Bruce Buffer : "Fighting out of the blue corner, hailing from IB, weighing in at an impress 207 lbs. The IB Bruiseeeeer ....... IBbbbsoft." Bruce Buffer : "And in this corner, hailing from MBT, by way of Manhattan Beach, the Undisputed Light Middle Weight Trading Champion oooof the World ... MBT-Steeeeeeve" Big John McCarthy: "IBsoft, Are you ready?" Big John McCarthy: "MBT-Steve, Are you ready?" Big John McCarthy: "Lets get it on!"
And what starts out as SPAM ...ends up being steak ??? I´ll have some fries with that steak.........
I cannot comment about IB as I do not know enough to make a representation about them. I do know MBT and that I can comment on. We offer award winning routing technology for Stocks, Options, Futures and very soon Forex. We have a multitude of partners we are directly integrated with so you can choose who you best fit with. After almost ten years we still have a live representative answer every call. We believe we provide value. We are NOT the low price leader however we are competitive on that front. We are not self-clearing. However, as such we have the strength of one of the largest clearing firms behind us and our clients. Our technology was initially developed by the two primary developers of ARCA and MarketXT not to mention Tradescape and Instinet. When we launch a technology we are usually the first to get it right. We were the first to launch a server sided smart router (MBTX) which even today continues to get price improvements for our clients on Options and Equities and very soon FX. We were the first to have a real time chat room for clients, we were the first to offer an SDK and we were one of the first to offer a FIX technology for retail clients. We are not done yet. As a privately held firm our decisions have to be careful ones. We canât afford a mistake and as such when we release something we usually do so with a large impact on the entire industry. We may not be the "size" leader. We never wanted to be. We want to be the "service and support" leader and that we are. In the next few months you again will see new things from us that will change the landscape of the industry. This is who we are as a company. Our clients are the ones who don't necessarily shop on price. They shop on value, and those that are with us certainly believe the value out weighs the cost. Regards, Steve
Clearly, the intent of my input was not to detract from any positive contributions IB has made to the trading industry. Rather, to point out the differences between IB and MBT with respect to financial disclosure obligations. I carefully chose my words in my various comments to this thread in an effort to avoid any implication of intentional wrongdoing on the part of IB. You, def (and many other representatives) often provide assistance within the many discussions located on this web site (as does MBT-Steve). During your review of the many threads located throughout this web site, do you mean to suggest you have not noticed the comments which paint IB in a less than favorable light? - Spydertrader
Thanks Steve. Good reasons, and reasons why I'm debating between you and IB. IB is the low cost leader from what I gather, but service stinks and platforms are limited. I'll give them a try though based on price. I'll see how the trial goes. I may end up having two accounts for the trial to do a side by side comparison.
A good compromise would be to have an account at IB and an account at MB Trading. In my mind, both of these brokers are at the top of the "best brokers list".
Check the ET Broker ratings. IB has by far the highest number of ratings and as far as I can see 83% positive is higher than any other broker. I have accounts with IB and MB's Canadian cousin TradeFreedom. While TradeFreedoms execution is better(I don't seem to lose as much in slippage) IB's rate structure is superior.
Yes, I have noticed the comments that paint IB in a less than favorable light. Some of them I agreed with - and they resulted in improvements we made to our offering - while with others I did not. I asked the question, because your post seems to imply that IB - the tough price leader - achieved that status by compromising quality. I doubt that there is any area in which we don't show continuous improvements. As to the topic of this thread, I'll abstain; I don't know the first thing about MB, and hence will not offer any comparison. I do agree w/ an earlier poster though that a good way to compare two brokers is by giving them a try.
Question. if you have been with IB for over 4years with no problems at all. then why would you have had to call them and as you say..they have always solved any problem.???? let alone the balance of your statement. if it works for you great....but what I don't understand is the constant need to lie and support IB....unless of course you work for IB, which is very evident by posts on this forum. All know IB has had and does have problems with upgrades, servers,support, waiting on line for minutes etc.. this is not an IB bash but the truth, as it is with all brokers.. remember your broker is not your friend and hand holdering is not their business and if you require it, you will pay for it one way or the other w