I don't know about the blown stops, but I cannot agree that TS is more professional and reliable than IB. TS is a marketing-driven organization that has always cut corners on customer service and looks for ways to screw you. This board is filled with complaints about bad or slow TS data, while IB has the most robust feed going.
I realize that what you have said might be true. Have you been with TS personally? Right now, the way I am trading I don't need fast data. I do need a broker that doesn't disconnect 3x a day and cannot keep stops on their servers. IB does not keep GTC stops on their servers. They redo them each morning. What is up with that? Why do they do that? Trading is more than having a robust feed don't you think? Another thing about IB that bothers me is the fact that a lot of the time certain symbols are not even available for trading! Try getting out of a short that is tanking when that happens. And what about the times when IB goes down for half a day or whatever? And you cannot even tell whether you should hedge with another account? I guess I could go on an on. We all have heard it before right? Also as TS points out, they do not have a MM like IB does. So no conflict there. And TS does not have people on the floor like IB does. A broker here on this site once told me that when you trade listed stocks with IB you are trading against IB. Then again, he was trying to get me to go trade with them... As far as cutting corners with customer service, do you really think IB's customer service is better than TS? Give me an example. I'm going through all the TS posts now to see what traders have said about them. As far as IB's robust feed, it is not even tick by tick is it? Didn't think so. I don't think their feed is worth trading with. It stops and hesitates quite a lot. Also, can you tell me about any of the ways TS tries to screw you? I would really like to know before I walk into another broker that isn't up to par.
version, what was the blown stop today? True TWS faltered a few times last week, but for the last 3 months I can recall one other time. As far as having someone on the floor...i like that.....what are you thinking? that IB has him running from post to post to fade your orders? when you give me information about my money not being safe with IB THEN I will have cause for concern.
Actually I thought they had blown a stop today but I figured that I had put in a stop incorrectly, so it was not IB's fault. As far as their guys on the floor, I have no idea. The guy from a broker who is listed on the brokers list here at ET which I will not name told me about the IB/floor thing. I think he was just trying to get me to go trade with them... If I find out that IB is going bankrupt or whatever and your $$$ is not safe you will be the first I will let know...
Your tone has compelled me to reply to some of your accusations. I am an IB user. It is rare that IB disconnects for me. If I am disconnected, it is almost always due to the failure of my internet connection. IB does keep stops on their servers. They do this so other market participants can't see your hand. I know I prefer this way much more than the alternative. If IB is having data problems, then obviously they cannot submit the stop in a timely fashion (since they are held at IB). You have to realize this when trading with IB and accept it as one of the risks of trading with them. Fortunately, it has been my experience that the datafeed is reliable. I have put GTC stops on stocks and they have worked fine over multiple days. It is my experience that your statement above is false. Let me make sure of what you are saying here... you want to get out of a short that is tanking but you can't trade it through IB? How did you get into the position with IB in the first place? I assume you must be talking about times when IB pops up a window saying 'Cannot place order at this time.' These problems occur rarely and are resolved quickly. How often does IB go down for half a day? Maybe your argument would have more merit without all the exaggeration. If there is a service outage, you can contact someone via chat or phone and they can generally tell you whether your orders are active or not. It doesn't seem difficult to determine how to hedge in these instances. If you are a good trader, you can take advantage of the person buying/selling to you, rather than complaining about their identity. That being said, the statement 'you are trading against IB' in the way you mean it is false. Your opinion I suppose. IB's datafeed is not tick by tick. It is a sub-second polling feed. Unless you need every tick, it will do the job nicely. Every broker will have problems. It has been my experience that IB's execution platform and fees are top notch.
I second that! Been with IB all year, and the only mistakes in my account have been ones caused by me! Period! Anyone who can complain about IB has got some serious issues with expectations out of this life. ICe
This is just rampant bullshit! I've been with IB close to 2 years and haven't had anywhere near the experience you've had. Symbols not available? GTC stops not working? Maybe you're trading with a different IB - IncompetentBrokers. I suggest you switch over to the real one.
None of these people are actual IB customers. Lets review "Getting kicked off the server 3x a day" "Money stolen from my account (they did the same post last year so I guess its about time to try it again)." "TWS is slow" "TWS unstable" "IB is going bankrupt" "Timberhill monitors order flow" blah blah Sock puppets every one of them. Getting sick of it actually. The noise to signal ratio is becoming too great to wade through.
ROFLMAO C# would throw the condom into a blister-pack with a swiss-army knife, and sell it to java after much negotiation between their Marshalls..