%% OK/plain English. Sounds like you made the main point with your first sentence, plain englsih/ TREND 2009 SAY you have average bid\ ask spread+ average slippage, with market orders. Or say you use limit orders, so you have an averageof limit orders not filled. I'm using stocks or ETFs priced oVer $5.777, us dollars, mostly. OVER a months time, years time, comissions[if paid], slippage averages less so profit could be more. Sometimes swing traders get dividends /more; but daytraders could make more that payday, on dividends /so one day could go\either way,,
You can sell a wide SPX box at any broker to get margin at interbank rates which will be lower than IB. No need to put up with their terrible service if margin rates are why you're there. Leverage on stocks is the same at TD as IB, in fact IB appears to impose their own more limiting margin far more often than TD or any of the other brokers on futures. For stocks of course everyone is the same Reg T margin, IB or otherwise, and when I tried IB's portfolio margin I found it swung wildly in a black box fashion they couldn't explain which made it worthless. I'm curious why you think IB has better leverage than other brokers?
Agreed that portfolio margining is unreasonably swingy - and relies a bit on silky model, but under portfolio margin I do get significantly better leverage than ordinary reg T. Depends on what you trade/hedge etc
I think PM with them probably works fine if you're day trading watching your positions and margin pretty much nonstop. Definitely not for swing trading or stat arb.