I have been condsidering switching my account to IB. Lately, its seems as if all of the posts are negative comments. Yet, you all still maintain accounts there so they must be doing something right. In my search for a new execution platform I have made a few phone calls and found that there are several other firms that will match or almost match IB's ultra low comissions. So my question is this....What are the positive things about IB that keep all of you coming back? They must be doing a few things right. What are these things?
what negative comments other than from those affected by the PDT rules or with < 2K in the account, read the overwhelmingly positive reviews and consider opening a small account to start and then make your own decision.
Most, if not all of the neagtive commentary lately has been from 2 people (or is it really 1?) over issues that are SEC-related, nothing to do with IB's policy. Read the reviews in the brokers section for a better cross-section. I've been accused in private messages of working for IB but I assure you I'm not an employee, just a satisfied client.
To summarise it, IB is good for commissions and speed. Just don't expect any good supports or customer services.
I recently opened an account with IB, but haven't funded it yet. I think the greatest complaint people have with IB is poor customer service. Considering that they excel in virtually every other dept, I am surprised at their apparent inertia in overhauling their customer service. def, any comments??
Are you talking about the Angry Black Men who Eat on the job? I've never run into one, but seldom have to call support. It's blown way out of proportion. The only straw people have to grasp is the customer service angle, and it's not that bad. As a matter of fact, their whole operation is automated, and it's just Hal II answering questions with different voice overlays and inflections to give the appearance of a human CS staff. I think the day Bob111 called, he got a beta voice overlay of Al sharpton or jessie Jackson, and a small bug in the programming made it sound like they were eating a Big Mac. I think this has been resolved. Give it a try with a small account and find out for yourself. Most of these negative posts are newbies or competitors.
IB sucker, do not get away from the fact that you make many fatal changes without notification! That's one of IB's problem. If you don't accept the problem, you are never going to improve and eventually bad for IB. As for PDT rules, you know exactly how many small investors are hurt. It is just YOUR speculation to say there is just one or two here criticize PDT rules.
Why are you blaming IB for the PDT rules? They're industry-wide. Blame the SEC - they're the ones who came up with them in the first place. IB interprets the PDT rules as they're written. Either fund your account with 25k or limit yourself to 3 a week.