Journal - My Switch From IB to Velocity Futures
- Thread starter mBear
- Start date
Now, why is it so hard to figure this out? That means that IB reached the next stage of mess.
I have something more for you, that really disturbed me today and that I just recalled: I got a spam sent to my Yahoo email account that I use only for the correspondence with IB and only IB knows this address. I don't know what to think about it, but I don't like it one bit!
The fact that a spammer finally guessed your yahoo account has nothing to do with IB. Spammers continually send to random addresses in yahoo.com until it doesn't get bounced back. They they assume that is a good address and spam it. That is what happened to you. It's a matter of time until they guess your account.
In order to have that not happen to you, you need a real ISP that has web email filtering to prevent the acceptance of such messages by your mailbox.
YES BUT HOW DO YOU explain THAT JUST RIGHT AFTER AMY NEGATIVE RATING ON IB ON ET I RECEIVE AT AN unusual TIME OF THE NIGHT FOR ME IN CET ( 1:30 AM) BUT PRETTY NORMAL FOR EST OR CST , A BLANK MAIL from IB TO AN ADDRESS PRIVATE THAT ONLY IB KNOWS AND WHERE MY ACCOUNT STATEMENTS ARE SENT? I AM PART OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED "SPAM COP" AND HAVE A PROGRAM SELF LEARNING that REDUCED BY 99.9% IN 2 WEEKS THE spamming. THE PROGRAM ALLOWED THE MAIL IN WITHOUT PUTTING IN QUARANTINE , SINCE IS "NOT ENEMY OR HAS NOT THE prerequisites IN THE HEADER THAT QUALIFY IT AS SPAM.
spamcops IF they WANT THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE WITH 2$ TO SUPPORT THE STRUCTURE; I REPORT ANY HEADER TO A NUMBER OF AUTHORITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS AGAINST ABUSE AND spamming. THEY SEND BACK A REPORT FULLY DETAILED AND BUILD UP A MORE AND MORE DETAILED DBASE , FURTHERMORE they GO TO THE IP AND REPORT WHAT happened SOLICITING THE IP TO TAKE ACTIONS.
WAS NOT A SPAM. WAS A REGULAR MAIL FROM IB. BLANK.
AND I AM NOT - AS YOU CAN SEE - THE ONLY CASE. BESIDES THE ANGRY PM I HAVE RECEIVED IN THE MEANWHILE .
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THE RULES OF ET ALLOW TO publish A PM NON SOLICITED IN WHICH THERE IS VULGARITY AND ATTACK AGAINST OTHERS CORPORATIONS.
OR MUCH BETTER THE ONE THAT SEND IT WILL BE SO HONEST TO publish HIMSELF. I MADE THE NAME IN A previous POST.
ah btw. I RECEIVED A SPAM WITH A VIRUS IN IT SIGNED MICROSOFT , BUT GENERATED BY FROM ADM@DUMA.RU.ORG
THE PROGRAM I HAVE ALLOW THE "BOUNCING".
MEANS THAT THIS GENTLEMEN THAT TRIED TO BUT A WORM IN MY PC WITH THE MICROSOFT DISGUISE AND THE MESSAGE "OPEN this PATCH immediately FOR SECURITY REASON!" GOT BOUNCED BACK ON HIS PC HIS NICE MESSAGE ABOUT ABOUT 4000/5000 TIMES.
EVENTUALLY HE STOPPED.
This is right on the money. IMO IB is a super broker for that niche between hand-holding high commission brokers and high volume traders that need negotiated super low commission and instant phone support. I've never had to call them in the year and a half that I've my account and I made more than a thousand stock and option trades in that time.
I did email them once and they got right back to me. Yeah, they sometimes have problems but they usually clear them up fast.
Sorry, but the commissions and platform just can't be beat for the large majority of traders. I do agree that the competition is getting tight and IB needs to stay ahead and push for ever-lower comms and better platforms and service.
I am a pro trader.
I do not need low low commission as expalined since I'm not a scalper and variable costs are not so crucial to me.
I Referred more tah 20 customers to IB, so it meant that I believed in them.
I Was satisfied until a certain extent.
Now I am unhappy and as aclient I have two right : to politely point out what does not works and to "do not vote " for them anymore: means leave them and scratchb them from my brokers .
Period.
1% of my trade is stock. The rest is index futures, Currencies, Agricultural Commodities (not of coyurse with IB) , Options as futures hedging.
in 1 year I had to call them more than once.
There is a rating on IB of some time ago by miself absolutely positive .
I said my opinion on IB NOW . Period.
Let's stop with polemics and - as someone said- I apologize if I brought out of focus this thread that was started on another topic.
