Interactive Brokers

poor Customer service but great spread

this broker isnt for newbies

I have an account there but i m not a big fan of there customer service

i just stay there for there spread

Not great for Australian Customers

I am new customer of IB from Australia... Was attracted by low fees ( it cheaper for me to trade ASX stock and option with IB in US than using an Australian broker)
However he experiences so far has been not that good
- 1) Staff not very helpful mainly US support staff ( Asian time zone staf is good but not knowledgable on soem US products)
They give stock standard answers rather than understanding the question
Had real difficulty gainging information on things like Singale Stock Futures most of staff had no idea
- 2) High data cost

The biggets problem for me as an Australian resdeint client is IB only allows CASH account no margin account
I feel like I have been treated like a person from an enemy teritory!
The reason they give is Australian regulations.. which is BS. it is hard to believe that a big broker like IB can't get Australina licence? other brokers like Options express alows Australian to trade everything

This restiricts me in 3 ways
A) Levergae
B) Can't do naked option writing
C) Can't trade Single Stock Futures
NOT HAPPY AT ALL thinking of pulling out

Insufficient for option traders

Critical features like OneCancelAll, not available for option spreads / combos. eg could be in a spread at 1.00 debit, and want to sell at 2.00 and simultaneously set a stop at 1.50, so whichever executes first, it cancels the other. Critical for anyone who cant be at his computer screen 24/7.

OCA feature, available for single legs only. Anyone with even a little experience in trading options, would trade spreads / combos, rather than single legs. Suggesting only inexperienced option traders use IB.

IB only allow one option chain to be opened at a time rather than multiple.

RAM hogging software, even with nothing extra open and can take ~+10mins to open after log in details entered.

Commissions should always be leg, esp considering there are expensive cancellation fees ~>$1 per leg for single leg trades, lack of available features and facilities to trader.

This is not criticsim for the sake of criticism, but we want IB to be one of the top brokers for option traders. Currently, its average at best.

Good or bad depends on what you are looking for.

I have been with IB since 1992. Most of the time I am not happy about this company. Then why do I still stay with IB? Because I use 4 brokers, IB is one of them. I use IB for scalping because of the low commission.

Pros:
1. Fast execution.
2. Low commission.
3. Customizable hot keys/mouse.
4. Security device or pass code protection.

Cons:
1. Lousy, unfriendly, arrogant CS staffs.
2. Over packed, confusing software TWS.
3. Very poor, related TWS documentation.
4. Cannot find help anywhere either from TWS software or web help.
5. TWS takes too long to start.
6. No one in IB cares about customers.