Best Thread Interactive Brokers

[dcraig1]

That may be true, but as Pip Star says, the platform is so off-putting that you must lose lots of potential customers (and I'm one of them). IMO the same goes for the web site, which is a complete mess, especially the way it goes round in circles between the .co.uk and .com versions, then often takes you to a dead end, by which time you're still none the wiser.

If you can't work out how to place a trade with TWS, you shouldn't be trading. In any case there are lots of third party platforms that work with it.

There are so many good attributes of IB, that they vastly outweigh any time spent getting familiar with TWS.

 

[samuelhogg]

I agree with dcraig1. I actually quite like the platform.

There are so many third party platforms too.
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/poll/ibconsultants.php?progid=11&ib_entity=uk

 

[Jack Hughes]

If you can't work out how to place a trade with TWS, you shouldn't be trading. In any case there are lots of third party platforms that work with it.

There are so many good attributes of IB, that they vastly outweigh any time spent getting familiar with TWS.

I didn't say I couldn't work out how to place a trade with TWS, but the whole platform seems cumbersome, slow and messy. Likewise, the web site(s). Are you saying this is a good thing? And why should you have to pay extra for a third party platform when you can get something that works properly for free elsewhere?

Apart from reasonable commission rates and range of markets, what are IB's good attributes?

 

[dcraig1]

I didn't say I couldn't work out how to place a trade with TWS, but the whole platform seems cumbersome, slow and messy. Likewise, the web site(s). Are you saying this is a good thing? And why should you have to pay extra for a third party platform when you can get something that works properly for free elsewhere?

Apart from reasonable commission rates and range of markets, what are IB's good attributes?

Free API that is widely used and reliable. IB did the right thing by promoting this very early on.

Cross platform - TWS runs on Windows, OSX, Linux, Solaris.

Good margin lending rates.

Reliable platform.

Conservative margin requirements that generally follow exchange guidelines.

Universal account.

Fast execution.

Financially stable.

It would be nice if another broker offered all this (with range of markets and commish), but no such other retail broker exists.

And TWS is not slow if you avoid the charts. Whether it is cumbersome is really a matter of taste and preference. It might not be the best true scalpers platform, but other than that I really can't see any particular problems.

The question is whether you want the best broker available and pay a few dollars per month for QuoteTracker, or Sierra or Ninja etc etc. or are prepared to settle for second (or third) best broker.

 

[supie]

Does Interactive Brokers have a High Low Ticker? Also Level 2? and is Level 2 both the Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Shaun12uk]

Hi I want to trade FX only the major pairs and also FTSE/Dax indices.
Could you confirm what the min deposit is to open an account and what the leverage is or point me in the right direction. I would be daytrading from the UK.

Thanks
Shaun

 

[hampy]

Shaun, Last I looked it was min $10000 US or sterling equivalent at the time you wire it over. You decide what your base currency is to be, sterling prob best from your list of markets.
As stated earlier their website can be a bit tricky to navigate at first, but try typing what you're looking for in the search bar usually gets me to where I need to go.

With FX you have the choice of the CME currency futures or their own Ideal Pro platform, with spreads as tight as .5 on Cable/Euro/Jap. Commission a bit higher than some ECNs at $65 ish per R/T per million, but of course you can trade your FTSE and DAX futures side by side with the FX, so no running of 2 trading platforms needed.
Might be worth investigating 'Book Trader' if you find the main trading window not to your liking, one click order entry and futs and fx can be open together in this.

Finally I would recommend looking at the 'Education' tab - 'Webinars' - 'Previously Recorded Webinars' . Saves you waiting for the next live one and you can drag the slide bar back if you need to repeat anything.

Good luck, H

 

[stocktrad3r]

I live in Canada. Do I still need 25,000USD to daytrade US stocks with IB Canada? Because Canada doesn't have PDT rules...

Thanks in advance.

 

[samuelhogg]

Do I need to sign up to CME Floor to trade Emini S&P Index Futures with IB or will the US Bundle be enough?

 

[dcraig1]

Do I need to sign up to CME Floor to trade Emini S&P Index Futures with IB or will the US Bundle be enough?

You get eminis with the US bundle.

 

[samuelhogg]

Cheers Dcraig1, I am sure customer services said I needed both. I wasn't 100% convinced.

 

[dcraig1]

Cheers Dcraig1, I am sure customer services said I needed both. I wasn't 100% convinced.

I get ES, NQ with just the bundle. Perhaps they are changing the setup. Perhaps CS don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Trader333]

I live in Canada. Do I still need 25,000USD to daytrade US stocks with IB Canada? Because Canada doesn't have PDT rules...

Thanks in advance.

If you are day-trading US stocks then you have to abide by their rules which means that you will need a minimum of $25K USD. The same applies to us here in the UK and we don't have PDT rules either.


Paul

 

[stocktrad3r]

If you are day-trading US stocks then you have to abide by their rules which means that you will need a minimum of $25K USD. The same applies to us here in the UK and we don't have PDT rules either.


Paul

Thanks for the reply...that sucks. I daytrade stocks in Canda (mainly USD stocks) and we don't have these restricitions, I don't understand why IB (the CANADIAN division) has to obide by US PDT rules...

