I have done some searching but haven't found anything that seems to fit me well yet. Plenty of threads on brokers but I thought a specific view of my situation would be best. I trade Index futures primarily. 8 markets around the world at the moment. Also have an interest in other instruments down the track such as US equities, but it will be the Indices for the moment. FTSE DAX Hang Seng Nikkei MSCI SPI ES ND Volume would average around 150 contracts a month level total. Account will be funded by AUD, living in Europe presently. My systems use MOO, MOO +/- points buy/sells, MOC covers; and settlement +/- x point stops. Every so often take a trade home overnight. I'm thinking my best choice so far would be IB + Bracket Trader, also read good things about Ninja but leaning towards Bracket Trader. Currently I'm using a full service broker that charges just too much for RT's. I use Trade Navigator for my software, though do most of my work in Excel. Any opinions or advice most welcome.
IB is the best choice IMO. My personal preference is for Button Trader -one very useful feature if you are trading across markets is the different audio alerts for price movement Man/Refco also cover but more expensive RT unless you are doing volume. Lind Walduck also cover I think, but I suspect you are trying to get away from their USD28 or whatever RT.
Thanks for the reply. Wondering what restrictions there are on trading Index futures with IB compared to a full fee broker. Especially buying/selling MOC and MOO
NONE whatsoever other than margins req can be higher than those of other brokers and it is a good thing that guarantees your funds are safer.
Be sure that you understand how MOC/MOO orders will be executed in comparison to others, and whether that works for you. Such orders are only natively supported by some exchanges, and other firms may be able to guarantee you a specific price (in exchange for their higher commissions), while IB's simulation may simply be an order submitted at a particular time near the open or close. IB's order handling for each product/exchange is documented in detail on their web site.