no specific recommendations from me as i dont know enough about your needs, but consider the following:
1/ go with a broker who has either execution and/or clearing memberships at the exchange. this is often overlooked among the arm chair millionaire traders here at et. stay away from those who dont (most introducing brokers). this is because if you have an issue with a trade, an ib will have another set of people to deal with at their fcm taking your problem longer to resolve. this can be very expensive. dont take any shill from an intro broker saying they have 1st class relationship with their fcm. fcms tend to treat their own business first before an intro brokers biz - cos they tend to be small retail biz which isnt so profitable to them.
2/ dont be afraid to haggle for commissions. costs are a major reason most lose. you need them low. this relates to point 1. an fcm will have more freedom to bargin.
3/ dont worry about the platforms as most today are pretty much the same. go for well known providers if possible rather than ones the broker developed. look at cqg integrated client, x-trader. stay away from pats.
4/ support. often hard to judge before you use firm. goes without saying that this needs to be top notch.
despite point 2, id rather have great service and pay a small amount more on a r/t. believe me, you can lose a lot more on a trade from bad support than you will save on cheaper commission/clearing fees. wait until you see price go through your order and you dont get a fill back from the platform (shitty pats platform). are you filled or not? major panic with 50 es lots before fomc. a good broker will be able to tell you pretty much immediately from their internal platforms. intro broker has to call them (for you) so doesnt really add anything and wastes time (do you need to cover or not? you get this wrong and youre offside....)
to find a good fcm, go to the exchage(s) web site where they will list member firms. visit their web sites, you know the rest....
