I am new to Direct Access Trading brokers. I basically swing trade nasdaq stocks. Which broker is better, InteractiveBrokers (IB) or MB Trading? The reason I single out these two is that they have the same commissions now, and both are similar in many respects however IB seems to have a much bigger 'following' as evidenced by this forum's posts. I signed up for an account at each one but haven't traded yet at either one. With IB, I liked the quick online application, however they asked for proof of residence which I faxed them, and 24 hours later no word on it and no response to my email, so my account is not yet approved, which means I cannot yet log into the TWS ("Trader Work Station") which I downloaded. Also, I cannot seem to get the online TWS demo to work (I just get the java logo), even after downloading the Java 2 plugin they tell you to. With MB Trading, signing up was involved, and I had to fax them (or you can mail them) some 20 pages of stuff you have to sign. Also, I funded the account with eFund (echeck from my bank), and their site says the funds will be available in 24 to 48 hours; however after I did their online eFund transaction, they sent me an email saying they could not 'verify' the funds and that I would have to wait 18 business days for it to clear unless the bank could verify that the funds were there, so then I had to have the bank fax them verification, which was additional hassle for me, but it got my funds available next day. I just wanted to avoid the wire fee if I wired them, so that's why I did eFund in the first place. On the bright side, they were very responsive and even called me twice. The only other negative was a slightly rude person I talked to but the other person was nice. I am anxious to trade at both firms and will report my findings. In the meantime, if there is anyone who has tried both of them, please give your experiences and compare them against each other. I am particularly interested in how the trading platforms compare to each other, and how each one might be better suited for a particular style of trading or to specific trader needs.
Well, day 2 experimenting with both IB and MB trading. As far as IB goes, they still have not processed my account, and though I faxed them the residence verification they wanted, it says in my account: "Tentatively Accepted Received Utility Bill via FAX on 30 Mar 2004 22:09:41 EST" Maybe they are waiting for funds, I don't know. No response from my emails to them yet. ---- As far as MB trading goes, got up and running with them today and the trading platform seems outstanding. Very happy so far and also with their quick and accessible live online support. ---- I am surprised there is nobody who has used both firms and has commented on this post yet, I was hoping for some replies...
Got accounts at both......MB screwed up my initial deposit.....took a week too long. That said, I actually like MB just a little bit better for equity trading. Both are good, what one has, the other doesn't .....two pieces of the puzzle that work well together.
well said. i got same thing. if you short a lot-you must have open accounts in both. from average joe-programmer-IB's API easier to use than MB's SDK, but with SDK you can build entire trading platform the way you like. MB give you free L2 if you have more than 25K on account, but will charge you for wires out. there is also really strange fee in MB for GTC orders. they charge you 1 cent per share.... you like have to replace your stop/target orders every day...they both good for stocks. MB CS a bit more frendly, but IB is improving also. from my opinion IB's TWS is easier to use(but-you have to be carefull with clicking))))) you have to spend some time with both firms demo to found out which platform you like more.