Quote from ML_QUANT:
There is a firm that I do not want to promote here since they clear with RCG which is the most brain dead firm around. Anyhow, they charge .35 per side which is .70 rt + 650 XT / 5000 = .83 / rt add 2.30 for all else and it comes to 3.13 rt Vs. IB at 3.68 the diff is .57 which is a humongous...
It translates to .57*5000 = $2850 per month. Add it up and it will pay for a fantastic vacation twice a year. I'm not going to gift that to IB! However, IB at 150 rt is cheaper than most and hence, I might change my style of trading, like go with high price stocks like goog and pair with futures and options hence, keep futures vol per month to around 10 a day, and if need scalping go elsewhere specifically for that only. Otherwise, do your scalping elsewhere and take your swings to IB.
I do agree, IB should lower their's and benefit the huge vol scalpers could give them.
p.s.
It seems, IB in the stocks contrary to the futures is amongst the lowest in the industry, their unbundled comms. is that true?
First, I have no doubt at all that IB is not the low cost provider in futures. Nor are they in stocks. If cost is that important to you, you should not deal with IB...it's really that simple. Makes no difference to me.
But let me give you a different perspective. Evidently cost is quite important to you. That $2800 is a very big deal to you....it represents vacations. LOL. To me, that $2800 savings doesn't mean shit. To me, that looks like stumbling over dollars to pick up pennies.
I've dealt with alot of different brokers over my trading career. The first thing I think about when choosing a broker is whether my money is safe. Evidently you don't give that a thought. I guess your account is $100K. So if one day your $100K is in jeopardy because the firm you picked has suddenly been shut down, how will you feel about it?
I've taken all kinds of risks every day in this business, for around 40 years. I've taken countless losses (and countless gains). But one way I never want to lose my money is because the firm I picked when out of business. I'm willing to lose because I analyzed something wrong. But I'm not willing to lose a dime because I picked the wrong broker.
For that reason I stay happily with IB. Yeah, I spend more than I have to for commissions. But the firm is financially sound. And, the account is insured.
Next though....I don't just trade futures. Sometimes I'll trade some stocks. I don't want to have to do that through multiple accounts. I want to be able to do it with minimum of effort, and then get back to my main thing which is trading futures. You want to putz around with multiple accounts, one for futures, one for stocks....more power to you. My time and convenience are important to me.
I don't do it right now, but if I ever want to trade a stock in the far east, or somewhere else, I can do it where I'm at. I don't have to wonder how the hell to buy a stock in Tokyo. If I want to change some of my funds into a different currency, I can do it.
But then again, I'm not scalping like that either. I'm not going to churn my account for $18K commissions a month on a $100K balance. LOL. I figured out a better way to trade in the last 40 years.
Finally, I'm always surprised when a guy know a broker who has a very low rate, yet is unwilling to name them. That alone speaks volumes.
Let's put it this way. I don't buy my shirts at the cheapest place in town. I don't drive the cheapest car I can find. There's a reason for that. I found out along the line that there's an interplay between cost and quality. You alone can determine where you fit on that scale. But when you're all the way down to the end on cost, you're usually in the wrong place.
OldTrader
