MBT-Steve, How long before the Press Release hit that Penson was forming this Apex Clearing entity did you find out about the change? Did they ask for your opinion on the change before announcing it?
Apex clearing uses JP Morgan as their banker, but the money is not segregated. Margin accounts are not segregated. The current situation with Apex clearing is that you have a Prime Broker with 5x regulatory excess capital, almost no debt, manged by Peak 6 and run by all the Penson employees offering an excellent, safe place to trade. The Penson holding company still owns most of the firm, but the broker is now completely insulated from all the Penson debt. If the holding company were to go bankrupt, Apex would be insulated. Broadridge Clearing took a big hit here. Most of their debt and contracts were written off.
FWIW, just a note of support. My interactiona over the years with Steve and Ross have always been solid and straight. I have openly admitted to not having that same comfort level with Penson, although having spent much time with Dan Son and Lynal Carey (nice people)... but if Steve is comfortable in their relationship with the new entities, then I think all is good. I'm actually considering opening up a couple of accounts with MBTrading, for several reasons. Don
Steve, I haven't received any communication from MBT at all regarding this. I received a one page mailed letter from Penson this Tuesday telling me that Penson futures would be transferring my account to Knight (the letter was sent so late that it was after-the-fact). I think MBT could do a better job of keeping its customers informed about what is going on.
Jack P.... About 24 hours or so I think. My opinion wasn't relevent to their decision. From everything that I can see it looks to be very positive for everyone. Regards, Steve
GTS... We did send an email to all account holders. If you want me to research what happened in your case I would be happy to. Just PM your name please and I will folllow up. Regards, Steve
Steve, my apologies, I checked my backup email account (gmail) which receives a copy of emails sent to my primary and it was indeed there, sent June 5th. Thanks.
In hindsight, all this knashing of teeth seemed unwarranted. Particularly by those who had no skin in the game. Other than spouting their opinion. Not every situation results in an unwelcome ending. MF Global certainly has gotten everyone's attention, however they were activily trading on their own behalf, and individuals responsible should be made accountable. But it appears they will skate based on political connections. We shall see.