It used to be that paper trading account was only available to those with funded accounts. Looks like it has changed. I wonder for how long you can use their paper trading account.
People are indeed getting started younger in trading/investing. Before, you were seen as some kind of wiz kid if you understood the stock market ...now, it's somewhat normal.
It still is. To have a persistant paper trading account you need a funded account. You can have a demo paper account without a funded account but it resets all your positions every time you log off. So since the platform forces a daily logoff you are forced to start over each day. TOS will let anyone have a persistent paper trading account without funding
Instead of seeking new small accounts, they should take care of the clients who actually pay their bills. I have had 2 very serious execution problems within two weeks and I'm not talking about any complicated orders. Why do they insist on being the amateur's platform, is it really that much more lucrative?
they indeed changed that, as they noticed that only a third of all applicants survived the lengthy account signup process. (info from IB Q3.15 CC transcript) now, as soon as you entered your email, you get a paper trading account that showcases all IB features, and that you are able to keep indefinitely for free.
Sorry to hear that. What happened? TWS bug? back end problem? Except once failing to trigger a limit order for an ASX stock (they apologised and said they had fixed the issue), I do not remember having any problems in years. What lately irks me however is their forced capping of orders. This means they prevent you from participating in any market that for example jumps a lot at open due to a good earnings report. They say that everyone is held to the same rules, but the market clearly trades at the higher price. --> If anyone from IB reads this, please add an order modifier "disregard limit price caps" (similar to the "execute outside RTH" modifier). It's impractical having to call in or chat to have caps removed for individual orders.
One issue I can't go into details about because I have an ongoing compensation request at the moment. The other one was on Friday when an Accumulate/Distribute algo did not start when it should have, leaving me to liquidate a relatively large position manually, which is a pain when under time constraints. The customer service also just wanted to get rid of me despite the fact that I was polite and had waited in queue for a long time.
Why the fuck would somebody stay with a broker after 2 serious execution errors?! If you aren't trading international markets, there is absolutely no reason to stay with IB.