i trade anywhere from 100-300 contracts per day between the HSI and the H shares futures. does anyone actively trade the HK futures with a broker other than IB? the few i've been able to look into have been HK based brokers with insanely high commissions (like 2-3x IB rates- which would mean well over $1,000/day in commissions- over $4,000/day on high volume days- ie: not practical). if anyone trades with someone who offers commissions in the range of IB, please let me know. not sure if there are any institutional type brokers/platforms which i would qualify for (i trade kinda a lot of contracts for retail, but probably a drop in the bucket to the big guys). my $20,000+ broker related anal raping today is pretty much the last straw with IB. thanks
you should start with MF Global as well as any other FCM's which can be found at the cftc.gov website under fcm data. YOu will need to talk to a manger and not just a regular account rep. You will also have to be able to prove that you actually do the quantity of round turns that you stated. If you do all of this, I am confident you will be able to find a broker with a direct electronic link. The "manager" can get it done. Goodluck. Just got a call back from MF global Chicago. Upon acct approval you can trade direct HSi on MTRADE PRO Stable platform Chicago MF Global Inc. 440 South LaSalle Street 20th Floor Chicago, IL 60605 USA T: +1 312 663 7500 F: +1 312 663 7524 e-mail hong kong office Hong Kong MF Global Hong Kong Level 23 100 Queen's Road Central Hong Kong T: +852 3553 1000 F: +852 3553 1888 www.mfglobal.com.hk
gang, I have been told that you can make trades via phone in HSI with OEC. Have not verified that though as by the time I picked up the phone to make the trade, I'd already be out. LoL The rumor is by end of 08 electronic access should be fleshed out. We'll see. There is one US company with a office in HK with access. Mfglobal formerly Man Financial who had mixed reputation. I know nothing about them but here's the link http://www.mfglobal.com.hk/prod_futures.aspx http://www.mfglobal.com.hk/prod_asianequityderivative.aspx Nothing wrong necessarily with IB aside from the fact that TWS is not bulletproof. No broker is but TWS is quirky and in HSI you cant play around wondering if pink screen of death is near. Try Buttontrader with IB and Hsi. Robert Hoi makes it his business to know TWS better than 99.9% of IB's IT guys. HTH
Hey you know, I think his ButtonTrader idea is excellent, and I have gone on record as saying that it is the #1 choice for retail traders in this business. Might your problems be solved by simply getting a top-notch order entry and trade management software that costs a little less than $150 per month, USD?
thanks for the replies thus far. i have been considering MG Global- have heard both positive and negative about them. i will call them back tomorrow and at least get the fee structure info. problem with button trader and the like is that they are still dealing with the ib data and, thus, ib issues. if ib goes down, they go down too. i will keep an acct @ ib for backup, but, ideally, i'd like to move up to a more institutional grade platform and service. question is whether my trading acct is large enough to get what i want. i'll post my opinions as i talk to mf global. still would love to hear from anyone who has other suggestions. btw: do people in HK really pay those high costs?!?!!? can't see how you could trade profitably (especially my style, which is in and out a lot) with those commissions- you'd have to be a trading god to turn a profit!
After all is said and done, why not just trade less volatile markets during different hours? Or less volatile markets during the same hours, for that matter ... you seem to be just a little obsessed with desire to trade the HSI.
If you can enter orders that are native to the exchange via ButtonTrader, it won't matter if TWS goes down. Maybe you should check ButtonTrader out...doesn't sound like you're all that familiar. For instance, when I enter an order in ButtonTrader, I simultaneously transmit a limit order to sell, and a stop limit order, one cancelling the other upon an execution. If TWS goes down, my orders will still be handled. OldTrader
you really do make stupid posts. obsessed? that's like saying someone who works for goldman is obsessed because they report to work every day. i trade the HSI for a living- it's my job. idiot.
thanks for the post. THAT i did not know. i guess i need to look into button trader beyond the cursory look. although booktrader is pretty lame, especially the time it takes to modify size and other things, reality is that it has worked well enough for my needs and i have taken a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach since my trading ahs been going so well (last 2 days aside). anyway, i will check it out. the cost is kinda high in that it's monthly instead buying a license. reality though, it's insignificant if it makes even 1 trade better per month, as even a 10 point move in the HSI is more than the monthly fee.
Are you saying the cost of Button Trader is high?? Man...I would have said that the cost of Button Trader is next to nothing unless you are trading a $3000 account. The program is indispensible for me. You really need to check it out. Pay for it for one month, it's $60. You'll never go back. If you have questions about configuring it, Robert Hoi, the developer, is some sort of freak who doesn't need sleep and he will give you specific answers to your questions. In fact, if you are only trading one instrument, I think you can get the Lite version which is even cheaper.