I know this has been debated on numerous threads but I think it's time to re-open the case. A lot of you guys left IB in the fall after the numerous glitches, are you happy? Anyone back at IB. Lets talk speed of execution, handling of Globex stops, customer service, and commish. Was anyone involved in the 60 pt NQ run up last week? Bonus points to anyone who knows the REAL story behind what happened.
Pabst: âA lot of you guys left IB in the fall after the numerous glitches, are you happy?â Absolutely. âLets talk speed of executionâ¦â IB canât hold a candle to my other brokers. ââ¦handling of Globex stopsâ¦â I experience dramatically less slippage with J-Trader and the reliability of the software has been very satisfactory. ââ¦customer serviceâ¦â Sorry, does IB even have customer service? In every case, when Iâve needed to close a position immediately and was unable to do so online, I was instantly able to call the trade desk and flatten out. I canât say the same for IB. ââ¦and commish.â I pay marginally more per RT. I donât believe that what I pay is the same as what most customers pay, though. For the purposes of comparison, I think anything between $6-$8/RT is well worth the switch. The only drawback to not being with IB is the simplicity of its TWS. Once you become familiar with the idiosyncrasies and advantages of another platform it really makes little difference, though.
I primarily use J-Trader through REFCO. I have no idea how new accounts are handled at REFCO, though, as I was a PMB client originally. I am in the process of experimenting with some other brokerages at the moment.
Pabst ApexFutures.com offers J-Trader for $4/side with phone back up for free. Just mention my name for that rate. Craig Ross
www.elocaltrading.com offers rates as low as $3.00 per side, all fees included. eLocal provides their clients with the Patsystems J-TRADER platform with excellent phone execution back-up. Through their web-site you can get in touch with the principals of the firm.