There are rather disadvantages to using brokers outside of US and Europe as those aren't insured at all. US and UK offer deposit insurances as do other European countries but Bahamas and other island nations don't or at least won't honor it (don't have the means to do it).
Yes there are a few that I can think of. For one they do not apply pattern day trading rules, and I opened with $10k. Another is that this broker in particular offers me 6:1 leverage for my intraday trading.
For accounts over 100k with IB, you can apply for portfolio margin which gives you on average 5:1 to 6:1 margin.
That's not always true. My broker has account insurance that protects against them going out of business. I would not have opened otherwise.
They are insured through Bahamas First General which is rated as excellent, A- by A.M. Best Company. Obviously anyone should do their due diligence as I have, but this is a perfect fit for me and any non US person, in my opinion.
Lovely discussion. @d08 's concern is certainly something to be aware of when picking a broker outside US borders.
Many brokers outside US offers trading for US stocks. However the Phillipines broker may charge two commission (Phillipine and US). Will you pay to two brokers commission?
I totally agree with all of @d08 posts on this topic. All valid. All items to be considered when dealing with non US BDs offering Us market access.
It's even more complicated than that. I'm with Interactive Brokers (US reg.) but I'm under their IB UK subsidiary therefore I "only" have the UK insurances. It's not a big deal for me but it's another thing to keep in mind. I would not deal with any broker that doesn't offer deposit insurance unless you only trade with a small amount and always withdraw the profits, in that case after a while complete deposit loss won't end your trading career.