IB is Java, which I think is a resource hog MB is windows based and seems to offer many more 3rd party front-end vendor choices which should I pick? their commissions are comparable.
So far MB has been rock solid for me. Costs a little more but I'm willing to pay for nice, knowledgable people that actually pick up the phone withing 4 rings everytime. YMMV.
I would have thought that if you wanted hand holding then mb might be a better choice as hand holding has always been ibs weakness. I'd be surprised if IB wasn't cheaper for most retail traders but there may be some areas where that is true (i dont know mbs price structure). TWS isn't a resource issue for a modern PC. I was running it on a 800Mhz machine with 384k or ram and was a little concerned but my current one is 2.8GHz and 512MB at which point ... who cares about running a bit of java. I am curious about the "lots more 3rd party" apps for mbtrading statement. Go and have a look at that part of IBs website and see if you still have that view (i think its software/3rd party or something similar in the menus).
Thanks for the feedback Frank and Kiwi. I see the only "all in one" platforms offered for IB are Esignal and Quotetracker. MB Trading has also DTNIQ, Instaquote, and others.
I opened an MBTrader account around 5 years ago and everything was smooth and fast. 6 months after, I closed the account because they had a fee strcuture which was too expensive (I discovered IB) so I closed the account and they sent me the deposit check without problems. Now, I am trying to open a new IB account and it has been a headache to deal with their newaccounts department. You send them an email, and they reply in 2-3 days asking you for more and more proof of identity documents. Seems like the newaccounts employee at IB have a stateless mind, in which you need to remember them everything you have sent and written them in past emails so they can proceed where they left with the paperwork of your new account. Also, the general chat service they have is absolutely silly and worthless. The chat employee (Aimee) speaks as if she doesn't care for anything, even if you are a long time customer. I hope MBtrading someday had a better fee and datafeed structure so I can switch to them, because with all this bad customer service I have had with IB, I wonder if they are playing poker with my money during their spare time.
that is pretty bad. I don't need handholding, but I also don't want to get the finger. IB seems to have a reputation for bad service. can anyone shed light on MB's execution? as good as IB?
I don't have any IB experience other than my first phone call in which I had to wait forever then was treated to one seriously rude rep. Based on that they were crossed off my list without a second thought. I don't need hand holding but I'm not giving my $$$ to a company that right off the bat treated me with such little respect. Like I said, MB is solid. super fast executions. For charting I'm using neoticker which is cheap, super powerful, not to cpu/ram intensive and makes esignal look stupid. Neo uses MBs data feed so you don't have to pay a dime for data. Good tech support too. Both have 30 day demos to try. Neo in doubling the price on Feb 1 so if you like 'em you have to pull the trigger soon.
I have had accounts with both. Depends on what you want to trade and when you want to trade it. With IB you can trade much more securities at all times of the day. With MB, there is less offered to trade, and they limit the hours. It also depends on if you care about customer service. And please note, I wouldn't call needing to call customer service in a crisis being in need of handholding. When a crisis arises, that is when a firms true colors come out. And with all of relying on technology, you never know when you may need help. My experience with IB customer service has been terrible. MB on the other hand has outstanding customer service. From opening an account,to calling the trade desk to check on trades, they answer the phone promptly, act like they care if you have a problem, and actually resolve things in a timely and professional manner. Wish IB did the same, but they didn't with me, and they lost a customer because of it. Being able to get out of a trade quickly is well worth the small difference in commison. Also, it depends on how much you trade and what you trade, ie, how much difference IB's cheaper commissions mean to you. I occasionally trade stocks, but mostly Eminis and not heavy volume. For me, the difference in commissions doesn't warrant putting up with the attitudes at IB, so I much prefer MB. Also, there is a recent thread discussion MB's vs. IB's interest rate on your account. Seems like for many, MB's better rate may cover the difference in commissions. As for front ends, I think IB has more. I think TWS is an embarrassment, but there is a lot more that IB integrates with. More than with MB I think, certainly with futures. MB's only DOM style interface is Ninja, and while I like the features, it feels pretty buggy these days. Wish MB would consider partnering with others with DOM style interfaces, I would think it would broaden their customer base. In any case, there is pluses to minuses to both, and it is a personal choice. And again, really depends on what you are going to trade, when you plan to trade it, and how much of it you will be trading. Those specific considerations aside, I wouldn't hestitate to recommend MB Trading, I am very happy I switched from IB.
Your welcome. And forgot to mention, if you are going to trade just stocks, especially NASDAQ stocks, you may want to check Genesis Securities. They have decent rates I think, and their platfor Laser is way better for scalping, etc than IB's TWS in my opinion. If you are going to trade eminis or the like there are also many decent futures focused firms out there, although both IB and MB are good as well.