I think an easier way would just be to find out how much it would cost in expenses, personnel, hardware, lines, fees, etc. to have a self-clearing firm. Then divide that by the amount of volume that Bright does. This would probably give a low estimate for the amount per share that they pay. If they paid much more than this, it would just make sense for them to self clear, no? Would anyone be able to estimate these figures?
Yes, I would like very much not to pay any commissions but it is impossible. There is a bottom line somewhere between 4/10 and 6/10 of the cent that a big company can give you considering your volume, trading style, etc. I would be interested in such setup when trader pays only SecFee no bullets and no per share and splits 50/50 or 60/40 with the firm. Right now it is imposable but maybe in the near future this will work.