As I sit here thinking about how stupid those guys were to have accounts at a firm like refco it makes me wonder if there was anyway to see this coming? That makes the next question is there anything that I can do as a IB account holder right now to see if this scenario could unfold with my broker too? I am not accusing anyone of anything, I have always thought of IB being more professional than refco but I think it would be wise to make myself aware of any risks I might be taking.
Not sure if I'm missing something, but I thought I understood that Refco customers in their commodity accounts weren't at risk of losing their money. Maybe you mean something else? CME at least said they won't let Refco take any money without their approval.
Nobody was stupid for having had an account at Refco, at least up until Monday. After that you saw a lot of smoke, and had ample opportunity to take care of yourself. Could this happen at another firm again? Sure, some day it probably will, the future goes on forever. If it does do the same thing you should have done with a Refco account after Monday..move it. Keep in mind that the Exchange Clearing Corp is doing a great job of managing their risk. Clients with segragated accounts are not going to lose money. Brandon
ok guys if you had and account could you take out all you funds without a problem?? i have accounts with 2 brokers and was jsut thinking this could happen to anyone.
IB will never be Refco. But as far them meeting a similar fate, albeit perhaps even shadier, I would bet on it.
I have my own criticisms of the way IB handles certain technology and customer service issues, but I don't see any basis for anybody to suggest that IB might be involved in outright fraud or theft like Refco. I think that the title of this thread, "Is IB the next refco", is a totally irresponsible, undeserved, and outrageous smear against IB's reputation. I have been reading this board for years, and seen many legitimate criticisms of IB, and made some of them myself, but just recently, it seems that there has been a pattern of outrageous, disgusting threads making totally baseless attacks against IB.
IB is working fine at the moment, the bug when maximum number of tickers reached has been resolved in the next release currently in beta. Support email back within 24 hours and can be reached by toll free phone very quickly. How much of your net worth is it smart to have in your account is the only current concern, after this refco mess?
Jim, You completely missed the point of the thread. What I really wanted is a knowledgeable refco account holder to say that I saw events A,B and C and in hindsight that should have been a warning sign. The other thing that I wanted to get to was the difference between American and European clearing and how that effects account security. I have my own ideas about these issues but I didn't put them out at the start of the thread because I thought it would basis the discussion. I know what I think, I'm on ET to find out what other people think. I get the feeling your on ET to tell the world how smart you are. Lurking in the shadows looking to flame.
zf trader you're a moran and could be sued for starting this thread. refco is a commoidities firm that offers no sipc insurance. ib has $50 per account sipc and 3rd party ins. if people at refco don't get there money back its because it wasn't insured although i think all will get there money back. having an account at ib is no different than having it at mer or gs there all insured the same period. if there was a safety diferenence between ib fidelity or gs nobody would ever put a dime with ib. ikb's a huge company buts irrelevant. wether its 100k customers or 2 sipc is sipc