Bandit 77 wrote: Hopefully IB will be around for the next year eh? I've opened an account at IB and put in an initial deposit. I'll test drive them for a bit. if it's good, I'll put in the rest of my money. if not, I'll open an account with MB and try them out -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote from libertad: Another item you might want to check on is the financial position of the firm... One way to do this is find out the average number of trades per day...take their lower rates...as approximately 7% of their accounts will be doing the majority of their business... This will give you an idea of what the cash flow is to run the firm...and you will probably want to adjust the rate to IBs rate...because IB is definitely the price leader... Things can get pretty dicey in 2006-2007..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IB posts their financials on their website thus it is quite easy to check them out...however there is no financial information on MBs website... There were quite a few late 90s firms that disappeared rather quickly...Most of them were resellers of clearing services....execution software such as Real Tick....and just did not have business models that could stand up to the lower commissions that IB introduced... As I mentioned earlier if MB is unwilling to offer to the public their financial position...then you could question the firm as to their average number of daily trades in order to get an idea of the cash flow...and the fact is that most firms have to follow the low commission leader if they still want to be around....As has been the case thus far...and those who have not changed have basically watched their business fade into the sunset.... Good luck ...stay safe...and watch out for SPAM....
Had an account with MB few years back. I had all sorts of troubles with them, but the worst was when their south FL server went down and I was in a trade, of course , and called em up to sort out the issue: no one on the phone during the whole morning..... there was a rude MB guy sitting in the same chatroom I was attending that time, who was unavailable for any help of course. Very bad experience with MB.....I'm with IB since 3 years now, no probs, no issues, no handholding either, dont need it.
How asking for a futures broker recommendation negates 9 years of active trading I'll never know. If insinuating that traders who value superior customer service are somehow beneath you and require hand holding makes you feel better about your broker decision then I'm glad I brightened your day. At the end of the day it all boils down to account balance ... and I'm very happy with mine. Frank
What is extemely interesting in this case is that while IB openly offers their financials to the public...MB does not... It would seem that if a firm offers its services to the public...then the public should be entitled to know what the company financials are... This is really a very simple matter..and in fact the direct access brokerage industry is a very simple one... The financial health of the firm simply depends on how many trades happen each day...and what the margins are to the firm... I think that if the public were informed about this simple matter ...it would make their choices as to where they want to place their business much easier... Quite simply would one want place their hard earned dollars with a firm that was netting a $100,000 per month ...or one that is netting $5,000,000 per month ? Certainly the public should be made aware of this information....
I dont know what kind of option strategies you utilize but MBT looks pretty weak on options: https://www.mbtrading.com/ratesOptions.asp I'm a happy MBT user (not for options, equities/futures) but I wouldn't recommend using a hammer to drive a screw. In terms of financials, MBT is not self-clearing so wouldn't the financials of the clearing firm (Penson) be of more importance then MBT's financials?
Excellent Commentary Winter wrote... In terms of financials, MBT is not self-clearing so wouldn't the financials of the clearing firm (Penson) be of more importance then MBT's financials? ....................................................................................... Look... this matter is very simple...and is about public disclosure... What are the actual financials of the brokerage firm by which the public is invited to do business...? You have one firm A who handily gives you this information...and you have firm B who will not provide you with this information... In terms of your personal due diligence about where one feels most comfortable with their money...this is very basic information... This is a very clear question...and has a very clear answer... ................................................................................................ A brokerage firm is responsible financially for issues regarding its actions...and a clearing firm is responsible for issues regarding its actions.... ............................................................................................. The fact that a firm does not offer to the public its financial report card is very telling indeed....
The above sentence represents one of the more ridiculous comments ever posted to these pages. If public disclosure of financial reports provided some semblance of protection, why did REFCO surprise the hell out of the Financial World recently? A private company not providing publicly available glimpses into their books tells me one thing - the company wishes to remain private. I recently consolidated several brokerage accounts and moved them over to MBT. I considered IB before my decision, but my decision rested on, what happens if I ever had a problem. The customer service horror stories with IB remain well documented among the many pages on this web site. However, I can rate my experience with the MBT customer service staff as top notch. Choosing a broker remains a matter of personal preference, and one size does not fit all. Some traders prefer rock bottom prices; while other trader desire superior customer service. People can make an informed decision on choosing a broker without you providing insinuation and innuendo. Good trading to you all. - Spydertrader
On IB's page (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/about/financials.php) they state that they must provide this information: The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that we make available to customers the annual and semi-annual statements of financial condition for Interactive Brokers LLC Why is IB held to a different standard then MBT, is it because they are self-clearing?
Excellent Commentary ................................................................... While REFCO is a very unfortunate circumstance.... Public disclosure about very basic financial information is a very basic matter... ....................................................................... Ask anybody off the street if they would rather have or rather not have the basic financial information about the firm with whom they were considering placing some of their hard earned money... ...................................................................... This is a very simple...yes no question.... Anyone who thinks otherwise has some other reason behind their response....