I'm looking for an alternative to IB but also with a universal account for futures and equities. Tradestation looks good but they dont have a universal account. please help
Thank you but we do not offer universal accounts. We do offer access to US Listed Equity, Options and Futures with one platfrom, REalTick, but not one account number. You would have to open two. One for futures and one for equity/options.
I spent a lot of time trying to find a good alternative and for what I was looking for, lightspeed seemed the best contender. I did not go to Lightspeed due to the platform fees and minimum commissions when requiring API access. If you don't require API access, that'd likely be a non-issue to you. If you do require API access, those minimum commissions and fees may or may not work for you. I'd recommend talking to Robert Morse regarding Lightspeed. I've spoken with him and he was incredibly helpful. Seems threads asking for alternatives to IB are somewhat common, but there never seems to be a good response (or at least one that seems that it would work for me). It seems to be very case by case as to if the alternative really is better for that individual. Good luck in your search and please let us know if you find a good alternative (and who that is).
Thank you Lee. Non display fees are a problem with the Lightspeed Trader API, but on the Sterling Trader Pro API we can disable MD to the API and RealTick is not being made to be complaint yet.
that means the capital would be segregated into two accounts, right? so if there is a margin call in one account the capital on the other account is to be ignored