Most brokers have guidelines and qualifications a costumer needs to meet before they allow you to trade futures, options with complex strategies or forex Brokers want you to trade to oblivion, but they don't want any headaches or lawsuits from people who don't quite understand what they are getting themselves into. To qualify they want to see you have enough income and enough experience...in writing. In their questionnaire you could state you have enough..."income and experience " even if it is not true because they don't care and you should have the green light to trade anything. Brokers don't want to be liable or responsible just like Home Depot does not want any problems if you rent a chainsaw and cut your leg by mistake. They want you to sign a document first that will release them from any responsability. Same thing with brokers. The fact that you are foreign is not the issue, I am foreign too the account is based oversea yet TOS lets me trade whatever I want.
guy990opl, I actually called them and asked if there is any exception to some customers, they simply said no. I guess the difference between us is probably due to the fact that you opened your account with thinkorswim before it was bought, but I opened my account with Tdameritrade.
You might be correct, my account has been open for 4+ years, on a good note IB commissions are 1/2 of TOS. You might call them or write them again and make clear that you have enough money and experience if they keep saying no give your biz to another broker. Good Luck at times one does get different answers with different people.
guy990opl, thanks for your suggestion. I am very satisfied with IB, but I am very paranoid about account safety so I wish to have a second account to spread out the risk. My account size with TOS is significantly bigger than their minimum requirement, and I trade infrequently and at a size much smaller than my account size can afford. Tdameritrade is just rigid about this rule. I have no choice but to find next firm.
I trade with Vision Financial Markets and have had no issues. That said I am pretty low maintenance - if something's working I don't mess with it and I have no interest in what anyone at my brokers thinks about anything ie real self-directed trading. Since MFG they have started putting up their financial statements on their website so take a look You could also look at Deep Discount Trading. I have no direct experience with them but have only heard good things and they are guaranteed by Crossland.
HKIB, we all are paranoid when it comes to money and with the John Corzines out there we should be, but why are you concerned about IB ? The money is in segregated accounts and they have an autoliquidation policy to minimize risk, what brokers are you considering ?
In the case of MFG and PFG the money was supposed to be in segregated accounts, as per regulations. It was not as we all found out after the fact. Why take a risk on this? If you have a large account spread it out over 2 or 3 brokers as a friend of mine does. I still trade small size so I have the minimum with my broker and the rest with my bank available anytime I need it.
guy990opl, Fair questions asked. I admit that IB is relatively safer. However, nothing is 100% sure in this world, given the fact that even libor can be manipulated. I just wish to spread out the risk, even if that risk might have a small chance to materialize. I started to avoid stocks when I learned the accounting frauds committed by some big companies. I trade futures even if it can also be manipulated; the reason is that, unlike a stock, the Dow index cannot be doubled or pushed to zero overnight.