First of all, hi guys. New poster here. First I'll explain my situation: I'm an stock investor who also takes a top-down technical approach to chosing stocks. Also I cut losses quickly and will take profit if the given stock runs too far up the 150-day MA too fast with no surprise change in fundamentals. So I am reasonably active; atleast enough that I want cheap commissions in a bad way. I also want to have a high level of integrity (i.e. no funny business) and reliability in my new broker close to my current one (BMO.) Beyond that I could care less about ever talking to brokers, their chart and news services, margin rates, etc. Anyhow, I've been looking at IB, but there is one detail on the fee schedule that I don't understand: "Broker Initial Deposit: IB requires an initial deposit of $10,000 or the USD equivalent that will be used towards the broker's and broker's clients' first commissions" (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/minimumDeposits.php?ib_entity=ca#balance). Does this just mean your account needs to have 10K in it to begin with or that you need to actually give up 10K for your first commissions? Would have just dealt with IB's staff, but they didn't reply to my email.
That's for brokers. You're not a broker. Looks like you need $3,000 cdn to open an account and will spend a minimum of $10/month on commissions or fees. IMO, IB is your best choice for active trading from Canada. I've had an account there for years, never any problems.
I'll confirm that as well. That 10K is for introducing brokers who use the IB platform as a front end for their clients. Your minimum is 3K CAD. However, as you state you are reasonably active, I highly suggest you have an equity balance that exceeds the equivalent of 25K USD so you can avoid the Pattern Day Trader rules set by the regulators.
Wont let me sign-up due to inexperience, i.e. still shy of the 100 trades requirement (20 y/o here, pretty new to the trade.) Anyone got any other good suggestions for up here in Canada. I'll check the broker ratings on the main page again for the meantime. Thanks for your patience with any newbishness on my part.