I have decided to go with IB for my futures account. Timing is nice with the rates going down to $4.80 RT. The big worry is that when system problems arise that I will not be able to reach them by phone to work out of positions. From what I have read on this board, customer service is not their strong point. I am wondering who to use for back up brokerage? I would appreciate any suggestions from IB futures customers that keep a back up broker. I also figured that since i would be keeping capital tied up with a back up broker, that I might be able to get something out of it....like free charting?! Do any reasonably priced brokers offer free real time charts? Thanks. Haas
try www.elocaltrading.com They offer the Patsystems J-TRADER platform, attentive service, a 24 hour execution desk and a fair commission rate
I just opened a backup account with Elocal and got J-Trader installed and setup. My first impression is that it pales in comparison to the simplicity of TWS. It requires a ton of screen space which is at a premium for me. The thing that I miss the most is the hotkeys, everything requires a mouse click and confirmation windows. TWS puts everything into one window, J-Trader requires at least two windows open, one to create an order and then another to monitor active ones. I agree that IB's quotes and order speed are pathetic; I had both the quote slowdown and hesitation on orders today, but other than that it Rocks! A good thing with elocal is that daytrading Margins is only $2500/contract so it requires less money sitting around as a backup broker.
juggernaut - The daytrading margin is a very good point. If the capital is hardly going to be used, it would be nice to keep the slimmest margin possible. I feel dumb for not thinking of that! I have read the complaints about IB's futures quotes being very slow/unreliable on occasion, but not so much when it comes to order speed. Is the order speed slower then J-Trader? Thanks for the suggestion. Haas
You can disable the confirmation windows and you can also open a trade window and uncheck the close after trade box. The bid, offer, and last update to the right under the lot size. You can set the type of order you like and then click on the price and buy or sell it. You can just use that small box and that is all you'd need. It's very fast. You can use the dom to enter limit orders in one click. I like to check the create as inactive box and then submit it. The order will be sent to the status area where you can modify it and then transmit. I have a buy and sell stop just sitting there all the time and i just adjust my price according to what i want and then send it.
Haas - I can't comment on order speed for J-Trader since I haven't used it enough. But according to previous comments I've read on EliteTrader they seem to be consistently quick. fooliosbrother - Thanks for the tip that would make it much easier I would still have the problem from the status window of not seeing my current position or the current price without opening other windows right?
craigross, 4 $per side on all futures or just on the E stuff...? Also do you have BEST online trading software....? Nick
I have found IB's futures quotes for the emini NQ to exactly match those from eSignal, all via dsl internet speed.
You can just use the trade box and watch the quotes in it. You will get a confirmation alert when you order is filled so there is no guessing. If youre using the status window you can just check the hot quotes tab or you can use the trade window with the status window but that may take up too much room for you. I use stops so I just create some inactive orders and then look at the status window. When the order is filled it moves down do the completed section and I watch my charts. If you use stops you should make sure that the order column is selected so that you can see what type of orders that you have sitting inactive under the status window. That way you wont get confused and activate the wrong one if you have a couple in there. If you use limit orders alot you can just use the dom and click on the buy or sell side at the price you want and it will work the order. Pretty easy.