Are these market data fees competitive?

[rmorse]

IMO, if you are an active trader, you are often better off paying all your platform fees/MD directly and getting a better commission rate. In general, the firm your are dealing with will have a monthly expense to cover and any package deal will have to be high enough to cover their expenses. If they are not covering any expenses, they can afford to provide a lower rate. Less risk to them.

However, if the platform is owned by the firm, it's a different story, as the variable expense is much lower.

 

[ScalperJoe]

If they are not covering any expenses, they can afford to provide a lower rate. Less risk to them.

However, if the platform is owned by the firm, it's a different story, as the variable expense is much lower.

I agree "they can afford to provide a lower rate" since rates on commissions are negotiable. The op can either renegotiate his rate, or at least minimize his commissions by adding liquidity by using limit orders on his 100k-200k shares per month.

The platform (Fusion) is still owned by WTS, so that expense is passed on to the traders by whichever firm uses it. It's the same if he used DASpro, Sterling, etc. They charge their traders a fee to use the platform, however there's always a workaround if you're generating lots of commissions for the firm. The key is to reduce those fixed and variable costs to a level that is acceptable for both the firm and for the trader.