You shouldn't be paying more than $3.95 per round turn. The broker depends on the platform you want to use.
i am at seven. what do you think about IB? i get crazy with the thought that i am paying more than a private guy trading once in a while ... we made in sum 17.000 contracts in may and i am paying on average about five bucks ... makes me crazy ... i am paying 10% of capital on comission per year ... just comission ...
Call Mark Oryhon at Velocity. (1.800.490.9390) I guarantee they'll give you the best rate available. Great firm, great service, honest and inexpensive. With your size it's silly to be held captive by IB's unstable connectivity and restrictive margin policy.
What you mean by "IB's unstable connectivity and restrictive margin policy"? Do you have your own experience as our customer? The last survey shows that about 2/3 of ET trade futures trough us. Do not make them look as a bunch of idiots please.
I traded through IB for years. I've also defended IB countless times on this board. However if one is a size FUTURES trader then I'd suggest they be at a firm specializing in Globex/ECBOT and Eurex. Also TT accessibility is paramount. IB is a solid firm, especially for those who need "universal" accounts. That doesn't mean you're the best firm for everyone. As far as inter-day margins, Velocity demands less than 50% of overnight. That means less funds need be committed to short term strats. And with all due respect TWS has issues. Let's not get into a flame here but anyone who's been on ET long enough has read the hundred or so threads when TWS "goes pink."
thats wrong pabst. tws is as or more stable than any system out there period. there fills are lightning quick too. but you're right there commissions are way more than many out there and there interday margins are much higher than most. overnights are mandated by the exhange and everyone's the same
More stable than X-Trader Joey? No way. I think about 60% of the volume in the U.S. and Globex is on TT front ends.
Did you ever think about leasing a seat? An IOM(trade ES and NQ) seat rents for roughly $800. A GEM(ER2) is renting for $200-$300 This would reduce your clearing fees from 1.7 a round turn to .42(plus $50 a day in globex fee cap per day maximum) a round turn. You would save roughly $1000-$2000 a month in clearing fees!!! http://www.cme.com/trading/mem/leaseprices.html http://www.cme.com/trading/mem/res/benefitmem3425.html#savings Your commissions could be lowered to .20 to .50 a round turn. PM me and I could suggest how to find a clearing firm with good commission rates.
we were not so active until recently, when we started some intraday strategies. we are very lean, just three people and i delegate all my trading and accounting to friends of mine who have some brokerage business running for twenty years. but i figured out that we are going to pay around a million this year in fees only. and, hell, that is shakin' me up quite a bit. thnx for the contact.