For this again I apologize.
I do not need low low commission as expalined since I'm not a scalper and variable costs are not so crucial to me.
I Referred more tah 20 customers to IB, so it meant that I believed in them.
I Was satisfied until a certain extent.
Now I am unhappy and as aclient I have two right : to politely point out what does not works and to "do not vote " for them anymore: means leave them and scratchb them from my brokers .
Period.
1% of my trade is stock. The rest is index futures, Currencies, Agricultural Commodities (not of coyurse with IB) , Options as futures hedging.
in 1 year I had to call them more than once.
There is a rating on IB of some time ago by miself absolutely positive .
I said my opinion on IB NOW . Period.
Let's stop with polemics and - as someone said- I apologize if I brought out of focus this thread that was started on another topic.
For this again I apologize.
Okay, back to an actual comparison of IB and Velocity Futures. Yes it is about volume. My previous post on the break even point to pay for the X_Trader platform fee (after the free month offered to ET members) was erroneous since it was based on a $4.50 RT commission by IB. Since then I have noted IB's commission is $4.80 and the break even point is 28 RT contracts per day. For an active trader, this is a pretty low average and you will see a commission savings. Unless you are averaging significantly more than 28, IB may well be better. For me, there will be a significant savings.
As a final note, for the cost comparison, you can only be logged into one exchange on X_Trader at a time, unless you want to pay an additional fee of $250 for the second exchange. I timed the log out\ log in time including loading workspace settings at about 40 seconds. If you actively trade both exchanges at any moment, this may be unacceptable and you will need to pay the second fee. I tend to focus on a single market at a time and prefer the emini S&P500 and Nq 100 contract over the emini Dow on the CBOT, primarily due to liquidity.
In my next post, I will compare the two platforms in detail. Unfortunately, time prevents me from doing so now. However, IB has a delayed demo and Velocity has offered a free one month real time try out of X_Trader (to Elite Trader members) so you can compare for yourself.
As a final note, it would be good if we could keep the post on this thread related to the comparison of IB and Velocity Futures, and move the unrelated posts about IB to another thread.
As a final note, for the cost comparison, you can only be logged into one exchange on X_Trader at a time, unless you want to pay an additional fee of $250 for the second exchange. I timed the log out\ log in time including loading workspace settings at about 40 seconds. If you actively trade both exchanges at any moment, this may be unacceptable and you will need to pay the second fee. I tend to focus on a single market at a time and prefer the emini S&P500 and Nq 100 contract over the emini Dow on the CBOT, primarily due to liquidity.
In my next post, I will compare the two platforms in detail. Unfortunately, time prevents me from doing so now. However, IB has a delayed demo and Velocity has offered a free one month real time try out of X_Trader (to Elite Trader members) so you can compare for yourself.
As a final note, it would be good if we could keep the post on this thread related to the comparison of IB and Velocity Futures, and move the unrelated posts about IB to another thread.
Now for the comparison of the two platforms. I came to like the IB TWS, especially the more that I used it. First the features that I miss.
Note: Because I trade only futures, there are a number of features in TWS that I did not use and will not address them here.
TWS OCA: With this feature, you can quickly enter your position, then put in your goal and stop with a group identifier. You can then have a level of comfort in walking away from the screen. For example when long, my OCA group would have a sell order entered as a goal, a stop-limit as an intended maximum risk and a trailing-stop to lock in some profit on the way up. While a liked the concept a lot, I rarely used it, simply because I am in front of the screen all day anyway. X_Trader does not have a One-Cancels-Another or One-Cancels-All feature, except as an add-on module to X_Trader Pro. X_Trader Pro cost $1450 per month. According to Mark Oryhon at VF, there are only just over 40 traders using X_Trader Pro in the entire country.
Trailing stops: Yes in IB TWS, no in X_Trader. Again, I would normally trail my stop manually during the trading day, so while I like the concept, I won't actually miss this feature.
Automated Stop Values: One of the cool things you can do in TWS is set up a different stop value for each contract. For example, you can set an ES stop of 1.5 while your ZB stop is 0.125. Then, when doing a bracket order, or a stop attached to the entry order, it will automatically start from that value. No similar feature in X_Trader.
Third party plug ins: Some traders love the plug-in platforms that work with TWS, like button-trader, auto-trader, bracket-trader, etc. I personally didn't use them; however, I did use Medved Quotetracker as a backup charting program. As far as I can tell, no similar plug-ins are available presently for X_Trader.
Now for why I like X_Trader. X_Trader includes a simplified order entry method called Market Depth Trader. (This is in addition to the more traditional Market Explorer where you can enter your orders.)