I will just have to fund it with 30K USD I guess.

 

[Trader333]

Thanks for the reply...that sucks. I daytrade stocks in Canda (mainly USD stocks) and we don't have these restricitions, I don't understand why IB (the CANADIAN division) has to obide by US PDT rules...

I will just have to fund it with 30K USD I guess.

I think that it is a rule of the SEC for anyone wishing to trade US stocks and if you look into the original reasons why they did it then it is easy to see that they would apply it to everyone wanting to trade US stocks. It was worse for us in the UK as last year the GBP lost so much value against the USD that we had to maintain a much larger balance of GBP to be able to trade them.


Paul

 

[timsk]

I think that it is a rule of the SEC for anyone wishing to trade US stocks and if you look into the original reasons why they did it then it is easy to see that they would apply it to everyone wanting to trade US stocks.

I'm not certain when the SEC introduced the PDT ruling, but it may have been after the U.S. senate investigated the risks associated with day trading after this chap had a few bad months and threw a bit of a wobbly:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_O._Barton

It was worse for us in the UK as last year the GBP lost so much value against the USD that we had to maintain a much larger balance of GBP to be able to trade them.

. . . unless you were smart enough (or lucky enough in my case) to go long USD and short GBP at the start of the year; then it worked out really rather well!

Tim.

 

[Jack Hughes]

Perhaps CS don't know what they are talking about.

That's always been my impression.

 

[stocktrad3r]

I think that it is a rule of the SEC for anyone wishing to trade US stocks and if you look into the original reasons why they did it then it is easy to see that they would apply it to everyone wanting to trade US stocks. It was worse for us in the UK as last year the GBP lost so much value against the USD that we had to maintain a much larger balance of GBP to be able to trade them.


Paul

Just one minute...the PDT rule does NOT apply to trading US stocks, it applies to tading US stocks with an US BROKERAGE firm.

Like I said, I live in Canada, when I started my account was way less than 25K USD and I daytraded US stocks with no problem from my brokerage firm. This is true for ANY Canadian resident trading US securities, I know this to be a fact.

My main question pertains to IB specifically: as a Canadian branch of a US brokerage firm, should it not abide by Canadian laws (or more specifically, by US laws NOT obliging Canadian firms to have the PDT rule)? Every other firm that has a US base is doing this (ThinkorSwim before being taken over by TD comes to mind- I contacted them at the time).

If there are any InteractiveBrokers reps on this board that would like to chime in, that would be excellent as well. Like I said, not a deal-breaker for me but I'd like to know nevertheless.

Cheers to all that have replied so far!


***I'm sorry everyone, I did find the answer after much searching right on IB's Canadian website....since they clear in the US and have no clearing partners in Canada (or elsewhere for that matter), the PDT rule is enforced. This didn't apply to ThinkorSwim Canada for example because they clear through Penson Financial Canada division.***

 

[orphagle]

I live in Toronto, Canada and have a brokerage account with Questrade, and would like to open an account with Interactive Brokers to day trade stocks at their lower commission rate.

I've used IB's demo of the TWS and (after playing with it a bit) found the order process and setup fairly simple and straightforward, though the charts are basic and not overly user friendly.

My main concern is the number and intensity of the negative posts about IB (mainly on other newsgroups). The problems are said to include high slippage and slow execution for market orders, which would obviously negate having low commissions. I understand their customer service is poor, and this doesn't bother me as much as the other issues.

So, any feedback about IB to help me decide whether to open an account with them would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Interactive Brokers]

Dear Orphagle

1. We only offer direct market access i.e., we do not trade against our clients rather the client trades directly on the regulated exchange products we support. Further, regarding meeting the requirements of our clients we understand any underlying solution we provide must meet our clients requirements (e.g., best execution) and must be measureable. Hence, according to TAG an independent research company that measures best execution performance for 2009

US stocks (100 shares)

IB | Industry | IB Advantage

$0.34 | (-) $0.19 | $0.53

US options (per contract)

IB | Industry | IB Advantage

$0.78 | $0.56 | $0.22

2. With respects to our customer service we provide various tools for our clients to monitor, manage thier account and for us to service their technical problems. In summary, we are not perfect in this category, but we believe (and so do the thousands of our current clients) we are still good enough and continously improving.

The value we expect to offer you and the rest of our clients will come down to perceived v. actual value. Hence, if your perceived value meets our expected value, then we will be rewarded by earning your business.

We wish you well with whatever online broker you choose.

I live in Toronto, Canada and have a brokerage account with Questrade, and would like to open an account with Interactive Brokers to day trade stocks at their lower commission rate.

I've used IB's demo of the TWS and (after playing with it a bit) found the order process and setup fairly simple and straightforward, though the charts are basic and not overly user friendly.

My main concern is the number and intensity of the negative posts about IB (mainly on other newsgroups). The problems are said to include high slippage and slow execution for market orders, which would obviously negate having low commissions. I understand their customer service is poor, and this doesn't bother me as much as the other issues.

So, any feedback about IB to help me decide whether to open an account with them would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.