I'm looking for fast execution software for scalping. There are so many choices out there and I would like to hear from you. I trade stocks only. Please if you trade stocks with a direct access platform and you are happy with the commision cost and speed of execution respond to this post. If you want you can also pm or email me with recommendation. Thank you all who respond.
For speed of execution, look at Laser by Genesis. It's a little dated but NASD certified and they have a good short list if that is something you need. Commissions on a retail can be as low as .0015/5-10MM per month from share one, not tiered like IB .
I've been using IB for the last two years. You have to put up with the flaky interface though. At the moment it takes me about 10 tries to get it to load. First you get the disk is not in the drive error... then the javaw.exe error.... eventually if you get lucky it will load. Then you upgrade one day and the fun starts all over.
DT001, If you have not yet read the reviews on this site, that would be a place to start. Then follow that with a search for relevant posts. Many people in this thread recommend IB. I have never used them but I have read the posts and they are bifurcated into 2 extremes: - people who love them and either don't see their issues or accept them as minor annoyances - people who hate IB due to poor customer service, technical glitches, etc. However, there seems to be agreement that if you need "hand-holding", you should look elsewhere....
Sounds like the Java 1.6 issues... 1.5 is still quick and stable for TWS. I see their issues, problem is the issues have never stopped me from trading.... Example, I had some dumb issue with no quotes... Tracked it down and realized the program accessing the API had become corrupted... (Or that instance of XP was junk)... Uninstalled the program and did a reinstall. no issues... As a note, I tracked it down by launching another instance of TWS and had quotes for days... Told me where to look for the problem.. Of Course I have a backup system I.C.E.