Looking for a second broker for shorting-need more available stocks to short

B

BENKINGSLEY

Hello, I am new to the forum here.

I have been using TradeStation for the last 4 years. The platform/software side of things are excellent. No major complaints.

However, the brokerage side of things I have a big complaint about. Half or more of the stocks I try to short are not shortable, plus they give no indication on the platform that they are not shortable until your order is rejected.

I am keeping TS because I prefer them over any other platform. So I will trade long with them & i will trade whatever shorts are available through them.

I am looking for another broker to use as a backup to place my short trades with. I want a broker who uses a per share fee (vs. per trade), and preferably no monthly platform fee.

I used CyberTrader last year for about a year for this very reason, and was very happy with their short inventory. I didn't like their monthly platform fee (they charged $250) since I was only using thems a secondary account for shorts I couldn't trade on TS. I like their commissions. However, in the last couple of weeks I have been calling CyberTrader to ask if they have certain stocks to short & they are about as bad as TradeStation now.

I have been calling IB & ETrade to check also & they seem to have the best short inventory I can find.

Before, I open a second account I want to make sure I go with a broker that consistently has the best short inventory for day trading.

I have read through the other threads on this forum discussing this very topic. However, I am getting mixed messages on the concensus (plus some of the post are over a year old). The concensus seems to be that IB, ETrade, RedSky & Genesis are the best-with most people mentioning IB & ETrade over the rest.

Can some one who has used these give me some feedback on their experiences with short availability, or any recommendations on which brokers are known to have the greatest supply of shortable stock.

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
 
I have the same story. I used tradestation for 3 years. The software is the best, no others can even compare with it. Before it changed to self-clearing, I could short almost every stocks I wanted from it. But after it became self-clearing last year, suddenly you could short almost nothing! Now it is getting a little better, but is still far from good.

I also have accounts at Penson clearing, there are a couple of brokers for active traders are using Penson. I found Penson is changing too, the shortable list now is almost as small as tradestation.

I am looking for a broker for shorting too. The following is a shortable stocks list I get on 9/15/2005 from some brokers.

If someone can add the list it will be greatly helpful.

Brokers/Clearing Firms Shortable stocks as of 9/15/2005

Interactive Brokers 5767
Penson 3800
Goldman sachs Execution & Clearing l.p 3180
Computer Clearing 3295
Tradestation 3200
Genesis Securities LLC 3531
 
I am also looking for another broker to improve my overall access to short inventory.

At the moment I am with IB, and it does appear that they have one of the best lists.

Sparohok has posted a number of times on the issue and advised that Ameritrade, Brown and co and Etrade have a good inventory. I am concerned about Etrade and recent reports of outgoing wire fraud as per many posts on this web site.

I believe that Ameritrade clears through Penson, so they are second on your list behind IB.

Other brokers I have looked at are MB Trading, TD Waterhouse and Cybertrader. However MB Trading is the only one of those without a software fee.
 
To Those Who Have Posted Here:

We at RedSky still believe that we have one of the best short lists by virtue of our clearing relationships. Whether you choose to clear your account at Southwest, Merrill or Goldman, all have good short lists. We also do not charge a monthly platform fee.

Kind Regards,

Charles
 
I don't have the experience with some of the new brokers but I am with IB and I am very happy with them.Just a friendly suggestion to you : If you can not find the stock to short in IB's list, don't short it, it might be a little bit risky. Find some other stocks or sell naked call for the stock or buy put.
 
Charles-

I have looked on RedSky's website, but there is not any place that lists available stocks to short. Am I missing it, or is it just not listed on your website?

I am sure I can call if I want to check on the availability. However, that becomes a nuisance everyday. I have been comparing IB's available shorts vs. other broker's on a daily basis so I have an idea over a period of time who consistently has what I need-then I am going to make my decision on who to use as a secondary broker based on that comparison.

Thanks to everyone else for the feedback as well.

Quote from RedSkyRep1:

To Those Who Have Posted Here:

We at RedSky still believe that we have one of the best short lists by virtue of our clearing relationships. Whether you choose to clear your account at Southwest, Merrill or Goldman, all have good short lists. We also do not charge a monthly platform fee.

Kind Regards,

Charles
More...
 
Quote from RedSkyRep1:

To Those Who Have Posted Here:

We at RedSky still believe that we have one of the best short lists by virtue of our clearing relationships. Whether you choose to clear your account at Southwest, