My suspicions as well. I ask for a futs demo and start getting slammed by "GFT certified forex specialists". What the hell? I ask a question about futs, I get responses from the forex guys. Weird.
ok, thanks. index future day trading would be near impossible without a dom. these guys can't be serious. surf
I'm not much of a day trader in fact if I ever day trade it's because I got out of a position because I made a mistake...... Had one of the reps call me today and so I figured I'd drop back in over here and ask if anyone had any updates.... One thing I do find pretty appealing is the fact that they have a 24 hr trade desk you can call and no charges for phone orders....(other than commissions of course). They supposedly have a meter that says how stable the platform has been with virtually zero downtime....yes, of course this could be TOTAL AND UNEQUIVOCAL bullshit..... But if these two items are true it's a plus..commissions are pretty cheap, especially on a swing basis. Problem is, I'd bet you a dollar they don't pay interest on cash balances....no way in hell... But I guess whether or not that is a huge issue depends on your cash balance...at IB they keep the interest from the first $10K anyways, which equates to appx $40 a month...therefore negating for the most part any savings in commissions for an average trader on a swing/position basis. You a) lose $40 in interest plus b) have a minimum activity fee and c) cannot call in and have an order placed, and if you have an order you need out of, then it's $30 fee..... Not ripping on IB totally, just comparing how it may not be a very good deal for many, especially those with average account balances that aren't day traders... However with GFT futures, MB Trading and the like, you have the option of having a phone order placed at no additional fee, which is nice if the time ever comes when you just have to call...the one time you need it in your life it will be worth it. MBT doesn't have a 24 hr desk by any means, and has semi-restricted trading hours for futs....but they do offer a money market sweep option, which is nice...... GFT offers no interest, so yes, you'll still lose interest each month, so on a direct comparison with IB, since commissions are similar......it's pretty close for an average swing/position trader...but I think the tie breaker would come with having customer service available 24 hours a day at no additional charge. Just wondering if anyone has any more input. Thanks.
They meet absolutely none of my criteria as a non-day trader. Plus they charge extra for phone orders and have no way of trading unless you're at your own computer. Plus they charge overnight fees per contract. I am just asking questions about the new kids on the block over here, as any inquiring mind would.
I tested out their demo, and they do NOT have a DOM. I also chatted with tech support about viewing my intraday excess equity/trading power, but they had NO CLUE about futures trading margin or what even a "margin call" was! Use them for FX trading maybe, but NOT futures!
Yeah, during the last several weeks when I was trying out Open E-Cry out, their software was constantly freezing up on me. Luckily, I only had a very small amount with them during this test period, so I just closed my small account.