Trading System ($269 USD) S, F EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,
Adv

ETS is a complete trading system with buy and sell entries, protective stops, trailing stops and profit targets.

FIRE! By Adaptick ($269 USD) S EOD Int, LT Adv

Broad market analysis that lets you see the market as a whole or create your own custom indexes.

Int,
Morris Breadth Indicator Toolbox ($134 USD) S EOD Int, LT
Adv

Broad market analysis

S, F, O, Int,
ICE! by Adaptick ($269 USD) EOD, RT ST, Int, LT
FX Adv
Create a trading system for each security that you are trading. Each system is customized for your
security.
Int,
“PowerStrike” by John Slauson ($179 USD) S, O EOD, RT ST, Int, LT
Adv

Uses 3 unique criteria to identify support and resistance.

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Add-On Matrix (continued ….)

Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Name (Cost)
Be,
Price Headley’s Big Trends Toolkit ($449 USD) S, O EOD, RT Int, LT Int,
Adv
Gives you Pride Headley's methods to find the trades Now you can use the MetaStock Explorer to apply
Price Headley’s expertise in identifying trading opportunities.
Be,
Pristine Method Pattern Scans ($269 USD) S, O EOD, RT Int, LT Int,
Adv

Uses the Pristine methods to identify trading opportunities and understand the trades.

Be,
“Starting Point” by Joe Krutsinger ($359 USD) S,F, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,
Adv

Starting point is designed for those traders who are new to the market.

Be,
Tactical Trader Advanced Trading Strategies S, F, O,
EOD, RT Int, LT Int,
($359 USD) FX
Adv

3 systems in one. These systems give unique ways of looking at the market.

Be,
S, F, O,
Trade Oracle ($629 USD) EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,
FX
Adv
Trade Oracle gives you the probability on the success of a trade and gives you measures to make your
decisions by.
S, F, O, Int,
Bollinger Band Toolkit ($269 USD) EOD, RT ST, Int, LT
FX Adv

Gives you the power of John Bollinger book Bollinger On Bollinger Bands in one spot.

Int,
Red Rock Pattern Strategies ($269 USD) S, F, FX EOD, RT ST, Int
Adv

16 patterns designed to tell you the direction of the market and know where the market is heading.

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In Summary, Here Are Your Options:

End-of-Day Professional for Professional for Pro FX

Quote Center eSignal
For beginner, less For active traders and For active traders For those who are
Target Group active traders and buy- those interested in live interested in real-time interested in trading the
and-hold investors news and market data trading Forex market only
Option 1 – Purchase Software Outright
Software Cost $449 USD $1,395 USD $1,495 USD $1,095 USD
Guarantee ** 30-Day Money Back Guarantee **
Reuters Data Link Quote Center eSignal Quote Center
Data Source
$24.95 USD / month $135 USD / month $125 USD / month $99 USD / Month
Option 2 – Subscription Version
Cost
$59 USD / Month $235 USD / Month Not available $179 USD /month
(includes data)
Contract To Sign? No No N/A No
Reuters Data Link Quote Center N/A Quote Center
Data Source
Included Included Included
Free 30- Day Trial? Yes - Click Here Yes - Click Here N/A N/A

You take no risk whatsoever …

As summarized above, if you purchase the software outright you are protected with
our 30-day money back guarantee!

Try the software and if for any reason you feel that it doesn’t meet your needs then
return it within 30-days in good condition (i.e. there are no notes in the manual, no
sheets are torn etc.) for a full-refund on the purchase price of the software (shipping
not included).

If you opt to go with the subscription version, you can try the first month FREE and then cancel at any
time after since there are no contracts to sign!

The market presents so many options for trading software that it can make your head spin. I wrote this
buyer’s guide to help you make this process easier by laying out nearly everything you need to know
about MetaStock to make an informed choice before you invest your hard earned money into a solution.

We hope you have found this guide to be both useful and informative. If you do, however, have a few
remaining “burning” questions that need to be answered, please do not hesitate to give us a call and
we will ensure that you are taken care of promptly. You can reach us at 1-877-386-3763 (USA) or 1-877-
463-7638 (Canada), via email Info@MetaStock.ca or you can visit us online at www.MetaStock.ca.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Scott Young |Business Manager

P.S. Our website www.MetaStock.ca is full of helpful information. We are sure you’ll find MetaStock is the
right analysis software tool for you!

