If you are competent, and use margin only in certain ways, then fine. Margin use just for the sake of 'doubling down' is a fools game.
Etrade I think is an upgrade from IB. Actually, IB seems like the lowest of all the options out there. I believe its time to step up to a real platform.
Yeah, you and magnum ought to move to bigger/better brokers and platforms like say...Lehman or Bear Stearns!
I'm confident In my trading method so I use margin to simply maximize my returns. I know it can maximize my loss also but like I said I'm pretty comfortable trading the way I do.
The other guy was right. InteractiveBrokers is a rock in these times. Lehman, Bear Stearns, Merrill were in deep doo-doo. Look at Iceland, including their version of investment banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman, Morgan, many European banks, Asian Banks are shaky. Look at their stock prices! This includes their Prime Brokerage. How many tens of billions are they setting aside? UBS did $18 billion and may not be done yet! What is facing them next? Were the bigger guys really where you should be? You have maybe the best place to be the next 2 years at IB. Don't do the grass is greener...
the OP's question is valid and i am looking for the same. IB is getting >15,000/month in comm/fees from me and they cost me, i'd say on average, >3,000 every month in fuck ups due them dropping DAX feed, globex, stops not executing, trades not executing, etc. this month, that total is >10,000. friday i put in a trade to go long AUD.USD @ 63.5 and it never executed even though both bid and ask were below me for 4 minutes. cld WORTHLESS, I REPEAT, WORTHLESS, IB trader who can't find my order for 10 minutes, gives me a 'that's weird' andf then a tough shit 'we don't compensate for lost opportunity. WTF!!! bottom line, IB is a piss ant broker who runs from all responsibility. what i want: a broker where i can trade all asian markets, Eurex and US. i want to have the ability to expand to client funds as well in the future. my previous client setup is/was not geared to futures trading.
Fimat/Newedge? They have pretty high minimums, but these days with all the HF redemptions they may also be interested in not as big business. Also they aren't a bank and kept out of the news so far during the crisis.
Move away from IB, you mean to 'more professional' firms like Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers? I have an institutional account at IB. Why move somewhere else when I couldn't be happier where I already am? Peterffy at the helm makes me get a good night of sleep, every night.