I trade ES I am looking for firms which provide low margins per contract for ES that offer accounts to BC residents. Any suggestions?
there's an ad right above your post - AMP who are an FCM and not an IB $500 minimum account margin with free NinjaTrader using the CQG feed daytrade margin for the es, $400 , rt $3.95 , 24hr trade desk, 1-800 phone # http://www.ampfutures.com/ I've had great service with AMP, no problems, good fills trading the es and 6E occasional NT disconnections/crashes, but usually re-connects/starts ok
Check Global Futures, they have some Canadian customers. Other brokers worth looking at are Velocity Futures, Infinity Brokerage and DeepDiscountTrading: www.globalfutures.com/ www.tradewithvelocity.com/ www.infinitybrokerage.com/ www.deepdiscounttrading.com/ It has been mentioned on these forums in the past that it's perfectly legal for a Canadian resident to open an account with a US based broker (even one that doesn't have any agreements with Canadian regulators) as long as you only want to trade futures. Just don't seek approval for stock trading. I'm not aware of any recent policy changes in this area.
Yep, I think that's correct. I've been trading futures through AMP for several years. I opened an account with them in Vancouver with no issues.
Hi Kirk, Thank-you. I have contacted Globaltrading and it is also restricted to Alberta and Ontario. Most of the USA based firms with low margins I have contacted are not licenced in Canada. I used to have a US account with Linntrade and it cleared through MF Global. I was hurt badly by the MFGlobal bankruptcy / thief of clients funds on deposit. I came upon a lead this evening and have sent an email. We'll see what they confirm. All the best and thanks again for the leads!
aquarian1, you don't understand the purpose of registration/licensing it is Only required IF a broker wants to Solicit clients, in this instance in BC if you're asking brokers 'are you licensed in BC ?' you're asking the wrong question you should be asking 'can I open an account with you ?' because a broker isn't licensed in a particular location does Not mean you can't open an account with them. you are free to do business with whomever you want, and like- wise some US brokers don't want Canadian clients do you now understand the difference ? in the application process there's one form specifically addressing clients from any location in which the broker is not registered/licensed, and by signing it the client is stating the broker did not solicit the client's account. ok ? got it ? complete the AMP online application even if you don't want to submit the application and you'll find the above form I'm referring to
Correct. Every firm licensed in BC has to agree to apply BC leverage / margin rules to all BC clients as a condition of its license. You want a firm that is not licensed in BC. It may still be legal for it to accept BC clients provided it does not solicit there. However, it may be hard to find such firms because they will be afraid of being accused of soliciting there via its web site or ads. Most of those that are willing to accept you may just be ignorant that BC attempts to regulate foreign brokers, and when they find that out at a later date, they may close your account. What you would want is one that has researched the matter and got a legal opinion that it is ok to accept unsolicited clients, provided they are careful how they do it, and provides a non-solicitation letter for you to sign. If they do not do that, they are treading on thin ice and probably too sloppy to deal with.
Sorry for the confusion. I have only asked if they can open an account for me and they said no they cannot. They did not mention nor did I use the word "licence" in speaking with them. --------------------------------------------------------- This came from an prior conversation with another firm and when I asked why can't you open an account for me the broker replied "It has to do with our licencing. Our firm is only licenced to do business with US residents, UK residents and residents of Ontario and Alberta." I did not ask if the broker was licenced in BC. The liscencing of the firm and the broker are two different things.
By the way I do understand the difference between doing business and soliciting for business. And most of that is for securities - which are different than futures accounts.