can somone with a series 7 and 63 have a regular act at IB, or do they not allow it, or is there a different fee/commission structure for so called professionals? thnx for your help/
Janko: Yes you can open an IB account (or anywhere else for that matter) if you hold a series 7/63 liscense. If you are presently not employed with a professional firm, you can just fax them your U5 form as proof, and you will be treated like any other customer. If you are currently employed with a professional firm, then most firms will need a letter of approval from your compliance officer, and the fee schedule will probably be different for quote/level 2 info. I'm not sure if IB has any extra fees if one is acting in a professional capacity though. Maybe def can answer that one... DeeMan
thnx deeman, yeah i know about the compliance thing, i got to check with the man upstairs to see if they would let me open an acct, chances are no, i think i already checked back then. but as i was messing with the app porcess on ib, under the user agreement it pretty much said you either agree that youre a professional or disagree, i take it if i disagreed they wouldnt let me continue. i guess i would have to call them up and get a specific app, for so called pros. thnx for your reply.
Does having a Series 7 automatically make you a professional? Or do you gain the title by trading at a firm? Do you lose the title after you leave the firm or are you professional status forever?
Professionals are traders who have a 7 and trade at a firm, trade for a corporation, LLC or someone else. Having a inactive 7 won't cause you to have to declare professional status. Having an active 7 will to my knowledge. Rtharp
I was actually thinking of keeping my IB and OnSite Trading accounts open after I started trading with Echo, since they both offer me some adavantages I would lose if I closed them. I'm certainly not planning on paying an extra $180/mo per account for pro exchange fees. Is it possible to contact your broker and tell them you don't want to subscribe to all the exchanges? For example, I would just need Nasdaq level 1 for IB. No $127.25 for NYSE. I don't know what the pro fees are for Nas level 1, but I don't think it's that much. Isn't it like $10? BTW I started a thread a long time ago asking whether you could subscribe to many quote services and only have to pay exchange fees once, since it seems like you're being double charged for the same data. No one really seemed to know, but does anyone know who you would contact to find that information? I looked at the websites for the exchanges, and I didn't see how you could contact them about questions like that.
Rtharp is correct. Once you terminate your employment with a firm, the NASD is notified and you become inactive. You will then be sent a copy of your U5 form, which is your registration history. I believe you are allowed 2 years of inactivity before you must retake the exams if you are to work in a professional capacity. DeeMan
mjt, I'm in the process of gathering the same info from overseas exchanges. My first contact is usually the marketing dept.
Actually, to both Retail Brokerage accounts and to MDV's (market data vendors), just simply being listed with the SEC by means of your SSN (in the Brokerage databases) will force you to be classified as Professional. That classification will also subject you to higher Exchange Fees (for market data feeds) and Regulatory Supervision over the account (namely duplicate confirmations of trades being sent to the licensee's compliance officer; preapproval of purchases on restricted stocks (potential insider implications); knowing what's restricted from personal trading; etc.). There's a whole section in the Supervisory Manuals on watching Brokers conduct (read trading and personal accounts) once they become licensed. This supervisory oversight also applies to all employees and family members accounts, of employees working for Brokerage and Brokerage related firms. Esignal used to directly check with the SEC, based on the application that one signs, as well as other market data vendors (like CPQ, PCQuote, and others). Most exchanges which derive revenue from selling their quotes and news, also require that packagers (bundlers of their data) differentiate from "regular customers" and "professionals (licensed individuals)" in their pricing structure. So, yes, you can have an outside account, however, as long as you have an active license, please prevent the problems you'll be in, by first going to your compliance department / officer and posing the question to them. Remember, in these days of increases scrutiny its far better to be correct and accurate than ignorant (which is no excuse before the law). Cheers ...