Arguably the most complete suite of Gann tools ever assembled in one software program .

The first impression you have upon opening the Market Analyst program is just how visually appealing it is. Great attention has been given to design and color, making it an analysis program that is truly a pleasure to use. This is important since you are going to be spending a lot of time using whatever software program you are working with.

That said, it is far more than just a pretty face. Indeed, it is every bit as powerful analytically as it is visually pleasing. The tools icon brings up an innovative circular menu of icons that provides you with a large range of important standard technical indicators; stochastics, moving averages, momentum oscillators, retracement lines, Bollinger bands, and much more. Clicking on the Price icon, for example, yields the following choice of key technical indicators:

However, it is with the more esoteric indicators and techniques that Market Analyst comes into its own because it is intended primarily as a major tool for Gann Analysis, i.e. following the techniques of the legendary trader from the first half of the 20th century, W.D. Gann. Although the majority of technical analysts know virtually nothing about Gann analysis, and a few might even be highly skeptical of their validity, those who have spent the time and effort studying and using his methods usually profess them to be THE most powerful techniques available, bar none.

Here is a snapshot of the Gann tools menu which, as you can see, is very extensive:

It gets better though because each of these Gann tools is highly adjustable, thereby allowing you to set it up just the way that you want and need. Moreover, several of them can easily be displayed on top of each other. Market Analyst has a very useful Transparency feature that allows you to fade a given study’s line strength even to the point of invisibility. This means that you could place several complex studies, e.g. Gann Squares, onto the same chart and then view them sequentially by fading the others out, or even together by altering the line strength of each appropriately.

Also, a quick glance at just one of the control panels makes it clear as to just how flexible, versatile and option-rich each of the indicators really is:

Elsewhere in Market Analyst, you can also create the Gann Square of 9, Square of 4, Hexagon and Wheel of 24 diagrams. True to form as always with Market Analyst, the visual aspect of these is spectacular:

Moreover, once again we see the tremendous flexibility in working with these tools: on the screen and in real-time, you can re-size them, turn the wheel of 24 around on its axis, swivel the outer dates wheel, plot the geometric relationships between the price numbers, and much more. It is all very elegantly done.

The Gann Hexagon, Square Of 9, and Square of 4 Charts are equally spectacular and equally flexible in terms of parameters. Here is the Hexagon chart, for example:

Beyond Gann however, there are many more indicators available. Some come standard with the main program, whilst others are available as plug-ins for an extra fee. Users of the charting techniques of Guppy, Michael Jenkins, John Bollinger or Constance Brown will be pleased to know that in-depth plug-ins have been created for Market Analyst featuring some of their most powerful methods. These are available as separate paid optional modules.

W.D. Gann was known to have engaged in studies of astrological effects upon markets. Doubtless, most market participants would be highly dubious about such notions. However, for those who DO wish to pursue such research, Market Analyst also provides a comprehensive Astronomical module. It contains a good number of such studies, although it has to be said that those provided are by no means all the ones possible, and that other programs do provide more.

Market Analyst supports all of the common type of price chart; bar chart, candlesticks, point and figure, Kagi, swing chart and percent swing chart. You can also apply all of the program’s tools to Spreads between securities, which can be created by subtraction, division (i.e. ratios), or even by addition. There is even have an innovative development, unique to Market Analyst, called the 3D chart whereby you can actually swivel the data chart around in three dimensions and look at it from different directions and angles, or even turn it upside down!

Market Analyst does allow you to test certain pre-tested trading systems on your data. However, it does not at present give you the facility to create your own trading systems. If that is your need and your primary focus, then you need to look elsewhere. The program is intended to be, and succeeds in being, a high quality technical analysis tool, especially for those who use the Gann approach (which cannot be turned into an automated trading system anyway). That is its core strength and it does not pretend to do everything.

That said, Market Analyst DOES provide the capability to record paper trades as you step through the data bar by bar with the trading method you are testing out, recording your P&L results as you go. Actually, this approach is very valid as it provides you with synthetic practice, i.e. the ability to familiarize yourself with the market and your system’s performance in it in the most realistic fashion possible. In this way, you experience the true ups AND downs of your approach as the market evolves over time… something you can never experience simply by pushing a button and viewing a table of statistical performance results.

The Scan feature is also very powerful and allows you to run a large number of pre-defined scans across a portfolio of securities. You can look for Moving Average or MACD crossovers, new highs or lows, scan on volume, inside and outside bars, Gann swings, and much more.

Arguably, some of the most powerful features of all in Market Analyst are the Workbooks and Templates. Workbooks enable you to maintain many different charts complete with different studies in one saved group, and open them all simultaneously for review. Hence, you might create a workbook for the Dow Jones Index and use several charts for various standard technical studies and then several more with specific Gann squares, angles and time cycles. You might create another group for all of the major Forex markets. And so on. The beauty is that you can organize and save your work into project folders like these, and then open them to see the latest updated charts.

Templates allow you to apply the same set of studies to a range of different markets quickly and easily. Hence, if you have certain things you look at repeatedly, you simply have to set up a template for them and then run all the markets that you are interested in through it.

In summary, Market Analyst is an excellent technical analysis program and will serve any technical trader extremely well. It really comes into its own though when it is dealing with its major specialty, namely Gann analysis. Here, it is in a class of its own. This is not only because of the large number of Gann studies available, but also because of the flexibility and visual appeal in which they are presented. It is hard, if not impossible, to find another analysis program that allows you to place so much on one chart, and then fade them in and out with the transparency function. The Workbooks feature is an extremely powerful one that enables the trader/analyst to perform research into markets in great depth and keep track of all of the work in an organized manner at the same time.

Hence, Market Analyst is strongly recommended as a first class chart analysis program suitable to every type of technical analyst/trader.

You can try Market Analyst for yourself for free, plus also receive a free membership to Gann Trading Insiders, giving you free Gann trading tips, strategies, product reviews, and much more. Enter your details in the box below to get your download of the Market Analyst software.

Asoka Selvarajah, GannTradingSoftware.Com.

Note: The screenshots above were taken from Market Analyst 5. The current version is even more powerful and contains even more studies and versatility than ever before.