I'm looking for a backup broker for futures and less importantly stocks. my primary is IB. My primary concern is the financial stability of the company. An identity token would be a nice addition but mostly, I just want a company that is solid while most other brokers' stocks are tanking. Perhaps I should just go with the stock that has the best performance in the last week? IB's performance has me worried. Didn't rally at all with this killer UP day...something's up. Thanks for any advice.
How much trading are you going to do at the backup broker? If you are going to do at least 274 RT a month, then TransAct Futures is good for a futures only backup. They are an FCM clearing through Goldman and have a lower RT rate than IB. If it has to be futures and stocks then TradeStation is OK as a backup, but you have to pay for data feeds and do at least 10 RT a month to avoid the platform fee. Futures are cleared through RJ O'Brien and stocks are self cleared. RT rates are close to IB's.
Recently having major problems with TradeStation futures. Crossed markets, slow fills and ghost orders. My friend just closed his account and I may do so, too. Their service is deteriorating lately.
If I were you, I would be more worried about IB's poor trading platform. You will lose money because of it.