the COMP has as much importance as a broken bicycle in Beijing. the NDX is the one and only underlying for futures, therefore important
saschabr, you may very well be right about the importance of COMP, or the lack of it. However, that is a decision for the trader to make, not the brokerage. I can tell you that we get a ton of IB clients asking us what the IB symbol is for NASDAQ Composite, because they cannot find it (obviously). Based on that, I think that there is a big demand for it. Whether it is important for trading or not is totally irrelevant. That's like arguing whether one should use EMA or SMA, or rely on MACD or some other form of indicator. That is a decision for the trader to make. The broker should just help by providing the pertinent data. I know that there is an issue of "IB is not a data provider", however, thats a weak argument since IB does provide data and does provide quotes on most other indices and they are the only ones I know of that do not have this index. While they are at it, the other 2 that are the most requested are NASDAQ TICK and TRIN
OK, I'm going to stick my neck way out, and give a bit of a different perspective on how/why IB does business the way they do. First off, I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, only sharing another possible way to look at the situation. Secondly, I'm not affiliated with IB in any way, other than as a client. I've spent almost 30 years in the world of dealing with customers. In my case, retail. But, I would submit a customer is a customer. It took me almost 25 years to figure out something that, I truly believe, is the way successful businesses (read that profitable) will have t be run. The key element is this: choose your customers. Corrollary: the customer is NOT always right. I've done some things with my business that you wouldn't believe. Raise prices big time. Reduce hours open. Tell people they're not appropriate to my business. I run it how I want to, not how my customers want to. Guess what has happened? I have had the largest and most consistant growth I have ever experienced. And no end in sight. I see IB doing the same thing to some extent. They're doing what they want, the way that makes sense to them, and by doing so have created a significant and loyal client base. You cannot be all things to all people, as a matter of fact trying to do so would be financial suicide. This may not sit well with those in the audience that have been weaned on the "customer is always right" mantra. But the cold hard fact is IB exists to make a profit. Whatever way they can do it that best serves "their" needs is appropriate in a free market. So if you find more to dislike than like about IB, I suspect they don't care much if you go elsewhere.
i just bought a brand new Geo Metro and im angry because it doesnt have heated leather seats or snazzy chrome wheels which are standard features on cadillacs and mercedes.. i mean what are those morons at Geo trying to provide? basic transportation!? well, all i can say is they better get their act together or im taking my $127.00 a month somewhere else.. -qwik
Cdntrader, We support over 600 Indexes on our datafeeds. Here is a link to the market indexes we carry: http://www.esignalcentral.com/support/symbol/default.asp All the ones talked about here are there - $ndx, $trin, $compq, $tiki, $prem, $spx, $adv, advq, etc. These are all available on MarketCenter. Chuck http://www.esignalcentral.com
If we are going to go with a car analogy, I think COMP would be more like having a car without a cup holder. Pretty much all cars have them regardless of price. If you happened to have a car without a cup holder, its not a critical issue, but very inconvenient and something you frequently miss, thus tainting your overall satisfaction with an otherwise fine car. Jerry Medved http://www.quotetracker.com
If we are going to go with a car analogy, I should point out that Ferrari, Porshe and Astro Martin do NOT have any cup holders. And I don't think it's a inconvenience which will detract from the car. I'm sure many people who go buy a Ferrari decide not to purchase one because it doesn't have a cupholder. I hope IB doesn't become quote provider and reduce the quality of service for the customers that actively trade.