Margin

darrren

you'd want to check that company out before considering them as your broker

they are quoting prices for futures without indicating if the price is per round turn or just one side - and no sign of a recognisable clearer behind their broking

trading plaforms on the whole are nothing to do with the broker - they just happen to be the front end that connects you to the broker - IB happen to have their own trading platform - but others will use PATS or TT

what makes you feel their platform is so much better than IBs - which platforms have you used in the past?
 
Looks like the typical white label introducing broker with horrible fees:

Stocks 12.95 which might go down to 7.95 IF previous month was more than 1000 trades (!).

Datafees, ECN-fees, software fees ( 1.00 per trade!),

Fix basic platform fee of $ 85 -255 (waived if more than 15-50 trades per month)

No futures

Options 14.95 + 1.95 per trade.

If only the time to search for another grail-like broker was used to learn the tws, api .....

Hittfeld
 
Make you right there Hit, it always takes abit of time to get used to something new. I hated the look of IB when I first looked.
 
Stevet

I agree with you. That's what I did and despite their platform, still decided to go with IB. I haven't recommended anyone use Speedtrader, but used it to illustrate how bad IB is in comparison.

Regarding the different platforms : Anyone with much experience of using Deal4Free will rightfully rubbish their methods and trickery BUT will still praise their new Marketmaker platform. It is very flexible (unlike the old version which was unreliable and unwieldly, though in fairness it was designed a few years ago. They realised this and replaced it with Marketmaker.

Now, IB is using the equivalent of D4F's old platform and Speedtrader is using a very flexible platform similar to D4F's new system. I just feel a big player like IB should be using a current generation platform.


Hittfeld

Why did you make such a ridiculous statement as 'if only the time to search for another grail-like broker..........................'

Firstly, we are always told to 'do our own research' which is exactly what I was doing. Who said I was looking for a grail like broker - you, not me. Mind you , if looking for 'grail-like' means looking for the best of something, then I'm guilty!

Secondly, compared to IB's platform, Speedtrader IS the holy grail!!

Thirdly, only a dumbo would want to learn the tws, api...., if their was a way of avoiding it. Why should the customer have to get involved in api - when I buy a car I don't expect to have to have to redesign parts of it to make it an acceptable vehicle. I want to trade, not b****r around with bad software!

By the way, if you had read my postings before mouthing off you would have seen that I was not already with IB and went in search of the grail instead of getting down to some serious tws learning and software designing. I demo'd Speedtrader before I came to IB.

Darren
 
darrren

the reason that api access is so advantageous, be it IB, TT, PATS or whatever, is not that it might give you the chance to design your own platform, but that it allows you to totaly automate your trading style as you can access and analyse direct market data, and then automatically and eletronically kick in all your orders, without any manual intervention

but, even in designing your own trading platform, it does mean that you can make sure that the data paths are as fast as possible, so that you have the minimum delay between receiving data and getting your order to the exchange

this is why TT is the best manual trading platform since they prioritise exchange access

all spreadbetting platforms are going to be in the stone age compared to any difect access trading platform
 
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Darren,

thanks for your kind words.

I don`t consider reading sales brochures a proper form of research. That`s why I `ve just mentioned the hard facts, which is price. If you go to their website, you^ll easily recognise the trading software, which isn^t proprietary to them, but white labeled to many introducing brokers.

The quest for the ultimate brokerage has goneon for years on all boards. Every IB customer is obliged to have a second broker anyway. I have been looking but was unable to find another broker the size, quality and cost of IB. Lets face it, there are prop-solutions for the pro`s , then there is IB and then there is nothing for a long time.

Hittfeld
 
Stevet

Thanks for the info - I'll have to look into api and see all it's benefits.


Hittfeld

No problem.

I agree with you on the facts you mentioned and they formed part of my reasoning for not using Speedtrader.

You have me at a disadvantage regarding IB. You say that 'every IB customer is obliged to have a second broker'. Are you pulling my leg, as I cant believe they are that bad you need to fund another broker with $25000 in case IB let you down? Or is there another reason I haven't thought of?


Darren
 
Darren,

Yes, not that they are that bad, but they want to avoid any legal and liability problems.

Therefore , when opening an account with IB, you confirm with your signature that you have a second broker, which you might utilise for offsetting your open positions in the ùnlikely event of IB being down.

Every customer should have signed that with the small print. As I take even `unlikely`events very serious, I have ever since searched for a backup broker - without much success.

Hittfeld
 
Hittfeld

Thanks for that.

I'm a fussy b****r who has irritated both my doctor and dentists' receptionists by insisting on reading forms they wanted me to sign but I cheerfully signed up to IB without reading their small print. I do have another broker as it happens - MyBroker - but IB must be doing this to cover themselves (can't blame them).

I assume that the second broker is used to make an opposite trade ie. go long the same amount as a short trade you have with them, to effectively cancel out any open positions with IB if they went down?

That would surprise Mybroker if I suddenly asked them to buy $80,000 of PCAR pronto - particularly as I wouldn't have the dosh to pay for them! LOL

Darren
 
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