Interactive Brokers is a scam, 2-3x margin maintenance requirements

Discussion in 'Retail Brokers' started by bongey, Mar 15, 2017.

  1. ids

    ids

    What grows fast can fall even faster. Look at AMD in 2006.
     
    #51     Mar 16, 2017
  2. Zzzz1

    Zzzz1

    Where has Dave gone? Has he left the company?

     
    #52     Mar 16, 2017
  3. bongey

    bongey

    Seems IB has had issues with the exact problem I am trying to get at multiple times. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arbitration-interactive-auto-liquidat-idUSKBN0LM23620150218
    http://nypost.com/2015/04/12/incorrect-date-costs-broker-nearly-23m-in-liabilities/(funny two books basically , one date for public information, one for internal).

    If large firms are winning arbitration cases for how they are calculating margin requirements. What do you think happens to smaller clients?

    Interactive brokers is using a shady scamming auto calculation that they refuse to the publish information fabout. All the while the information is available internally, ie you can call them and twist their arm to get the rate. I called 5 different brokers, even without being a customer they would instantly tell me their margin requirement, IB took more than 10 mins. Why is Interactive Brokers trying to hide it?

    I shouldn't have to be logged in constantly and click "check margin" to constantly check the margin rate.

    I stand by my assessment, Interactive Brokers is a shady scamming broker, that has lost court cases for the exact thing I am complaining about.
     
    #53     Mar 16, 2017
  4. Zzzz1

    Zzzz1

    Thanks for the news (after I pointed you to it). Moron. Go and get a new broker and stop being such a bore.

     
    #54     Mar 16, 2017
  5. ET180

    ET180

    IB can charge whatever the hell they want for their margin rates regardless of what you think they should be charging. It's completely up to them. Your argument is like saying Comcast is a scam because they charge more than Dish Network. You can call it expensive, but it's not a scam. I also appreciate the fact that IB pays interest on credit cash balances. It's not much at current market rates, but it's more than most brokers aside from Vanguard pay.
     
    #55     Mar 17, 2017
    Shadetree42, JackRab and Zzzz1 like this.
  6. JackRab

    JackRab

    At least you can choose a different broker... you know what really sucks in the scam-paradigm?
    Governments, all scams! Charge waaaay too much..... and you can't just choose a different one.... ;)
     
    #56     Mar 17, 2017
    ET180 likes this.
  7. Zzzz1

    Zzzz1

    Not all governments. Hong Kong -> Income tax max cap: 15%, Capital Gains: 0%
    Like that?

     
    #57     Mar 17, 2017
    JackRab likes this.
  8. JackRab

    JackRab

    Yeah I know... but I don't like HK in general. Smog, staring at the next building when you look out of your window... nah, not for me. You're in HK?
     
    #58     Mar 17, 2017
  9. Zzzz1

    Zzzz1

    It's been hazy for the past 2 weeks, not necessarily smog, actually smog is much less an issue these days. I look straight out onto the ocean from my apartment, no other buildings around. Yes I live and work in HK. It is not a dream city by any means, but it can be beat to trade and generate income/capital gains and it offers opportunities to build business relationships and gather funding more than any city I would know of. New York and London perhaps but not to the degree as HK, at least not at the moment. The sheer volume and degree of deals that are agreed on in this city at the moment is mind blowing. Most international investment banks are pushed out of the CBD right now because Chinese companies are willing to pay up on leases. Citigroup was forced to move to some shitty area on the Kowloon side because they could not afford the rents anymore. That obviously feeds into residential housing prices as well which is a bummer but at the same time one can still manage to get by while taking advantage of all the business opportunities the city has to offer.

     
    #59     Mar 17, 2017
  10. JackRab

    JackRab

    Ocean facing is always good... you can see the cyclones coming ;)

    Do you trade HSI, HHI etc? What's that 0.5% drop in the last 30 mins? As far as I can see, started in Xina50... just took the small rebound on that...
     
    #60     Mar 17, 2017