(www.interactivebrokers.com) is the default brokerage supported by NeuroShell Trader’s integrated trading interface.

Do not download the API and especially not any API versions of the API from the website: The only thing you may need to download from the website is the Trader’s Workstation (TWS), although you can use the online version without downloading anything. NeuroShell Trader comes with all the other component parts you need to communicate with the TWS. If you download a non-compatible API from , it could destroy the interface we’ve provided.

Integrated Trading Should Not Be Used With Multiple Applications: The Integrated Trading feature has not been tested with multiple applications sending trades to the IB Trader Workstation and is not supported in doing so. That includes multiple instances of NeuroShell running. If you use integrated trading, do it with only one copy of NeuroShell active, and make sure no other applications are accessing IB (with the exception of IBFeed).

To setup integrated trading so that NeuroShell Trader sends trades to an account, paper trading account, or demo account:

1. Select Options on the Tools menu.
2. Select the Send orders to brokerage option located on the Trading Orders tab.
3. Select from the Brokerage drop-down list if you wish to trade an Interactive Broker’s Individual Account.

OR

Select Advisor Profile from the Brokerage drop-down list if you wish to trade an Interactive Broker’s Advisor Account (See 5c below about setting up an appropriate Account Allocation Profile for NeuroShell).

Note: If Popup order prompt/confirmation is checked, then NeuroShell Trader will ask you if you want to send orders before sending them, otherwise it will simply send orders without user interaction.

4. At this point, any chart you load that has a trading strategy will NOT automatically start sending orders to a brokerage. Only charts that have active trading already setup will send trades to the brokerage. To setup active trading on a chart, select Alerts/Orders Window from the View menu and select the Trading Strategies on that you wish to actively trade from the list on the Active Trading tab of the Alerts/Orders window.

5. When you first select a trading strategy to actively trade, you get a message box saying “About to establish a connection with “. If you do not follow the instructions (shown below), NeuroShell Trader will NOT be able to communicate with due to restrictions in the interface provided by .

a. Make sure the IB Trader Workstation (TWS) is loaded and running before pressing OK.

Ward Systems Group highly recommends using Interactive Broker’s demo workstation or a paper trading account before making live trades.

The Interactive Broker’s demo workstation is for evaluation purposes and doesn’t actually make trades in the market. Using the demo workstation first allows you to be confident that your system is working as desired and that the communications between NeuroShell Trader and is working properly on your computer. To load a demo version of the IB Trader Workstation, go to www.interactivebrokers.com, choose ‘Software’ on the upper menu bar, and select “Trader Workstation” and then “Demo”. Follow the instructions to run the Individual Demo.

If you have an account with , you can also request a paper trading account from . A paper trading dcba

account works just like a real Interactive Broker’s account, except you are issued a different logon id/password and the trades are not actually placed with the market. A paper trading account is another excellent way to test that your system is working as desired and that the communications between NeuroShell Trader and is working properly on your computer before you start live trading.

If you have an account with and you wish to make live trades, then simply load up the Trader’s Workstation as you would normally to place trades with .

b. Verify client support is configured in the IB Trader Workstation (TWS)

To make sure client support is configured in the IB Trader Workstation (TWS), go to the ‘Configure’ Menu on the TWS menu screen, select the ‘API’ menu item and make sure the ‘Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients’ is checked.

c. If you are trading an Interactive Broker’s Advisor Account and have selected the Advisor Profile from NeuroShell’s Brokerage dropdown list, then you must also have a ‘NeuroShell’ allocation profile setup within the IB Trader Workstation (TWS).

To create an allocation profile in the IB Trader Workstation (TWS), go to the ‘Configure’ Menu on the TWS menu screen, select the ‘Advisor’ menu item and then select ‘Allocation Profiles’. You will then need to create a profile by the name of ‘NeuroShell’ which specifies how trades made from NeuroShell will be allocated between the available accounts. The profile name MUST be named NeuroShell to work correctly.

d. Choose Yes on the ‘Accept Incoming Attempt prompt in the IB Trader Workstation

Once you hit OK, NeuroShell Trader tries to establish a connection. The IB Trader Workstation (TWS) puts up a message box to verify that you want to make the connection. If you do not go back to the IB TWS and press Yes, then trades sent from NeuroShell Trader will not reach the IB TWS.

