| History
of Tick Data
In 1984, Tick Data was founded by a futures broker and a programmer
as the first company in the world to offer historical tick-by-tick prices
on the futures and index markets. Despite severe limitations in computer
hardware technology, they developed a collection and compression system
capable of capturing and storing every tick in the major U.S. futures
markets. Since that time, our database has expanded to include major
global futures contracts as well as all U.S., Canadian, and London equities.
The database extends back as far as 1974, making it the largest of its
kind. With a customer base that includes the largest financial institutions,
universities, and more than 10,000 individual traders and system developers,
Tick Data has always leveled the playing field by making research-quality
data available to all traders.
In June 1999, Thomas Neal Falkenberry, a chartered financial analyst
and Tick Data client, bought the company. By purchasing Tick Data, he
had a data platform on which to launch his new asset management firm
and hedge fund. Furthermore, he saw the potential in furnishing other
institutional clients with data that meets their stringent requirements.
In January 2005, Neal and his partner, Scott Mayster, sold Tick Data
to Penson Worldwide, Inc. Penson made Tick Data a division of their
technology subsidiary, Nexa Technologies, Inc., a provider of direct
access trading platforms, real-time market data, and exchange connectivity.
One reason for Tick Data's success lies in its use of a proprietary
compression algorithm for storage and retrieval of 1-minute equity data
and tick-by-tick futures and index data. This format, which boasts up
to a 50:1 compression over standard ASCII format, is advantageous for
transmitting and storing large amounts of intraday history. Our proprietary
decompression software utility works in tandem with our data format,
allowing users to view, plot, and convert data into custom ASCII files.
The software includes preset formats that are compatible with several
popular analysis packages, including TradeStation, MetaStock, and Excel.
Using custom ASCII formats, the data is compatible with dozens more.
A user may process data as tick, interval (5 minute, 60 minute, etc.),
daily, weekly, or monthly. Users can also create continuous contracts,
maintaining complete control over rolling conventions.
As always, Tick Data remains committed to providing traders and system
developers with the cleanest intraday time series available in a flexible,
multi-platform format.
Questions? Please contact
us.
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