Hello. After a few years I'm returning to the trading arena. When I traded before it was solely OTC; I've noticed a fundamental shift to trading listed issues in the past couple of years and would like to learn how to do so in order to expand my skills. In the past, I stayed away from listed issues because of the specialist and slippage. With OTC and Level II software, I merely click on an ECN and - presto - I've bought the shares. I've read about Direct + and I'm wondering how effective it is. Are executions instantaneous? Is it very effective in preventing slippage? What are some other means listed traders utilize to prevent slippage? Thank you in advance for your comments.
Yes its very effective. Fills are not as fast as SOES or taking an ecn offer (Although I always thought they should be) but still its a huge improvement.
What brokerge firms offer Direct+ that also have decent commissions close or equal to IB? peace axeman
Learninglisted, In response to your question about slippage...... There are several things you need to know about Direct plus.... the most important being that the specialist can shut it off if there are too many orders to take care of. If he posts his size 1X1, then it has been halted. Also, the maximum size that you can trade on Direct+ for NYSE stocks is 1099 shares. There's lots more, but those are the main points. hope this helps
Direct+ cancel. How fast is it? Can the SPEC simply "hold" your cancel order until he decides how he wants to screw you? peace axeman