Commission wise they may be better ...I actually looked into genesis but they had a small short list compared to IB... I listed is on another thread here on ET... I need a large short list because I basket trade shorts ... All the other brokers seem to have a smaller list... Nick
Redsky is supposed to be ok with shorts as well...so Ive heard...They clear through SWS or if you deposit 30,000 or more you could have your account clear through ML... I was going to try them but they do not have basket capability built in to their software yet....And I Cant see my self entering all my symbols one by one when I need to get in...lol Nick
Here is the published short list for genesis... http://www.gndt.com/support/shortlist.htm I counted 3997 shorts.... IB was at 5904 Check out the thread http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=775517&highlight=shorting#post775517 EDIT..I like more shorts because I come up with some smaller issues to short when I run my screens... people who stick with larger issues may not have a problem... It all depends how you trade and what your needs are... Nick
Writing a custom basket program to interface to their API would take me a day of programming work. Don't let things like that stop you from using a good broker. nitro
All this talk about RedSky has piqued my curiosity about them, especially when thinking about an IB replacement. 1). No platform fees. 2). API. 3). Insured Futures accounts (I thought IB was the only one able to offer this until now. A biggie for those with larger than the bog standard $5K Futures accounts). 4). In a thread a little while back, RedSkyS (one of the firm's principals if memory serves) impressed me with his conduct. 5). They are not self-clearing (believe it or not, in my book this is a good thing). Hence it looks like you have a choice to go with some of the big name firms (Goldman. Morgan Stanley, ML, Bear Stearns, CSFB, etc) for clearing - again a big issue if you have a decent size account. Might have to check them out me thinks... Thanks for the heads up on RedSky Nitro. BTW, I'm curious as to why there are no reviews for RedSky. Is it because the majority of people here aren't able to meet their minimum requirements to open a Futures (or Stocks/Options) account? Does anyone know what these are (if I was to check them out, I'll open a small account at first)? Cheers EQ.
and how many shares at a time if you trade 100 shares of stock = $1 if you trade 10k shares of stock = $52.50 if you trade 30k shares of stock = $152.50 so it depends
i've been with ib many years and now i really only trade a few futures and the rest options with them. there option rates and fills and are second to none. there futures rates are ok but a heavy vol futures trader can find much better rates but of course your money won't be insured. but with many other futures vendors the margins are much lower at $500 a contract so 10k can control 20 contracts which is enough for most trader. there stock commissions are back in the stone ages. i eman $1 per hundred is terrible and it's what many brojers charged 5 years ago. i mean huge stodgey cybertrader is .006 a share. he only reason i can see anyone would use ib for stocks is at times there smart order fills fast but many times they now hold the market orders. also i find ib's order entry system for stocks very cumbersome. jsut as any other broker ib is good in some area's and not so good in others thats why most people have sveral accounts