Hey there... I tried doing some searches on the site for various firms that meet my criteria and will ask these questions of some firms themselves, but I thought I would also ask for some feedback from non-partisan traders on this forum, since there are some questions (such as platform reliability) that a firm might not answer 100% honestly. Basically I am looking to do some position trading on hourly charts with trades that last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, which means that I need to have the ability to do overnight holds with some leverage (something like 4:1 would be fine). After paper trading, I am planning on starting very small to prove my strategy works ($3000 US initial deposit or something like that), and would like to get the best commissions I can for that amount/frequency of trades (which is really going to be next to nil in terms of volume, given my strategy). I'd like a platform that doesn't crash on me all the time or have serious problems, but obviously given my strategy it's not 100% critical that it be lightning-fast to the millisecond. I would like to pay as little as possible for this platform, since it will be just an order entry taker. (I would still prefer to have an actual windows program vs. just using the web though. If it integrates with QuoteTracker for order entry that would be cool too, but not necessary.) I am in Canada, and would like to go with a firm that would allow me to open up one of the new tax-free savings accounts to trade with. I don't know if it's possible to do this with a prop account, or only retail. Ideally, the firm would be able to trade Canadian stocks as well as US. So, bottom line: is it better to try a prop account for something like this, or retail? And if so, any suggestions/warnings? Thanks! P.S. Obviously with the strategy I am using, reducing any fixed monthly costs is going to be an important factor as well...
Seems as though I may be answering some of my own questions... looks like maybe a retail account at Questrade is the way to go for right now. The margin isn't as high as I would like, but then again I won't have to pay 20% of my profits to the firm either (if I had a prop acct). Has anyone actually used the new WebTrader Beta program they have?
Is Questrade the best way to go for low contract prices etc. ? I am a newbie with limited start up capitol (1500) and would like to day trade Options.I just checked etrade and there fees seem outrageous. I Live in Canada as well. Cheers