am getting PMs in relation with this: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1017443&highlight=managed#post1017443 the concept for those not familiar is the IPB (introducing prime broker) aka second-tier prime broker, has the infrastructure to allow a manager to bulk trade via various ECNs the IPB has (dealing, clearing) agreements with, usually via a 1st-tier PB but not necessarily, and allocate to sub-accounts the manager has the appropriate PoAs and fees agreements for. as a result of going via a 1st-tier PB, there wld normally be an extra-layer of fees involved. the trade-off is, the IPB wld typically offer much higher leverage as may be required by the manager, also the 1st-tier PBs are generally ill-equiped (be it for compliance reasons or what not) to deal with 'managed accts' type set-ups, which are however easier to set up, manage, and more cost & tax-efficient for all stake-holders involved than setting up any sort of fund offshore or not. however of course, the IPB's rating wld always be lower than that of the 1st-tier prime... just thought it might be helpful to collect people's contributions / thoughts in one single thread, particularly since my experience in the field is v.limited (FX only for now). my contribution as follows - thats the set up i am currently using and i have pretty much decided against repackaging as a fund: jurisdiction: UK IPB: ODL Securities their PB: RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) ECNs: HotspotFXi, Currenex other: ODL also deals as principal in international stock, options & futures mkts, metals etc... may provide access to other ECNs (via RBS?) but i don't know since no interest at my end i know there are quite a few others in the UK as mentioned in an other thread by Lon Eagle but too lazy to search, plse Lon Eagle sir do u mind adding to the list? many thanks! would be nice to have contributions for jurisdiction: USA thanks all!
c'mon buds dont be so lazy: USA - Jefferies, Merlin, SLK, IB? the 1st 3 are all primes if i'm not mistaken... key question is, can they manage client sub-acct allocations basically...
100 views and no input... am glad i dont really need this info! )))) anyway, did a bit of 'research' just to kill time b/w trades, seems the US is not really the place to go for these mini-prime type services... too many lawyers & accountants to feed i guess... Zaner does have a PB offering but again thats for FX only, MBTrading seems to have sthg, Velocity makes a mention of CTA & allocated accts, but those aren't even PB type offerings... seems there is (was?) a barrier to entry of $25mio AUM for (onshore) state registered investment advisors to be offered PB services?... not v.business friendly to 'managed accts' managers methinks... an update for the FX money manager crowd: ODL now says they'll be offering Pats Systems J-Trader access to CME eFX futs as well within a few weeks... at least a complete mini-prime multiple managed (allocated) accts solution on the Forex... any other stuff or you guys are all happy to foot your fund administrators, auditors, legal advisors' bills every so often?... or just happy to trade your own PA no more, which admitedly is so much less of a headache...
IB's Financial Advisor account allows you to do all this. You can aggregate orders and set-up pre-order allocation algorithms. IB can also manage the administration and payment of any management fees, performance fees or commission mark-ups. It's goes without saying that you would get access to all assets - Bonds, Stocks, Futures, Options, FX, etc. http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/advisors/advisorsMain.php?ib_entity=llc
thanks Steve, agree IB offers a pretty good all-round solution, however do you mind elaborating on how you guys are positioning yourselves with regard to Prime Brokerage type services - eg access to external liquidity sources such as Currenex, FXAll, Hotspot in the FX world, http://www.pipelinetrading.com/ in equities? many thanks
I would like to know that also,is currenex even remote possibility in the near future for interactive brokers?
I'm not aware of any developments in that direction. Nor am I sure that we need them. We have excellent equity routing, and also have a size desk for large size clients ($5m+). For FX, we will continue to develop and build up IDEAL-Pro. I believe our spreads are competitive with anyone, and if the displayed size is too small for your needs then please let me know and we can address this. I'm not sure of the advantages in connecting to multiple FX ECN's when essentially most have the same liquidity providers - there are surprisingly few FX liquidity providers in the world.
agree you guys are competitive but yes, size (and, to some extent, leverage) can be an issue... but you guys have a pretty good offer, no question... thanks Steve