6. If you haven’t already specified a ticker and exchange mapping for the underlying data feed ticker symbol using the Ticker/Exchange Mapping button on the Options dialog, you will be prompted to enter an appropriate ticker and exchange mapping when you first activate a trading strategy. You must enter the Ticker Symbol, Exchange, and Security Type exactly as expected by before NeuroShell Trader will allow you to activate integrated trading. Note that futures ticker symbols are entered in the symbol mode format (for example ESH6) and not the underlying mode format (for example ES).

Now whenever a new trade occurs in an activated Trading Strategy, if you have selected “Popup Order Prompt/Confirmation”, a pop-up order confirmation will be displayed which allows modification of the order and confirmation that you want to send the order, otherwise the order will simply be sent with only a brief flash of the order on the screen. Trades sent to should show up in the IB TWS trade screen under ‘API’ and/or ‘Pending’ tab.
Notes:

• Integrated trading will start with the first new entry order. If the trading strategy is already in a position when you activate it, the exit order for the existing position will not be sent to the brokerage.
• Fill prices from will be communicated back to NeuroShell Trader for use in the Trading Strategy. Even if price action on the chart makes it appear as if a fill should have occurred, NeuroShell Trader will only actually fill an order and proceed with subsequent trading strategy orders after has returned a fill price. If does not fill the order, neither will the NeuroShell Trading Strategy. This guarantees that the Trading Strategy will not get out of step with the orders/fills occurring with and also allows you to view the actual fill prices and related statistics within NeuroShell Trader.
• While integrated trading is occurring, the price bars of the trading strategy will be colored yellow. If you save and reload a chart that was being actively trading, the old fill prices and yellow areas of active trading will also be saved and redisplayed.
• NeuroShell Trader uses the following color schemes to distinguish whether integrated trading has just started, is proceeding normally or is ending:

1. Army Green on chart and green in alerts and order window means that active trading was just turned on and it is waiting to place an entry order. No position closing exit orders will be placed with the brokerage, only an entry order to open the position.

2. Bright Yellow on chart and green in alerts and order window means that the first entry order was placed on that bar or a previous bar, but an entry fill did not yet occur on that bar.

3. Light pale yellow on the chart and black in the alerts and orders window means that active trading is occurring, both entry and exit orders will be placed with the brokerage.

4. When you turn off active trading, the chart goes to bright yellow again and the alerts and orders window shows red, meaning that trading is ending and no new entry orders will be placed with the brokerage, only an exit order to close out the existing position.

5. If you are actively trading a chart, save and close that chart, but then reload the chart later, the bars between when you closed the chart and opened the chart will be colored purple. NeuroShell will not signal any trade entries, exits or stops during the purple colored time period because the chart was closed, but still being actively traded.

• Integrated trading was made so that trades are only sent if they fire on the current bar. When using indicators that change values in the past, thus potentially changing trading signals in the past, NeuroShell Trader will not send a trade that pops up after the fact on a previous bar. The reason for this behavior of integrated trading is because users get very upset if a signal pops up x bars ago and they realize it was not sent out in time. Moreover, such late trade pop ups will not even appear on the graph while you are doing integrated trading so as not to confuse the situation.
• Note that to send trades from a prediction to a brokerage, you will need to first insert the prediction into a trading strategy and then actively trade the resulting Trading Strategy (see Example 20 for an example).
• For more detailed information about order types, order fills, partial fills, order duration, etc., see Order Mechanics between NeuroShell Trader and Interactive Brokers.
• For issues trading overnight, see Unexpected Problems at Night with Interactive Brokers.