THE 8 VITAL QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK

BEFORE YOU PURCHASE TECHNICAL-ANALYSIS

SOFTWAREFourth Edition

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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

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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

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

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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.

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!

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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 3 rd party plug-ins that are available

for MetaStock …

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

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The Expert Advisor allows you to"consult" a built-in trading expert for

advice on what to do in yourparticular 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 GroupsForum.Equis.com

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

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

(Note: Equis holds weekly online user groupmeetings 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 Cost

More Information

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

MetaStock Pro forQuote Center $135.00 USD www.QuoteCenter.ca

MetaStock Pro for eSignal $125.00 USD

www.eSignal.com

MetaStock Pro FX$99.00 USD

www.QuoteCenter.ca

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

Name (Cost) Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Bollinger Bands System ($269 USD) S, F EOD ST, Int, LTBe, Int, Adv

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

FX Trader’s Advantage ($99 USD/month) FX RT ST Int, Adv

Multiple time frame analysis for the Forex market. FXTA gives signals based on several times frames at once.

John Murphy’s Chart Pattern Recognition ($269 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT Int, LT

Be, Int, Adv

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looks for market reversals based on market direction

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

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

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

Name (Cost) Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Adaptive Cycle Toolkit ($359 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,

Adv

Strategies based on the work of John Ehlers. Uses Digital Signal Processing to eliminate whipsaws in the market.

AlphOmega Elliot Waves ($269 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT

Be, Int, Adv

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

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

Adv

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

ETS Trading System ($269 USD) S, F EOD, RT ST, Int, LTBe, 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.

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

Broad market analysis

ICE ! by Adaptick ($269 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,

Adv

Create a trading system for each security that you are trading. Each system is customized for your security.

“PowerStrike” by John Slauson ($179 USD) S, O EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int, Adv

Uses 3 unique criteria to identify support and resistance.

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Add-On Matrix (continued ….)

Name (Cost) Type MetaStock Timeframe Skill

Price Headley’s Big Trends Toolkit ($449 USD) S, O EOD, RT Int, LTBe, 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.

Pristine Method Pattern Scans ($269 USD) S, O EOD, RT Int, LTBe, Int, Adv

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

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

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

Tactical Trader Advanced Trading Strategies ($359 USD)

S, F, O, FX EOD, RT Int, LT

Be, Int, Adv

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

Trade Oracle ($629 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT

Be, Int, Adv

Trade Oracle gives you the probability on the success of a trade and gives you measures to make your decisions by.

Bollinger Band Toolkit ($269 USD) S, F, O, FX EOD, RT ST, Int, LT Int,

Adv

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

Red Rock Pattern S trategies ($269 USD) S, F, FX EOD, RT ST, Int 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 Quote Center

Professional for eSignal

Pro FX

Target GroupFor beginner, less

active traders and buy-and-hold investors

For active traders and those interested in live news and market data

For active traders interested in real-time

trading

For those who are interested in trading the

Forex market only

Option 1 – Purchase Software Outright

Software Cost $449 USD $1,395 USD $1,495 USD $1,095 USDGuarantee ** 30-Day Money Back Guarantee **

Data Source Reuters Data Link$24.95 USD / month

Quote Center$135 USD / month

eSignal$125 USD / month

Quote Center$99 USD / Month

Option 2 – Subscription Version

Cost(includes data) $59 USD / Month $235 USD / Month Not available $179 USD /month

Contract To Sign? No No N/A No

Data Source Reuters Data LinkIncluded

Quote CenterIncluded

N/A Quote CenterIncluded

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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