I mentioned it already in a previous post. a) other securID (safety login device), not sure thats still the case but thats what happened before. A large account was promptly sent an electronic securID device a much smaller account a check-card format paper clip. Ask Def whether they consolidated this procedure or not. b) Better customer service (but that is only my perception), the phones are picked up promptly when I call(ed), server hubs can easily be changed without much arguing, and a number other services that I read others complain about did not apply to me at all in my long time with IB. You do not sound like a pro and all I can say is I would be very careful about your hopes of "making a killing" with shorting hard-to-borrow names. I would not put this item too high up in your priority list unless you already specialize in trading those. Dream on if you even think for a second that the MLs out there get you lower commissions than IB. IB is in the discount brokerage business for a reason, and I would strongly assume Def does not drive Aston Martin which was financed through bonus payments in return for charging clients ridiculous commission rates. At least I have not seen him in an Aston around Pacific Place ;-) (and if he had one it would most likely not be from the above suggested source. I also did not hear that IB sponsors expensive "happenings" in Thailand or Macau to keep their clientele entertained. But maybe I did not make the cut ;-)
of course there is "something in the law" preventing Timber Hill from being funded by client segregated funds in IB LLC. Whether its impossible is an entirely different question (see MAN).
OP. Stick with IB. Just about anywhere else you go you WILL be paying more in commish and that seemingly is one of your main qualifiers. 500k is nothing to sneeze at but for prime brokers that is not even chicken feed.
Bottom line: Every broker says they're the safest when things are going fine. Then when things don't,......... You're taking a leap of faith with anything over SIPC limits.
My understanding, SIPC jump in in case broker failure. But if damage caused by identity theft, maybe nobody will help
Right - in that case, you have to sue/arbitrate with your broker for negligence in letting somebody else withdraw from your account. But if they claim you were partly at fault in not taking proper precautions to keep your password secret or whatever, you might lose or have to settle 50/50 or some such. At least with IB you have a decent level of security, apparently. This is not the case with all brokers. In the case of one broker which I will not name, your password is stored in plain text right in a configuration file.
I don't think he was suggesting that segregated funds would be transferred but, in fact, there is no law or regulation preventing IB (or any B/D) from taking a healthy chunk of their capital that is above their net capital requirement and investing it in an affiliated company such as TH. The result of that type of transaction can take a strong balance sheet down a notch or two and the foundation you depended on is simply not as robust. A good balance sheet is just the start of your evaluation. You want them to have a real business model -- they do -- and risk controls that make sense. I'm convinced this is a quite solid retail firm. You can't compare them to Morgan or Barclay's but they stand up pretty well against most who will take the retail customer and give him a wide range of reasonably priced services.
def, is your statement correct? That is, IB LLC isn't the proprietary trading subsidiary of IBG LLC, is it?
I traded through GSEC for 4 years and got bought in only once during the financial crisis. There were always warnings coming out that I "could" be bought in but nothing ever happened.