I like Velocity Futures, but they only deal in electronic futures. X Trader is very fast. I have heard IB is a good value but their execution is so so and their support is marginal, but you get what you pay for.
I trade prop but also have an account with IB. If you are a spoo trader I would strongly recommend that you have a backup account. IB is horrible when it some to cloding a trade via phone (internet down, etc...). Their commissions are cheap but their customer service is the worst.
IB also only deals in electronic futures (no pit-traded contracts, that's the only minus for me as I'd want to hedge if and when electronic markets go down) anyone here have a backup plan if electronic markets fail? While I'm at this, may be someone here can direct me... what chart programs work best w/ IB TWS? I tried their charts but I'm looking to be able to chart my own security realtime.. for ex. a spread, a ratio or some other formuation of prices.
i have been moderatly happy but they have the worst market orders on earth even scottrader could give me better (pricing) fills... the confirmations were very fast but i was being skrewed when i bot and sold.. stick to limit orders I had to wait over 15seconds to cover my short of SPY using SMART while it was blasting upwards and lost hundreds while this security trades hundreds of thousnads per minute i could not get a fill and the cust rep said it was not IB fault..i mean come on with 500 shares and it was that dificult to sell?? other then that i am happy with limit order and confirmation speeds...
Moreagr, What was the specific explanation from IB customer service for your 15 second delay? What did your audit trail show? What did time and sales show? Did you have AMEX and NYSE excluded from IB-SMART? You should exclude them when you are trading SPY.
I love interactive brokers For a charting program I would recommend SierraChart - excellent product and a very reasonable cost. FWIW I use NinjaTrader for order entry (fast, flexible,everything I want) but would pick Bracket Trader as a second best.
No more interruptions in the datafeed for about 2 months now. Keep it up IB. Anybody checked on timing accuracy?
If you save on commissions by going with Genesis instead of IB, will you wind up giving back your savings and more, if Genesis has inferior order routing and execution logic?