Hi, everyone. I need advice from people who have recent or current experience with Lightspeed and preferably, also with CenterPoint and/or SpeedTrader. I'm considering opening an account with one of these brokers. I give preference to Lightspeed, but I need to learn more about their ETB list. I haven't been trading live over the past year, and I currently have no account with any broker, but I've developed a trading strategy in the meantime. The strategy is based on trading exclusively in large cap stocks. The ones that are in the S&P 500, plus about 400 others that are not. Most of the trades are shorts (both intraday swing trades and scalps), and my questions are about shorting. I'd like to hear advice from people who also do a lot of short selling in the large cap group and have accounts with one or two of the mentioned brokers. Large caps generally tend to be on the ETB list but may require a paid locate due to increased intraday volatility, volume, or both. I do both momentum ( strong breakouts, climactic reversals, and other) and range-bound trades, and I see anywhere from 30 to 50 great short set-ups a day in large cap stocks. I often sell short when the downward momentum is extremely strong and the stock is really tanking. Hence, the ability to short free of charge or for a very low fee during times of intense volatility is crucially important for me in terms of costs. From your experience, how would you describe Lightspeed's free easy-to-borrow availability in volatile large caps during intraday sessions, and how do they compare to CenterPoint or SpeedTrader in that regard? Also, how do these brokers compare in terms of their per-share charges when shorting volatile large caps does require paid locates? I certainly understand that a lot depends on supply, demand, and liquidity, and any one broker could be better than another on any given day, but traders who have been shorting a lot in the large cap group would surely see a difference over time. Because of the large number of intraday shorts I'm planning to take, the differences in locate costs at the end of the month, depending on the broker, may be substantial, so your comments/advice are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help. I apologize for the long text, but I wanted to be as descriptive as possible so that my concerns are well understood. If you need more details and clarification, I will be glad to provide them.
Hi - R.G. Trader - I'm a sales rep at LightSpeed and a sponsor here on ET. Friday's ETB list had 6166 symbols. If the stock is not ETB, we offer locates from Wedbush Securities and three premium locate providers on Lightspeed Trader and Sterling Trader Pro. I'm happy to talk on the phone one day or you can email me directly. My contact information is in my signature. I prefer that over a Private message here.
Hi Robert...I was wondering if you could give me some input. I know you can not give legal/investment advice...I get it. When Fidelity approached me about lending out shares, a few red flags came up. I would be the one on the other end of lending out shares... Lending out my QQQ would seem to be a no big deal...Hence very little payout. Loaning out my stock that is only traded on the Tokyo Exchange said to my brain, "NO WAY". Tell me if this is who would be involved if something went south with me loaning out my foreign stock...A copy and paste from a few months ago. What concerned me (especially with Toray...TRYIF) is if the company (or stock), person, got tied up in litigation. You have two stock exchanges, two clearing houses, ADR, a bank, Fidelity, and the other broker in Japan. I'm 69...Do I really want some small stock holding tied up in the courts for my estate to try and deal with?? Just wondering how much more risk is involved in loaning foreign vs domestic stock??
Stock loan on a foreign security is way outside my understanding when it comes to any risk you might or might not have. When they provide the disclosure, I suggest you read that carefully.