I would like to ask for recommendations for CF brokers. I use IB and I know they have some products available for trading but is there a better broker out there specifically for CFs? Who do you guys use? TIA
5perside bad news. Just closed my account there. Only one fill and that was reported four days after the fact. I could go on but ... point made.
Refco product is very good - but then your not paying IB-type fees either. I like having their research available and calling one desk to trade anything, anywhere. Haven't begun trading the pit-traded commodities through them yet, but intend to before too long. I also checked out Fimat and Man Financial but for my purposes Refco provided much better value: broader product, less hassle, lower commissions.
I tried 5perside before - http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=67109&highlight=5perside#post67109 - but was not able to open an account. Ended up with ANCO futures - http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=220830&highlight=anco#post220830 - but had problems also with fill reporting and closed my account in the end. I'm now sticking to ES trading and some ESTX50 or DAX. You can also trade currency and energy futures at IB - http://www.interactivebrokers.com/cgi-pub/exchange_display.pl?file=NYMEX.html pretzel
A good futures industry source for information is Futures Magazine. Here's a list of futures brokers ... http://www.futuresmag.com/resources/newlinks/brokerage.html
Don't go near Man! Many screwed up trades due to their awful execution software. They often report fills next day when software says you are flat. 5 per side is a Man IB. Steer clear. Worst FCM I have ever dealt with in 15 years and at least a dozen brokers.
I suppose you get what you're paying for. 10 $ r/t (no matter the number of contracts traded) is a good rate for pit traded futures; plus they have no minimum account and halved daytrading margins. I am also quite satisfied by their fills. However, you might get fills reported late, or never reported! This is true, but I have quotes at home and check the time and sales (almost) tick by tick when I have open orders... Otherwise you can pay higher commissions and have a human broker doing this for you. In this case try Dan Donzelli at RJ O'Brien (no connection, just a former customer) in Chicago. You'll end up paying more, but definitely a much much much better service. alberto
It wasn't just the software. I had a few occaisions when I had to argue for days over trades that Man blatently screwed up. They should have fixed the problems immediately as most other FCM's would. These guys are an awful outfit. Examples: -Stop not getting executed even though traded through stop price. - Buying twice as many beans as my ticket said to. Completely obvious screw ups on their side. They would not have fixed problems at all if I wasn't a bulldog about it. Jay
Same experience ... When I closed my account they wired my account balance to Refco in two wires at $40 apiece. At first I was going to let it slide but their service was so dog-awful from day 1 it really pissed me off, so I layed into them. They claimed it was a simple oversight and mailed me a check for $40. Whatever ... Speaking of Man, their Singapore office refuses American accounts because 'they are not set up for the tax reporting' ???? It seems the coordination among their global offices is marginal to nonexistent.