... I agree; stay away from Terra Nova! I couldn't even get my account funded; after years of trading I was taken aback first by Terra Nova calling me shortly after submitting my app to "encourage" me to fund my account by wire, which I delcined. Apparently they didn't like that too much. Then they sent me a note that requested that I either fax a copy of my recent bank statement or have a conference call with me and my bank in order to verify my bank account balance ... which I declined, and they decided to punish my decision by requiring met to wait ten days before they'd fund my account. Then another call from the "boiler room" sales rep who insisted he was trying to help me out by assisting me in setting up a conference call with my bank ... So I cancelled the application for the account. On the same same day I cancelled my account my check to fund the account had cleared my bank ... go figure. Problem is I've found DirectPro/Plus to be an excellent trading foundation ... Penson is the pits and Terra Nova is no better. A note to a rep suggested they're looking to board other direct brokers ... so I'll wait. Hope this helps, but take the advice here and stay away from Terra Nova!
just a follow up for anyone that has an account or is considering an account @ terra nova aka rushtrade 1....you should check your trade confirms very closely. on a trade yesterday i was overcharged and after waiting 20 minutes on live chat to talk to an "agent" he informed me that they ARE having "difficulties" with their commission charges on trades. in other words you may be getting overcharged as i am. 2... the platform was not relaying trade info on the SMH yesterday afternoon late. The same situation existed all day today and I was told they are trying to fix the issue. I checked quotes on other items from the AMEX to see if the problem exited in AMEX systems, but other quotes work fine. 3... whatever terra nova aka rushtrade did or did not do took all their systems offline. If you try to ping them you get no response (as of this posting). www.rushgroup.com 38.96.242.120
I have been trading personally for 9 years, and have quite a few friends that trade as well, so I have some decent feedback on all the firms you mentioned. You really need to decide what type of trader you are when deciding firms. Interactive Brokers is really for someone who doesnt need a robust platform and just needs execution, the service really isnt there. MB is a decent firm with decent service, the platform is ok, the commissions are decent, but they still clear trades through Penson, and I have seen some stocks that I couldnt short - since Penson has alot of Daytrading firms they clear, the good shorts seem to be missing. Terra Nova I found to be a diamond in the rough firm, my friends have found very competitive rates , though they do not publish them. Since they are self-clearing and have a decent short list from Merrill and with the choice of platforms and good service, I feel that they have the most complete solution. Looking at some deals they are doing on the Investment Banking division that they recently started. So there you have it, in summary, all the firms you mentioned are decent, so it really depends on what your looking for.