i keep hearing multi-currency accounts are a few weeks away. thus the best i can say is that they are a few weeks away. akhuto: as for you comments, you can't win them all. many requests were made to trade w/o price data and now you can trade stocks w/o price data. a number of critical comments in regards to a $10 minimum were made and now it is $3. The fact is if you do 3 trades a month there is no charge. There are no free lunches. If you do less than 3 trades per month you may want to consider trading with an on-line broker and not going direct access.
I commend IB on the "$3 policy". Once again, they have stepped up to the plate with a viable solution that balances the needs of many (most). Many thanks to Def and those who work so hard to find the right balance of IB policies and procedures. Another satisfied customer.
Checked my euro futures a/c, and it says I must subscribe to globe! I have a US futures a/c and don't mind paying for globe access, but what is the sense in charging fees for globe in a euro futures a/c that cannot trade these products! zentrader ----------------------- I emailed IB about this, and they replied that they will not charge globe fees for euro based accounts. I think they made a mistake in their customer menu. Also it would be great if they would offer a multi-currency futures/stocks/options account. Then i could trade with 1 account instead of 3. I agree with drlenny that they should waive the exchange fees for xetra if you generate commissions above a certain amount . Observer
re EF comments Look I'm making alot more than 3 trades a month!!! This is not the point.I just don't like the way things are done at IB 1st - mixing market data fee and inactivity is confusing for customers- Ib is free to introduce inactivity fee irregardless of the fact that I'm opting to get the market data or not(and by the way what is a workstation without basic market data?).And if the issue is going after pennies, why don't I get interest on the first 10k??? substract your fee from that? I do like IB executions and yes I 'm paying 1 cent/share but it's not cyberx so I'm getting what I'm paying for...I just don't understand where we are heading (market data fee,inactivity fee,ourtrageous levell 2 fee) what's next? so in ref to going to another broker .....yes I'm starting to think about it...
No offense intended akhuto...but please report back to us on your findings once you start trading with the new broker. I think once you start doing the math, that you will find the grass very green here.
Akhuto - Def said it best - "There are no free lunches." IB has been continuously responsive and receptive to customer suggestions. However, it's just not possible to please everyone. The recent changes being implemented are TERRIFIC !! The changes are a win-win for all IMO and make sense from a business standpoint. I agree with Ktm re "Many thanks to Def and those who work so hard to find the right balance of IB policies and procedures." The field I'm grazing in is looking greener.
I fully support IB's "payment for inactive accounts" initiative. I value IBs low commissions and fast execution and if other customers by their inactivity is putting that at risk I strongly support that they have to pay their own way.
I have a question though, in a response from IB it was put this way: (begin)We have thousands of customers who keep a few dollars in their account, never trade and tax our systems by watching our quotes. Many of our competitors are public companies who worry more about the price of their stock than their profitability and the market still seems to value their stock, in part, based upon the number of customer accounts they have. Accordingly, they are willing to disseminate quotes to inactive account for free.(end) Thats fair and I fully agree, but now they are saying that even those accounts that have NO MARKET DATA will still pay a fee. Given the above I dont see the 3 dollar fee as making any sense. If you get NO data how can you tax their system.
ron2368 - there is a cost to maintain your account (i.e. calls made to IB reps by phone/e-mail, keeping your account updated, tax reporting responsibilities, computer programming, exchange reporting responsibilities, etc...). $ 3 is a small price to pay if your account is inactive. Heck, pay $ 3 in commissions per month and it isn't even an issue.