Hi,
I saw the increase to .01 p/share on their site as well. I was seriously considering Genesis as my broker and a few weeks ago when I requested a demo of Laser (it took a few days to get a reply) I was quoted a software fee of $200 p/month. One-cent commissions and $200 software fee doesn't seem cheapest on the street to me anymore.
I demo'd laser for a few days solid, and in general, I like it. It is very robust and customizable as far as order routing options are concerned. In fact, it is rather customizable all the way around. And from what I hear Genesis's execution speeds are excellent. The charting was not really up to par with what I am used to though. And, at least in the demo, I was unable to the software when the market is closed. Some days I like to go in and look at the charts when things are quite and not being able to do that is a drag.
I used to frequently trade the ES and used third-party software for realtime data and charts and custom scripting capabilities. For the software and data it is in the same $$ neighborhood as what Genesis is charging for Laser. I decided to pick a broker offering half the commission rate on >500 shares and just pay for the outside software and integrate the order entry. And I make up that $200 with the lower commissions really quickly.
Maybe I could have called and wheeled and dealed into the same or a little better commission rate, but whatever, I asked and that is what they told me. I am not looking to shop for brokers the way I buy a car and that seems to be their model.
I am sure this solution is not for lots of folks, but for me it seems like way better charting, cheaper commissions and a broker with solid execution and very good customer service.
hope this helps,
Enzo