Market Depth Trader (MDT) becomes addictive once you use it. The speed of execution it touted to be the fastest of any platform, and after using it, I would not dispute this. In MDT, the bid\ask depth are oriented vertically. When prices are going up, they climb up your screen, and when going down, they drop on your screen. Recentering is either automatic or manual, your choice. I keep the CME currencies (which I trade rarely) on auto, and both ES & NQ on manual, using the mouse wheel to recenter it.
While other platforms may show you the last size, MDT shows first last, then cumulative last size. For example, if there is a five lot taken at the offer, the 5 shows with a green highlight. If followed by a 250, then a 1 lot in rapid succession, instead of showing 1, it shows 256, now with a white background. Others on ET have described this as the "Eating" phenomena and I can't imagine it being displayed any better than how it is done in MDT.
Additionally, MDT records the volume at each tick while it is open. It can be displayed either numerically or graphically. In effect, MDT automatically builds a volume profile, which is cool.
With TWS. the order type can be changed to stop before you click "Transmit." With MDT, you click Stop or Stop Limit, which changes your cursor shape and color, then click the buy or sell price on the vertical grid. MDT also has a "Trade Out" button. Click this, and you will instantly be flat by exiting at the market.
If you trade by the POP imperative, "Be Swift!" then MDT is for you.
In summary, for the day trader in front of the screen all day using frequent rapid entry and exit, MDT gets the nod. If you are a position trader and frequently not watching the market during the trading day, IB TWS wins hands down.
Note: Because I trade only futures, there are a number of features in TWS that I did not use and will not address them here.
TWS OCA: With this feature, you can quickly enter your position, then put in your goal and stop with a group identifier. You can then have a level of comfort in walking away from the screen. For example when long, my OCA group would have a sell order entered as a goal, a stop-limit as an intended maximum risk and a trailing-stop to lock in some profit on the way up. While a liked the concept a lot, I rarely used it, simply because I am in front of the screen all day anyway. X_Trader does not have a One-Cancels-Another or One-Cancels-All feature, except as an add-on module to X_Trader Pro. X_Trader Pro cost $1450 per month. According to Mark Oryhon at VF, there are only just over 40 traders using X_Trader Pro in the entire country.
Trailing stops: Yes in IB TWS, no in X_Trader. Again, I would normally trail my stop manually during the trading day, so while I like the concept, I won't actually miss this feature.
Automated Stop Values: One of the cool things you can do in TWS is set up a different stop value for each contract. For example, you can set an ES stop of 1.5 while your ZB stop is 0.125. Then, when doing a bracket order, or a stop attached to the entry order, it will automatically start from that value. No similar feature in X_Trader.
Third party plug ins: Some traders love the plug-in platforms that work with TWS, like button-trader, auto-trader, bracket-trader, etc. I personally didn't use them; however, I did use Medved Quotetracker as a backup charting program. As far as I can tell, no similar plug-ins are available presently for X_Trader.
Now for why I like X_Trader. X_Trader includes a simplified order entry method called Market Depth Trader. (This is in addition to the more traditional Market Explorer where you can enter your orders.)
Market Depth Trader (MDT) becomes addictive once you use it. The speed of execution it touted to be the fastest of any platform, and after using it, I would not dispute this. In MDT, the bid\ask depth are oriented vertically. When prices are going up, they climb up your screen, and when going down, they drop on your screen. Recentering is either automatic or manual, your choice. I keep the CME currencies (which I trade rarely) on auto, and both ES & NQ on manual, using the mouse wheel to recenter it.
While other platforms may show you the last size, MDT shows first last, then cumulative last size. For example, if there is a five lot taken at the offer, the 5 shows with a green highlight. If followed by a 250, then a 1 lot in rapid succession, instead of showing 1, it shows 256, now with a white background. Others on ET have described this as the "Eating" phenomena and I can't imagine it being displayed any better than how it is done in MDT.
Additionally, MDT records the volume at each tick while it is open. It can be displayed either numerically or graphically. In effect, MDT automatically builds a volume profile, which is cool.
With TWS. the order type can be changed to stop before you click "Transmit." With MDT, you click Stop or Stop Limit, which changes your cursor shape and color, then click the buy or sell price on the vertical grid. MDT also has a "Trade Out" button. Click this, and you will instantly be flat by exiting at the market.
If you trade by the POP imperative, "Be Swift!" then MDT is for you.
In summary, for the day trader in front of the screen all day using frequent rapid entry and exit, MDT gets the nod. If you are a position trader and frequently not watching the market during the trading day, IB TWS wins hands down.
Hiya fab,
Just wanted to let you know that I am "TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY" satisfied with IB.
http://www.elitetrader.com/so/?action=view&SR_ProductID=5
sax