I've been with a firm for 6 months as a retail trader and proved I'm a good trader. For the first 2 months I was trading relatively light, about 50K shares/day and was paying $6/1000 shares. I've been trading around 150K shares/day for the last 4 months and will trade this volume or higher from now on. It's time for me to renegotiate my commission rate. As I said, I currently pay $6/1000 shares + SEC fees. I trade NASDAQ stocks only. What should I expect to pay given I trade about 150K shares/day? What do people out there pay? Also, does anyone with experience negotiating commission rates with firms have any advice?
Is that really true? can other people let me know if their commissions reflect this? If I'm paying over twice the going rate, how do you suggest I broach this subject with the firm without having to threaten to leave?
I didnt realize you only trade Naz, but I dont know if it really matters. It could though. I trade listed and for listed, I believe you could get .0025 for 3 million+ shares/month.
when you say, "you could get .0025", what do you recommend to accomplish that? negotiation? or shopping around only? I like the firm I'm with now, they have good support and I'm comfortable with the software. But I'd leave for half the commission rate obvously. How can I negotiate them down? thanks for the input
.0025 seems like a really low rate for a retail trader. There is a big difference between prop and retail. Alot depends on who your firm clears through. If they are self-clearing, they can definitely go lower than .006 for 3mil/month. If they are clearing through a major bank like goldman or bear then .006 might be the best you are going to get.
You could just mention that you've spoken to several traders that do equivalent volume to you and they mentioned paying sub .003. See what they say.
Im a futures trader, not equities or prop but throwing in my 2 cents... It seems to me that using the published rates of firms like cybertrader, http://www.cybertrader.com/MarginAndFees/Overview.aspx, and MBTrading http://mbtrading.com/ratesStocks.asp as well as getting a quote from a firm like Genesis Securities http://www.gndt.com/comissions/proprietary.htm would be all you need for negotiation. Good trading.
yea i think i will say that I've spoken to trader who've said they get $3 commission rates. My guess is they'll tell me they can go down to $5 at the lowest. If that occurs, I guess I'll have to decide if I'm willing to leave the firm for another one with a cheaper rate structure. But then I'll have to build up a relationship with the new firm all over again, and get to know their software etc.