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Trading Resources:

Here is that extensive list of online investing/trading resources I mentioned at the beginning. We are
constantly adding to it and if you think something is missing please let us know by emailing us at
Info@MetaStock.ca.

For an up-to-date list go to the resources section of www.FinancialMarketPlace.com/trading-resources/

(our investment blog).

Technical Analysis Software:

• MetaStock (End-of-Day, Professional, Pro FX)
• TazaTek (free indicators for MetaStock, NinjaTrader & TradeStation)
• OmniTrader (Stocks, Futures & Real-Time)
• VisualTrader (End-of-Day, Real-Time)
• Dynamic Trend Profile (Real-Time)
• TeleCharts 2007 (Worden Brothers)
• Genesis Trade Navigator
• Reuters Bridge (Professional Grade)
• PersonalStockStreamer.com
• The Trade Sage Stock Market Calculator
• StrataSearch

Forex Software/Brokers/Reference/Education:
• eToro.com (The Ultimate Forex Trading Experience!)
• ForexMentor.com
• ForexPros.com
• DashBoard FX (Real-time Forex buy/sell alerts with entry/exit points)
• PRO FINANCIAL FX, LLC
• Trading Mastermind
• FXYard (Forex Brokers)
• Money Day Finder (desk calendars for the financial markets)
• Forex Strategy Secrets

Education/Reference:
• Trading In A Nutshell (by Stuart McPhee)
• How The Markets Work
• Free Trading Systems
• Traders' University (by Interactive Brokers)
• Big Charts
• InvestorWords.com
• Investopedia.com
• Technical Analysis From A to Z
• Options University
• Campbell R. Harvey's Hypertextual Finance Glossary
• EDGAR Online
• The US Federal Reserve
• Financial Calculators
• Financial Data Finder
• Financial Economics Network
• FinViz.com
• The Options Zone
• Pitchfork Primer
• The Center for Executive Coaching

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Investing News:

• FinancialMarketPlace.com
• The Economic Populist
• The Motley Fool
• Google Finance
• Yahoo! Finance
• Reuters Finance
• Report on Business (The Globe and Mail)
• The Financial Post
• The New York Times
• Barron's
• Bloomberg
• Quote.com
• MorningStar (US)
• MorningStar (Canada)
• Globe Investor Gold
• CNNMoney
• EuroMoney
• TradingMarkets.com

Investing Clubs/Groups/Forums:

• Nirvana Club
• Freedom Investment Club
• Equis International Online Community
• MetaStock User Groups
• American Association of Individual Investors (AAII)
• Aussie Stock Forums

North American Stock Exchanges:

• The Canadian Stock Exchange (TSX Group)

• The New Year Stock Exchange
• Chicago Board of Trade
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
• NASDAQ
• American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
• The Dow Jones
• EURONEXT

Stock Data Services:

• Reuters Data Link (End-of-Day)

• Quote Center (Real-Time)
• eSignal (Real-Time)
• Cannex (Canada & US)
• Paritech (Australia)

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Investment Brokers:

• E*Trade Financial
• Scottrade
• Ameritrade
• TD Ameritrade
• TD Waterhouse
• MB Brokers
• Interactive Brokers
• Knight Capital Group
• Instinet
• Gold Money (Gold and Silver)

Investment Advice:

• WealthWorks Financial (Jack Di Nardo)

• Kitco Casey (Gold, Silver and Natural Resources)
• Jurock (Western Canadian Real Estate Marketplace)

Foreign Exchange Services:

• DailyFX
• FXCM (Forex Capital Markets)
• Quest Trade FX
• Custom House (definitely sign up for their newsletter)
• Cambridge Mercantile (they have an excellent daily report as well)
• Axiom International
• Olympia Trust Company
• Globex Foreign Exchange

Investment Banking:

• TD Securities

Research:

• 10KWizard (SEC Filings)

• BizStats (Free Industry Statistics and Financial Ratios)
• DailyStocks.com

Stock Widgets:
• Yahoo! Stock Widgets
• Widget Box
• GStock

For an up-to-date list go to:

www.FinancialMarketPlace.com/trading-resources/

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