I completely agree! Im all for them matching my orders internally. No exchange fees, faster execution - I will happily take their money all day long . How do I know if its happening on my account? Do I need to click some buttons in that TWS abomination?
I dont know if they do or dont that is why I asked. I didn't even know they took the other side until I read this thread. If it is true then Id like to know if there is a way to identify which trades did not reach the exchange and whether I was charged exchange fees on them.
Internally matched orders are called IBRATS and no exchange fee is charged, in fact you get rebates. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=1590&p=stocks2 IBRATS is a small dark pool and the probability of getting filled there is very small. In my experience, less than 1-2% of the time.
You're missing the point, you might not get the best price, commissions are of secondary importance. I've been routed to IBKRATS quite a bit more recently, I assume that's the internal one. There are exchange fees, just a bit lower but not a lot for taking liquidity.
Yeah I guess you are right. What is the reason for re routing orders? What is the criteria or is that unknown? is it simply IB discretion? Not sure Im liking the sound of this after all to be honest.
Everyone is overthinking this. You get filled at your limit price, or better, than no problem. I could care less how the broker facilitated it.
As long as i am using limit order, who cares. It may be in my favor if others are ahead of me with same bid / ask and I am matched first! Hell if they can match my trades internally at lower price and save the exchange fee and give me a break, i'm for it...
And if you're using marketable orders, what then? Price improvement in very different depending on where you're routed. What if your order is sitting on IB's book while the other venues are filling orders, you'd get nothing. Assuming IB will prioritize you and things will work out fine is not realistic. I'm not going to assume the worst but as a customer I think IB should be more transparent.
Market orders are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. If you use market order, you deserve it, don't complain...