You are going to trade odd lots, at the open with a broker who is one step higher than a date raper seeing as how they admit to you what they are going to do upfront? Does your system employ stops as well? With odd lots and a broker who is only going to execute you at whatever little rip-off shop they have a deal with? If so, I would highly suggest you save $20 or so for a subscription to Penthouse. You are going to need that subscription so that you can read the answer to your letter: "Dear Penthouse, what methods and techniques has the pornography industry come up with to ease the constant pain of continual forced anal entry?". See, if you don't have a subscription, you might miss their response. You are going to need that. There might be creams and jellies you will need to buy. Seriously, you are going to pay more in slippage than you will possibly save. You might have so much slippage that you will have no idea in the end how your system actual trades. You are putting odds that you can control against you. I thought I read that IB has re-instituted odd lots at the NYSE .. so I would guess that between that and the gobs of NASDAQ ECNs you might have a shot at doing what you want to do. Even with something like Datek at least they might try in some respect to get you a decent fill. Ripping off aside, I cannot imagine what the fills would be like from a place like that. Do not, for one second, underestimate the brokerage industryâs ability to somehow make money off (not âwithâ but âoffâ) a one share trader. I would bet they can do it. They are ingenious when it comes to this stuff.
Corso482, I traded with Brokerage America from the summer of 2000 to early 2002. Their execution is OK for my trading style. I entered at the opening and exited when either my limit order (profit target) executed or my mental stop got hit. Day trading but slow paced. Soon after BA merged with the FinancialCafe.com (another no-fee broker), they changed the fee structure that commission free trades have to be 100 plus share orders. For odd lots, $5 for market order and $10 for limit order. I believe now they require 1000 plus share orders. BA used to have their own market makers who took customers order and that was how they could make money and offer commission free trades. Therefore your market orders are few penny worse than other broker. Thatâs why you should use limit order. The limit order executions sometimes were 30 to 60 seconds behind the market. But my market order at open is always executed at the exact market open price. BTW, I trade the QQQ only. Since I am still in learning stage, I have to trade small. I started to trade with Freetrade.com, a division of Ameritrade in early 2002. They offer 25 free tardes each month. No minimum share requirement. They used to offer free market order and now free limit, stop and stop limit order as well. Their execution is about the same level as BA. They have good email help and thatâs their only service. No phone # to call. No trades comfirmation or Statement mailed. Everything is on their website. You can only wire money to fund your account. All because itâs a low cost broker. I will not trade with them once I trade big. But before then I think Freetrade.com is good for someone at learning stage, not fast trade style though.