I have been looking for a broker who can clear many different types of products. i.e. futures, equities, options, forex, etc. I have been comparing Tradestation Vs. IB. It seems as though IB is best on fees and also the ability to trade all of these excluding FOREX out of a single Universal acct. Tradestation seems to segregate these different types of securities in different accounts. However tradestation seems great since you have access to their great software at a reduced rate and possibly free if you trade enough. My questions are: -Does IB offer software(charting, quotes, etc) that is decent and stable? Also, for those with experience with Tradestation Securities, are things stable trading with their software? - Am I missing other brokers out there that are better then or equivlent to IB in trading all these products? Or is IB or tradestation really the top firms to open an account and trade with. - If I trade with other firms what kind of charting and quote software can I expect to be offered? Or is it more like bring your own? I appreciate any responses.