Best Thread Interactive Brokers

Is cost plus or flat rate going to be better for me?

I usually trade 100-1000 shares, but not sure if I add or deplete liquidity.

Let's say for example I do 200,000 shares a month.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
On a separate topic, I have recently noticed that when IB is running for a long time (six hours plus) it seems to really 'slow' down in updates and response to the user. Has anyone else had that problem? It was so bad in one case that as I clicked on cancel order, it transmitted and filled the order! I was shocked and closed out at a lost.
Zing

You're talking about TWS? That is not my experience but there is so much different stuff in TWS, you can't rule out a bug. You'd need to try to isolate the problem or narrow it down in some way, try to identify what functionality it is that slows it down, and then report it (which will probably not get you very far with IB's support).

Keep an eye on your CPU and memory using the Windows task manager and next time you see TWS hogging resources, close it and re-open.
 
Hi,
On a separate topic, I have recently noticed that when IB is running for a long time (six hours plus) it seems to really 'slow' down in updates and response to the user. Has anyone else had that problem? It was so bad in one case that as I clicked on cancel order, it transmitted and filled the order! I was shocked and closed out at a lost.
Zing
i was having issues a few years back. using ib with multicharts , charts kept lagging and ib trades not going through properly. after advice from multi charts turned out that my cpu was to low. bought more powerful computer and no more issues for last 4 yr.
 

Interactive Brokers? $225,000? You and I must have significantly different interpretations of the meaning of the word "heavily". :sneaky:

To me, a fine of $225,000 suggests a technical offense considered pretty minor, from which no clients' interests were actually damaged at all. Sounds more or less like "a way of getting their attention".
 
Quote: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission allegedly found that between Sept. 21, 2011 and May 8, 2012, Interactive Brokers "improperly" covered its commodity futures and options customer obligations with Japanese yen and Swiss francs to "maximize its interest earnings."
 
Nobody's suggesting they behaved impeccably, clearly, over the very minor issue concerned, but in the general context of such matters, I think we can all see that $225,000 is about as paltry as they come.

Paltry or even perhaps poultry, if you look at that, in context, as "chicken feed".

It's interpretative, of course, but if that's the most derogatory finding, in the context of other disciplinary/regulatory matters discussed in this fine forum, the words "my case rests" do rather spring to mind, if you'll excuse the observation. :)
 
Tws Booktrader

Hi,
If i set up presets to stop limit as my primary order, can i then, if i right click on the bid column above the current price on booktrader buy on the bid and capture the spread (assuming order gets filled), or can i only capture the spread by left clicking on the bid to create a limit order!
 
Mr. Money Maker

I've never been able to buy at the bid or sell at the ask, but it's a nice dream to have. If you are able to do so I would like to hear about how you do it. As a rule of business a broker will only fill buys at the ask and sells at the bid. If you create a limit order to buy at the bid and it fills it is almost surely because the price moved, at least momentarily, and the ask dropped down to the former bid price.
 
Mr. Money Maker

I've never been able to buy at the bid or sell at the ask, but it's a nice dream to have. If you are able to do so I would like to hear about how you do it. As a rule of business a broker will only fill buys at the ask and sells at the bid. If you create a limit order to buy at the bid and it fills it is almost surely because the price moved, at least momentarily, and the ask dropped down to the former bid price.

With booktrader it is possible to buy on the bid and sell on the ask as the platform is set up to do this. By left clicking on the bid a limit order is activated at the current price and, unless the price is moving fast as in a breakout, the order is generally filled, especially if you enter just before the move.
My quetion to interactive brokers, was can i set a stop limit order above the current price to buy on the bid or do i have to use a limit order at the current price?
 
Option Call/Put Volume from a Stock

Hi friends,

I tried to get the "Option Call/Put Volume" from a Stock using the "tickSize(), with the "reqTopMktData" method but the result is always 0.

Could u help me to clear this and find the way to solve it.


Thanks & regards,

Butch :)
 
IB and Transaction Fees

Hello,

Please can someone tell me what is Transaction Fees for
buying and selling 1000 shares of SPY stocks?
I`m day trader and I do not hold position overnight.

Thank you, Anita
 
If I understood well Transaction Fees is 3.82$,
(1000 shares x price 207.5 x 0.0000184 = 3.82 $)

Total commission for buying and selling 1000 of SPY is 13.82 $ ?
- 10 $ (for IB) plus 3.82 $ (for Transaction Fees)

Thanks
 
Don't trade that so can't confirm.
You say you're a daytrader so are you aware of the US PDT rules which requires you to have a minimum of $25000 in ur a/c if you do more than 4 round trips in 5 days?
If not and you don't have that sort of capital then you may need to look at trading futs instead of SPY shares.
 
