Pardon my ignorance, but can't small size protect itself from the pits by using limit orders? Will all the major pit contracts at all the major US futures exchanges (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, NYBOT) be available to IB retail accounts? Any time frames you can give us? Any thoughts on how long it will take for the pits to die at the big US futures exchanges? Aren't all these IPOs at CME, CBOT, and NYMEX about giving the floor trader seat owners a way to cash out before going 100% electronic? Thank you.
yes and no. You might put a 1 lot in to lift an offer and not receive a fill. Of course once the market goes the other way, you'll get a fill. I agree with you on the IPOs but it's all about competition. The floor traders are still share holders and will resist as long as possible. If you asked me 5 years ago how much longer pits would last, I would have said 5 years and would have been dead wrong. Right now, your guess is as good as mine. The best I can guess is that the day will come.
But this is mainly a concern for day traders right? For a swing trader I would not think this would be such a problem.
not as much but slippage is a real cost. true you enter a limit order but as an example you might have to pay the offer all the time and this is a real cost.
i've just sent my first test trade thru a retail pit broker (non IB), attempting to raise the bid on a contract using the access system after hours. through two platforms, i can see that my improved bid never showed up in access. are all retail pit brokers created equal in terms of letting you represent yourself directly on access, ie you are wired directly in or is there a human intermediary with most brokers? def - any update on getting pit connectivity via IB would be great. comming from IBs standards with electronic connectivity, i know you guys will do it right it seems to me, the access system would be sufficient to swing trade pit products with electronic execution tactics, entering in the off-hours..... if traders are actually interfacing directly with the access system