Is Tradestation,cybertrader and realtick (brokers that work with real tick) considered Interactive brokers? Is direct access trading the same as interactive trading?
Interactive Brokers, IB, is a direct access broker. www.interactivebrokers.com Direct access is just that - direct access for your orders to the trading floor or market. The orders are not taken, processed or compiled, and then entered to the market by your broker. e.g.,Tradestation would be a direct access broker (in most cases). Fidelity, through the web or on the phone, would be the non-direct, old-line approach.
Thanks! Fees for all of this direct access brokers seem to be similar or competitive or close enough (trade station, cybertrader and brokers of real tick), is that an accurate observation?
Commissions are all over the map. Most of the direct access brokers are in the same 1 cents per share range, with breaks as your size and/or volume goes up. Best thing to do is think about how much and how often you're trading. If you trade small and often then the low per share fee is better. Last thing you want to do is pay $15 a pop for 100 shares, especially if you scale into or out of positions. If you're in and out multiple times a day then direct is the only way to go. If you trade large and seldom then perhaps the brokers with a fixed ticket charge will cost you less. A $9 flat commission for 5,000 shares may be a good deal. If you're holding for weeks or months then direct access is not a big issue. However, overall I'd spend more time worrying about trading then worrying about fees.
True on the focus on trading rather than the commision! just need to pick a platfrom and just doing my due diligence.
Besides the fees, you need to consider execution quality. Not easy to evaluate except through experience. Butgood execution will often times offset the savings you get from a discount broker (e.g. someone who charges $5 for a 5000 share market order).
I guess this leads to my next question: who has got better execution quality Cybertrader or tradestation?