I know that IB in UK is required by US tax law, to withhold US taxes on dividends paid by US corporations to foreign persons at a rate of 30%. I understand that many forum members have a long experience and cooperation with IB.

1.) Could you please inform me from your experience If interest income is subject to US withholding?

2.) What if you get dividends from non-US companies? Is IB (UK) required to withhold tax at source on non US dividends?

3.) What is the withholding tax rate at source applied by IB (UK)
a.) if you own a German dividend paying stock
b.) if you own a UK dividend paying stock
c.) If you own a Belgium dividend paying stock
d.) If you own an XS corporate euro bond?

I would be most grateful if you could assist me by answering.
Thank you.
 
I'm not sure if this is a current thread, but I recently opened an account with IB. I would like to trade LEAPS for SPX. I have subscribed to the US Value Bundle data source but I can only find conventional options for SPX not LEAPS. Does anyone know where I can find the LEAPS? I asked IB customer support directly but got a generic response saying I needed to choose a data source.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Steve
 
Hi,
can Greek citizens trade US and EU stocks and ETFs using your platform?
Foreign country bank accounts can also be used?
Is it possible to use $ as base currency?
What is the Divident tax policy?
Thank you in advance
 
I thought I would just share my own experiences with IB as a UK resident getting into day trading for the first time. Unfortunately, it's negative but I suppose things can only improve?

I initially used a variety of paper accounts as I was/am completey new to trading including TWS but stayed away until I was more familiar with the trading environment in general. After a month or so of using other paper accounts I moved to TWS and got used to it, setting it up how I wanted. I was waiting on some money to come through but as it was due in a weeks time I decided to register to open a full account after a month or so of paper trading with TWS, cash to begin with just to make sure it was opened and ok as I didn't have the money to fund it. It took a few days to be approved and then on the day it was all the delayed booktrader, TOS and other bits I had been enjoying in the paper account suddenly stopped working. After spending over an hour and a half on the phone to various IB members, some who were very helpful and then the final one who was anything but, simply informed me that I needed to subscribe to market data to receive those feeds, after trying to explain (on the 5th person so for the 5th time) that it doesn't make sense that completely free delayed data available in any paper account with them gets disabled when the normal account gets approved. He repeated the same sentence several times about needing to fund market data and that was the end of that. I was reluctant at this point to go with IB but due to their cheap commissions and the fact I only trade US stocks meant they were the most viable option. Plus I signed up to another paper trading account with them using a different email, hey ho free delayed booktrader and TOS data again.

Anyway, a week later and my money comes in so I fund the account with enough to cover the day trading rule with a small bit of wiggle room but for me a lot of money. Great, subscribe to market data for all NYSE/NASDAQ info etc and spend another couple of weeks paper trading to get used to the new speed of things but do well. I realise for my needs a Cash account wont cut it so put in the request to upgrade to Margin last Friday with the aim of starting to live trade once it was approved, surprisingly come Saturday night I check my account and its Margin. So today, first day ever of live trading, i'm researching for hours before hand, thinking of going small with the closest I can find to a 'sure' thing just to get the emotion as contained as possible.

Waiting for the bell and if this stock hits 9.50 buy, bell goes, stock shoots, hit the order key for 500 shares and................no settled cash balance message pops up. After trying again and again same thing, I check the account, Margin, plenty of cash in there in GBP but foreign conversion is set in permissions as well as US stocks. At a loss, I phone, after being on hold for 15 minutes I speak to an American gentleman who does sound like he may have just rolled out of bed. He doesn't understand whats going on as its behaving as a cash account, so puts me on hold for 10 minutes, then comes back and says hes going to put me on hold again to speak to the compliance team, he comes back, no one available but he can either message me via ticket or phone me once he has got through to them, I ask for a phone call and an ETA to which i'm advised that it would make his job much easier if he could give me one, it could just be a single approval issue which could mean it is approved by tomorrow or it could be a bug that could take a week he just couldn't tell me. So now I am waiting, the stock I was going to purchase is currenly at 10.01 so $50c gain on what would have been my first ever trade, had I been able to trade. Understand mistakes happen and of course there will be other trades but it does become very difficult to recommend IB, you would think after so many years of being told their customer service is terrible the ratio of good phone reps to bad would be better than approx 1 out of 4.

Just sharing my experience, can't even comment on their usefullness genuinely trading as they won't let me trade the money they have of mine with no ETA on when I can! :p
 
Top