Interactive Brokers stealing a few cents from everyone?

[samovar]

I keep track of my trades separately using an Excel spreadsheet (because Interactive Brokers doesn't have a nice list of trades and the running cash after each, like a bank statement). I got all formulas right, and for a year since I've been doing this, my numbers matched IB's spot on.

But starting from February 2010, every few days I've noticed a rounding error of 1 or 2 cents, almost always in IB's favor. In other words, if my running cash was, say, $50,123.45 according to the spreadsheet, in the daily e-mail statement, the Ending Cash would be $50,123.43, which is 2 cents less. This can't be a calculation error on my part, because no fees or commissions are 1 or 2 cents, and I doubt it's rounding error in Excel because it hasn't happened for a year, and because it's too large (2 cents for a change in running cash amounting to at most a few thousand dollars).

Has anyone else been noticing their calculations not exactly matching IB's?

 

[LeeD]

The last time I read about such a phenomenon, it was a disgruntled employee who was directing pennies to his personal account.

Roundling error is not enough for a large intitution to risk reputation. Stealing a penny is still stealing. However, it is enough to make a single person quite wealthy.

My gueess is you may be using "today's" interest rates instead of last night's.

 

[failed_trad3r]

I had the same thing. First I figured IB was stealing pennies. Then I found out about sub pennying. When you buy and sell stock do u use 4 decimals and don't round off?

 

[samovar]

I'm not sure how the interest rate would apply in my case. I don't deal with any interest-carrying securities... I have the very same type of transactions as I had before February 2010, when there were no rounding errors.

I use only 2 decimals for prices, because that's what I get in the daily activity statements, which I parse into the Excel spreadsheet.

 

[Swan Noir]

How hard is it to learn that if you rep IB the ONLY answer to the question posed by the OP is: "I'll look into it and get to the bottom of it".

Customer service is at least as much an attitude as anything else. Get with it ... traders observe how you treat traders.

Quote from LeeD:

The last time I read about such a phenomenon, it was a disgruntled employee who was directing pennies to his personal account.

Roundling error is not enough for a large intitution to risk reputation. Stealing a penny is still stealing. However, it is enough to make a single person quite wealthy.

My gueess is you may be using "today's" interest rates instead of last night's.

 

[NumLock]

That's nothing

IB is the only legit broker that has 3 requirements needed to define the last traded price when executing orders

your orders wait for BID/ASK to catch up

This produces more slippage and IB has never fully explained why they are the only ones who utilize this.

Weird. I would bet this is some fancy way of stealing.

 

[kiwi_trader]

I needed some strange stuff done by ib recently so interacted directly with customer service for the first time in 18 months.

They were great. Fine.

So this thread is just turning into another bs thread with the shills and twats leaping on to whinge about their old and imagined injuries.


A note for any real customer who cares. IB listened to our issue with java 20 and tws not calling the browser account windows. I didn't check the last v904 but can report that on 905.3 it works fine again.

 

[NumLock]

Quote from kiwi_trader:

I needed some strange stuff done by ib recently so interacted directly with customer service for the first time in 18 months.

They were great. Fine.

So this thread is just turning into another bs thread with the shills and twats leaping on to whinge about their old and imagined injuries.


A note for any real customer who cares. IB listened to our issue with java 20 and tws not calling the browser account windows. I didn't check the last v904 but can report that on 905.3 it works fine again.

You know what your problem is. You are too dumb to understand.

I sincerely doubt you are a successful trader. Maybe you are a semi good swinger.

But a successful day trader you are not.

With IB your trigger waits for for BID/ASK to catch up in order to trigger. This creates more slippage for those who trade with an edge (something you obviously don't have).

Interactive Brokers is the ONLY legit broker that has this deal. Who collects the slippage IB creates, that is the real question. Is it Timberhill division of IB ?????

If IB didn't have 100 k insurance for each of my accounts I would have left them long time ago.

 

[Bob111]

If IB didn't have 100 k insurance for each of my accounts I would have left them long time ago.

what 100K insurance you keep blabbing about ? every broker have it..
you can go head and close your account today..

This can't be a calculation error on my part, because no fees or commissions are 1 or 2 cents, and I doubt it's rounding error in Excel because it hasn't happened for a year, and because it's too large (2 cents for a change in running cash amounting to at most a few thousand dollars).

can you give us an example how 2 cents can became few K?
hey...no fees or commissions are 1 or 2 cents...i can show you a statement,where commissions are negative numbers... rebates...

 

[zdreg]

Quote from NumLock:

You know what your problem is. You are too dumb to understand.

I sincerely doubt you are a successful trader. Maybe you are a semi good swinger.

But a successful day trader you are not.

With IB your trigger waits for for BID/ASK to catch up in order to trigger. This creates more slippage for those who trade with an edge (something you obviously don't have).

Interactive Brokers is the ONLY legit broker that has this deal. Who collects the slippage IB creates, that is the real question. Is it Timberhill division of IB ?????

If IB didn't have 100 k insurance for each of my accounts I would have left them long time ago.

there are a number of trigger methods. use the TWS guide.