I'm looking to open a new retail brokerage account, and have chosen IB, as they are the only game in town it seems ... I'm concerned however about IB's business, because I do not want any crap with my accounts. Despite that IB is a smaller broker, and not on par with New Edge and similar folks, they are still a nice firm, with expensive offices, and this equals cost.
Where do you hope to take this thread? In 2002 you were complaining about your IB account. No doubt you are familiar with them.
I think he meant broker for "small" people. His comparison to New Edge means he needs pro/institutional level infrastructure services for his trading. Talk to Bob Morse, spencer. He knows brokers you haven't even heard of that have a solid presence in the firmament.
Spencer, Can you elaborate on your concerns? What are you looking for in a "retail" broker that would meet your needs. IMO, you don't have to be concerned with a firm's offices. I would focus on your requirements that help you trade or run a business around trading. Send me a PM or email if you don't want to go into detail publicly. As a side note, we don't consider ourselves a retail broker (Victor Securities). We offer institutional accounts. In general that means we focus on small to medium size hedge funds, trading groups and active traders. Most of our clients have an entity of some kind. We introduce to a number of clearing brokers including IB. Outside the IB accounts, our minimum account sizes tend to be higher than retail clearing firms offer. Bob
IB is small? Are u kidding me? But it's true that they are expensive. That is why many of my friends prefer to trade with some smaller firms with much lower charges.