Here's wgat I get from TDameritrade: 1. I trade stocks and options. Comission for stocks $5 for unlimited shares (I trade about 20K shares a day) 2. Strategydesk for autotrading. no need to buy separate data sources, order execution systems etc., It's free and included. Execution speed isn't too bad as far as I can see. 3. Free level 2 on nasdaq 4. free realtime news streamer 5. reasonably good charting 6. free gainskeeper for taxes 7. Free unlimited ACH and wire If I compare this to IB: 1. Comissions are expensive if I trade more than 1000`shares >$50 at a given time 2. charges to cancel/modify 3. need to use 3rd party for autotrading 4. market data and level 2 are charged 5. gainskeepeer is extra Obviously on the plus side for IB: 1. many different products and exchanges, which I dont use. 2. direct trading (eventhoguh not sure of the advantages for a stock trader like me) Now where am I going wrong? Why should I move from TD to IB? thoughts? thanks
i have both TD accounts AND IB accounts. and btw, i use IZONE as well through TD, so I get $3 trades some things you may not realize 1) TD is ***not*** a direct access broker. they get paid for order flow. you will not get anywhere NEAR the kind of fills you get with IB where you can directly access the market. 2) TD does not offer futures I use TD for a longerterm portfolio (one of them) where I can set a limit order and wait weeks for a fill if necessary). using it for daytrading is absurd imo. if you can make money with it - more power to you, but traders with a direct access connection will have an advantage over you. iow, it's fine for swings, buy and hold, general portfolio etc. for daytrading,and especially scalping - it's not
I think you should have an account with both brokers and use each where the need fits best. You also get the benefit of spreading the cash between more than one broker.
I also have had accounts with both and closed out my IB account because I hadn't used it in a few months due to the difference in commissions i was paying (much more with IB, though it's $5 per 1000 shares, not $50 as you said). Plus IB's customer service and other tools are pretty poor in my opinion. However, I don't daytrade, I take positions for about a week on average. I did think they were great for trading options.
tentenequals20, Are you saying that you can use StrategyDesk generated orders for the same Ameritrade account in which you pay $5/trade commissions? Does that same Ameritrade account in which you pay $5/trade commissions also let you have Level-II, GainsKeeper, etc. for free?
Their "Command Center" allows you to select an ECN or MMID to direct an order to. I've often directed orders to ISLD/Inet and used the reserve order/hidden size function. Most likely market orders are shopped around, but on the limit side, they do offer direct access options.
I need to correct your statement. For stocks if you not routing via an API there are NO cancel/modify fees with interactive brokers. I can't judge your fills but keep in mind there is a huge hidden cost if you are giving up a penny here and a penny there. 1 penny price improvement on a 5000 share order will save you $50. 5000 .01 * 5000 = $50.
How did you get $5 commission charge with TD? I've had a TD Apex account for about 5 years now but I am still being charged $9.99. Did you call and and ask comparing other brokers for the deal? Or is this discount for account activity?
yes, discount for account activity and correct get all services like level 2 etc., for free as well. Def, thanks for clarity on modify/cancel. sounds like all other points of comparison are accurate. I shd add the no interest upto 10K as a downside to IB as well. but fills could be better, which is unknown to me.
I called IB customer service a couple of times..pretty horrible. felt like they were doing me a favor. TD is definetely not the best, but looked better than IB.