Anybody heard or use tradefreedom here in canada or the US for that matter, and have an opinion on their: 1) service 2) software 3) execution 4) pricing
I have a back-up acct with TF. They are direct-access like IB, and I have found their execution to be excellent; as good or better than IB. Price is much more expensive than IB and def not for scalpers (9.95 a trade plus ecn fees). Service is excellent. Their orders are not as flexible as IB. I have no complaints -- if you do 3-5 trades a day, they're v good. If you do more, then just stick to IB and IB's crappy service because the fees at TF will eat you alive. Best thing about TF is by far their service -- you get a real live person with basically no hold. Also they're integrated with QT, just like IB. Their big negative is price which I hope some day they will bring down (their ecn fees piss me off, that should be covered under the $9.95 -- ).
oh yes, their software as far as i could tell sucks even though i've barely ever used it so i could be wrong...but just from the look of things i'd didn't like it too much. I use QT integrated trading so bypass it.
I believe, from having had numerous conversations with them, that their service is excellent. But, from my research, I have chosen NOT to go with them for three reasons, all of which are price related, that I simply cannot get over. 1) Is the fact that they charge ECN fees, Whether you ADD OR REMOVE Liquidity. Unless they have changes that policy, but from what I have seen on their site, there is no mention of having changed such policy. 2) 9.95 for the first 1000 shares and then 0.01 per share thereafter. AND THATS IN ADDITION TO ECN FEES. And by the way, none of that includes SEC Fees and clearing fees. 3) The cost for the data. If you want Canadian quotes by price or by order or level II Nasdaq, you will end up paying close to, if not more than $200.00 per month. When you add up all the monthly fees and then to that you add the high commission charges AND ECN Fees and then add in SEC Fees and Clearing fees to that. It just isnt worth the better service that you get. I think, if you want the best of both worlds, maybe questrade is the way to go. They have recently ammended their prices and platform costs. I haven't signed up with them yet, but its really IB or them if you want Retail Direct Access in Canada right now.
Anyone else trading with these guys? I have been using them because you canât get a registered account with IB. Thing are definitely going downhill since Scotia Bank took over. The last few days they have had some sort of problem and have had to evacuate their offices. That on top of computer glitches and new fees donât make them as attractive as they once were. Looking for alternatives.