... snip You do realize that Def has no obligation to be here and that his posts contribute greatly to user concerns over IB as well as offering good sound trading advice to new traders (including me). Any guy who takes the time out to send a personal PM to another user wishing them well is gold in my book. Save your ammo for those who deserve it.
aphexcoil who PM-ed? I didn't. I speak publicly and take insults. I know my friends. I know my enemies. I know what I am fighting for. Just want to make a living. That is what it is. Peace.
def PMed aphexcoil. He wasn't suggesting that you had PMed him It's great that def posts on here, and is supportive to new traders (at least, to you), while he has no obligation to be here. That's great. That's super fantastic. It splendid to the max. Really. I mean it. However, why the heck can't we get any kind of response about IB issues on IB's own boards? Why can't IB customers get their concerns addressed on IB's boards? You might think that there, some representative, whether def or anyone else, might in fact have some degree of obligation to be there. And yet, what we get there, is utter silence. As I stated before, if customers like qdz had received any kind of reply from IB on IB's own boards, it's much less likely that def would have to be spending his energy on here defending IB against critical remarks made by a dissatisfied former customer, and be able to spend that amount of energy offering the more constructive advice we all appreciate.
JCM2, I was able to do about 10% per month. I hope I will be able to keep as consistent as that for a while. Then I hope to do 25%. My broker will earn more than what I get. . But that is the price I have to pay. What do you think? Thank you.
qdz, to clarify what i was asking, no pro firm will accept you with 2K, however, with 2K, you might find someone who would back you to get you up to the minimum. This backer would likely require a percentage of your profits in return for backing you. So I am asking what percentage payout do you think is reasonable/you looking for........50%, 70%?
percentage payout of principle or profit? I am willing to pay 50% of my profit, commission excluded (that's 200% or so of profit). Thanks.
For what it is worth, here is my opinion. I'm new a trading. Started with $2000 like you and went to Scott Trade ($7.00 for market $12.95 for limit). I very rapidly lost $800, mostly in commissions. Trying to position size killed me commission wise because the stock would have to move anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 per share just to break even. I had good stops in place, but the stocks would reverse and I'd get stopped out at a loss on commission, not on the stock. After that, I attended a seminar in Denver put on by the Bright Brothers (hey guys, you said I'd get a subscription to Tech Analysis of Stocks & Commodities, hasn't arrived). There, I discovered this website. With my $1200, and a loan of $1000 from my IRA, I opened an account with IB. Here are my kudos and gripes. KUDO: Can have direct access with a $2000 account. Buy on the Bid sell on the Ask. With Scott Trade, I bought on the Ask and sold on the Bid. KUDO: Per share commission. Even with the $1 minimum per trade, that's only $2 round trip instead of $25. My worst case break even was only 15 cents. Not bad if you get scared and want out. KUDO: Quick executions. GRIPE: If you go below $2000, you can't short. With Scott Trade, you could short when your account got below $2000, and they would send a maintenance notification. With IB, you lose 1/2 of your trading ability (ability to short) immediately. I guess I could send them a check for $15 and get that capability back. GRIPE: You're limited to 3 day trades per 5 day period. That's not really so bad unless you got into 3 positions in the same day that reversed on you and you wanted out. Future trades are automagically declined unless you have the $25,000 minimum. SEC Rule. How can we get that changed? Overall, I'm happy with IB unless there's something bad I don't know about IB. Since you're starting with such a small amount, I've attached a spreadsheet that might assist you with position sizing. After my experience with Scott Trade (and I'm not saying they're bad, my style of trading was not a good match), and per ticket fees, this spreadsheet has helped to stop the bleeding. If anyone else should happen to download this spreadsheet, I'd really appreciate your opinion on it. In summary: Who will accept you as a day trader? IB, however you now know the limitations. Check with the Bright Brothers. If you have a good track record with your small investment, maybe they will lend you a hand. Hope this helps. Chris
Not sure if the spreadsheet attached itself in my previous reply. Trying again. AH! The spreadsheet was too big to be accepted. Had to zip it. The system would not take a .zip file so it's named ProtectiveStops.zip.xls. Please remove the .xls when you download it, then use winzip to open it. Or start Winzip, then open -> ProtectiveStops.zip.xls.