Hi, For the daytrader, which is a better broker? It looks to me like the order entry on real tick is a lot better and easier to take advantage of quick (20 sec) moves in a stock. For instance, when a price is way out of line and will correct in less than 20 seconds it seems that real tick makes it a lot easier to get the order in quickly enough to take advantage of that situation. I understand that you have to have a good data source when using IB (such as esignal or real tick) but I am talking about the order entry part. Is there any way to double-click a price on the Level 2 in IB's software to set the limit price? Can you bump it up with a keystroke or mouse scroll? Is there a way to set and enter your limit orders in IB's software as fast as you can in real tick? Is there an effective hot key setup in IB? Thanks
Well, I used RealTick for 2 months then switched to IB and have been using it for 2 months, so I feel qualified to comment. When I was starting, I thought like you did, that RealTick sounded like the better broker. And if solid customer service is a necessity, then TerraNova MB is the way to go. But... I love IB. The way I trade, I am scaling in and out of positions 200 shares at a time usually, so a per share commission is a godsend. Once I got good with the hotkeys, I was able to enter orders faster in IB than I was in RealTick. I had a big concern about this, and the fact that quotes were not integrated. I use E-Signal for quotes, which is adequate, and the integration I don't really miss. IB and E-Signal are working on their integration now, so there might be a way to click on a price in level 2 to enter an order in the near future with these two, but there is not currently. Yes, you can bump it up and down with a keystroke. There are small bump and big bump, up and down buttons. So, in short, yes the hot keys in IB are very effective.
imo- buy the $160/mo Realtick for charting and analytics and use IB for executions. Or if you have another charting program you like, then use that one instead of RT. I started on RT back in the day, and I love it for charting. However, if you are new and trading 100 shares, flat fee commissions will kill you.
It depends if it is stock that you already have set up in IB. Previous posters imply it is faster in IB but only if you have the stock set up on a page. If you do not have the stock on a page then real tick will be quicker. IB is quite slow to put a new stock up as you have to wait for a menu to pop up for you to choose routing before it goes on a page. In real tick you just type the symbol in and send the order.
You don't have to wait for the menu to pop up if you enable quick stock entry. Then it will enter the stock automatically for you based on the exchanges you tell it you always want to trade thru. The big diff between IB and RT is how much volume you do, which ultimately (for most guys) amounts to how expensive your stocks are. You trade cheapos like SUNW use RT and get flat ticket charges. You trade expensive, thin stocks, where you want to scale 200sh per trade, IB is the best hands down.
Hi, Thanks for your response. I wondered how you can enter orders faster in IB without the integrated Level 2. I want to be able to enter orders quickly on ISLD about a penny under the ask or above the bid with three decimals. I looked at their demo and could not see how you would do it in an extremely fast manner. (I know real tick will not allow three decimal entry at this time, which is very bad).
Not a problem. You have to preload the order. Then as the stock moves, you use the price change hotkeys to move the price. I defy anyone to do this faster on any platform.
I've been using IB ( and RT 160$/mo) for more than 2 years now. The control you're in and the speed when executing with TWS, is absolutely outstanding.