6 replies to this topic

[Kimston]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a futures broker that does well on the following? Trading platform speed and reliability User-friendly interface Low commissions/fees Can reach a body when you need to Quick fills I mainly trade e-minis, metals, currencies and an occasionally a pit trade. I currently use XpressTrade. Easy to use but commissions are a bit high. Had a few stops not filled for some unknown reason (they made good with credits, but still). I browsed the IB site. Commissions appear low (somewhat convoluted pricing schedules) but how is the platform and service? Who do you use and would you recommend them? Thanks, Kimston

[Russ]

I use IB, I find their platform fine and you can also plug third party software into it if you don't like their charting. I always get good service from them whether by chat session or by phone. Trading always goes through virtually instantly. Its good enough. You can also get basic rt data for free if you take a minimum amount or $10 per month if you don't.

[flyers&divers]

IB is the best deal for the money overall. IB invented the Universal Account. Stocks,Options, Bonds, Currencies and Futures can be traded in the same account. All electronic. At this time they are not filling open outcry orders. A common complaint has been that their customer service is poor. At the rates they are charging me ($3.62 RT unbundled after the 300th lot) I put up with less then 5star CS. But, they are on top of things. One more thing. No separate charges for futures or options real time data. That alone is a big savings. I also use Trade Station mainly because of the great charting feature of the platform but pricing is a bit less competitive compared to IB and while the IB platform literally never breaks down the TS gets jammed up at exactly the wrong time like at openings. This could be because I am running more and complicated studies on TS. I found out at an other board that apparently a lot of active traders have both but they use IB to place most of their orders. Thinkorswim is the favored Options house now. They do pit filled orders in addition to electronic trading.. Regards, F&D

[...]

At this time they are not filling open outcry orders.

Not true. I've traded pit-traded contracts at the CBOT and the CME for many months with IB. They have also recently added all of NYMEX's pit-traded metals, energies and softs. They've had the electronic NY mini-energies for a long time. At this point they have pretty much covered the waterfront. Their pit-traded commissions are higher (obviously, they have higher costs) with the highest being $6 a side, most are around $4.

[kc135a]

I also use Trade Station mainly because of the great charting feature of the platform but pricing is a bit less competitive compared to IB and while the IB platform literally never breaks down the TS gets jammed up at exactly the wrong time like at openings.
This could be because I am running more and complicated studies on TS.



F&D

Re TradeStation

I use TS without any enhancements

Since build 3261 earlier this year TS is a total computer resource PIG. I have been with them for at least 7 years and I will dump them in two seconds once I find a program with equivalent charting.

I was going to move my trading account to them this year but the performance is so horrible during busy market hours I see no point in having to wait 30-60 seconds for their software to catch up with reality.

As far as I am concerned, TS is a nice after hours or slow hours package but during real market action you need something else that performs.

TS performance is not acceptable as a real time trading platform.

I now have a dual core 2GB machine in the works and TS does not get it. That is how mad I am at TradeStation and their arrogance.

KC

[jjc]

I also use Trade Station mainly because of the great charting feature of the platform but pricing is a bit less competitive compared to IB and while the IB platform literally never breaks down the TS gets jammed up at exactly the wrong time like at openings.
This could be because I am running more and complicated studies on TS.



F&D

Re TradeStation

I use TS without any enhancements

Since build 3261 earlier this year TS is a total computer resource PIG. I have been with them for at least 7 years and I will dump them in two seconds once I find a program with equivalent charting.

I was going to move my trading account to them this year but the performance is so horrible during busy market hours I see no point in having to wait 30-60 seconds for their software to catch up with reality.

As far as I am concerned, TS is a nice after hours or slow hours package but during real market action you need something else that performs.

TS performance is not acceptable as a real time trading platform.

I now have a dual core 2GB machine in the works and TS does not get it. That is how mad I am at TradeStation and their arrogance.

KC

I completely agree with KC here TS is pig; Last thing you need is to trade on stale data.

[flyers&divers]

At this time they are not filling open outcry orders.

Not true. I've traded pit-traded contracts at the CBOT and the CME for many months with IB. They have also recently added all of NYMEX's pit-traded metals, energies and softs. They've had the electronic NY mini-energies for a long time. At this point they have pretty much covered the waterfront. Their pit-traded commissions are higher (obviously, they have higher costs) with the highest being $6 a side, most are around $4.

I did not know, thanks for the corection.

It is a great convenience,

Thanks, F&D