Hello everyone, hope everyone is doing well.
I'm here looking for advice / suggestions on which brokerage would be the best for my needs. A little background on what type of trading I'm planning on executing: I'm looking into day trading stocks which usually range from $5-$100, but I will sometimes touch a stock that's $100 if there's some sort of catalyst and the opportunity is right. My account deposit will be around $30,000-$35,000 and I will not keep any shares overnight. I am currently (paper trading) 50% long / 50% short, thus the brokerage must have a good short locating system in play. My share size is equivalent to around $20,000-$50,000 depending on the situation.
After a quick rundown, I know paper trading is nothing like real trading (mainly emotions), so I am going to take it slow and small the first few weeks. In other words, I'll use small share size to get familiar with everything and how the market performs. I am only focusing on 1-2 patterns followed by some technical analysis / VPA and I have a decent strategy in place (no more than 2% loss a day, no more than 200$ loss per trade, etc).
So these are the brokerages I came up with that seems to fit my needs:
My Location = California (USA)
TD Ameritrade + TOS
Pros: Great customer service. | Well established with tons of walk-in locations. | TOS is a great charting program, I love it. | Overall commission (when lowered) can be $3-4 per trade which is nice. | I have a TDA walk-in location within 2 miles of me.
Cons: Not direct access, thus slower execution time. | Usually doesn't have the same stock availability for shorts, especially for stocks under $10 (big factor). | (Not sure if this is true, but doesn't have REAL level 2 data? Correct me if I'm wrong).
Overall: I would try out there 60-day commission free trading but in the agreement, it states I have to leave the deposit amount in the account or I will be charged with the cost of the fees, etc. I love TOS as I think I'll be using this charting system regardless. If they had best shorting availability, I would definitely give TDA a shot due to TOS.
Interactive Broker + TOS (for charting) + DAS Trader (level 2, order executions)
Pros: Direct access resulting in quicker executions. | Great availability when it comes to shorting stocks. | Lower commission rates when using tiered option. | Most professional day traders use this over TDA.
Cons: Iffy customer service as well as no walk-in locations. | When buying share size of 1000+, it starts to add up in commissions, especially using fixed option. I may be mistaken, but using the tiered option provides cheaper commissions due to rebates from liquidity.
Overall: I am leaning towards IB but I still need a better understanding of the difference between tiered and fixed commissions. On top of that, I need to read more on direct access trading as I'm still unfamiliar with that. I'll probably google it and if I can't fully understand it, I'll make a post.
CenterPoint Securities + TOS (charting) + Some execution software
Pros: I heard it has better short availability than IB. | There's a location in San Diego which is in the same state as me.
Cons: I heard it can be expensive? | Not as well-known as TDA / IB.
Overall: Throwing this in the mix because I heard its a great alternative to IB, which is also on the list.
Sorry for the long post, but I just want to make sure I pick the right brokerage for day trading as well as overall performance, shorting availability, execution speeds, etc.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!
I'm here looking for advice / suggestions on which brokerage would be the best for my needs. A little background on what type of trading I'm planning on executing: I'm looking into day trading stocks which usually range from $5-$100, but I will sometimes touch a stock that's $100 if there's some sort of catalyst and the opportunity is right. My account deposit will be around $30,000-$35,000 and I will not keep any shares overnight. I am currently (paper trading) 50% long / 50% short, thus the brokerage must have a good short locating system in play. My share size is equivalent to around $20,000-$50,000 depending on the situation.
After a quick rundown, I know paper trading is nothing like real trading (mainly emotions), so I am going to take it slow and small the first few weeks. In other words, I'll use small share size to get familiar with everything and how the market performs. I am only focusing on 1-2 patterns followed by some technical analysis / VPA and I have a decent strategy in place (no more than 2% loss a day, no more than 200$ loss per trade, etc).
So these are the brokerages I came up with that seems to fit my needs:
My Location = California (USA)
TD Ameritrade + TOS
Pros: Great customer service. | Well established with tons of walk-in locations. | TOS is a great charting program, I love it. | Overall commission (when lowered) can be $3-4 per trade which is nice. | I have a TDA walk-in location within 2 miles of me.
Cons: Not direct access, thus slower execution time. | Usually doesn't have the same stock availability for shorts, especially for stocks under $10 (big factor). | (Not sure if this is true, but doesn't have REAL level 2 data? Correct me if I'm wrong).
Overall: I would try out there 60-day commission free trading but in the agreement, it states I have to leave the deposit amount in the account or I will be charged with the cost of the fees, etc. I love TOS as I think I'll be using this charting system regardless. If they had best shorting availability, I would definitely give TDA a shot due to TOS.
Interactive Broker + TOS (for charting) + DAS Trader (level 2, order executions)
Pros: Direct access resulting in quicker executions. | Great availability when it comes to shorting stocks. | Lower commission rates when using tiered option. | Most professional day traders use this over TDA.
Cons: Iffy customer service as well as no walk-in locations. | When buying share size of 1000+, it starts to add up in commissions, especially using fixed option. I may be mistaken, but using the tiered option provides cheaper commissions due to rebates from liquidity.
Overall: I am leaning towards IB but I still need a better understanding of the difference between tiered and fixed commissions. On top of that, I need to read more on direct access trading as I'm still unfamiliar with that. I'll probably google it and if I can't fully understand it, I'll make a post.
CenterPoint Securities + TOS (charting) + Some execution software
Pros: I heard it has better short availability than IB. | There's a location in San Diego which is in the same state as me.
Cons: I heard it can be expensive? | Not as well-known as TDA / IB.
Overall: Throwing this in the mix because I heard its a great alternative to IB, which is also on the list.
Sorry for the long post, but I just want to make sure I pick the right brokerage for day trading as well as overall performance, shorting availability, execution speeds, etc.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!
