Hello; I live in Denmark and trade on the scandinavian exchanges. I have developed a trading model based on evolutionary algorithms that give me stock recommendations that I then trade by hand using an etrade account. I would like to automate the system further; have it place trading orders automatically and also look at intraday trading data. I have looked at Interactive Brookers' Java API and it looks adequate for my purposes. Are there any special issues that one should be aware of when setting an account as a Danish national? (Denmark is inside the EU). What are the minimal setup cost that I should expect? As far as I can tell there are no internet brookers with representation in Denmark that offer a similar API that is accessable at low cost (I have looked at nordnet, etrade and saxobank).
To open an account you will have to deposit the equivalent of 5000 USD. If you daytrade stocks you will need the equivalent of 25000 USD. I don't know if this rule applies when you daytrade non-US stocks. Please search this board for an answer. IB offers a Universal Account, which means you can trade stocks etc. denominated in a currency different from your base currency. They do not offer the DKK as base currency, see here. So you should pick your base currency depending upon the stocks you mainly trade and in a way to minimize the costs of currency conversions. To open the account you will have to do some paperwork, submitting documents etc. and it will take its time. Its more complicated than it used to be. Have fun Bernd Kuerbs
All nationalities trade us markets. Not all US brokerages handle non US customers well . Are you planning to open at IB UK or IB US? It does not matter much though. Fill the web form,print the page ,send it along with copy of passport,driver liecence ,address proof etc . when you get the a/c ref no,send wire through your bank. you are set. Iam a non US national trading at IB after so many US brokerages in the last 10 years. If you are a frequent trader who want cheap commision, you will be happy. IB API does offer auto trading possibilities if you know a bit of programming.
No issues that I can remember. Just filled out the forms and waited for a day or 2, then wired money and was done. Best decission I ever made re: brokers. There are no setup costs involved. There is a minimum account size deposit, but that's yours of course. After starting you pay $10 per month for US market data unless you trade >$30 commish, which is very fair. Good interest on excess liquidity too. Ursa..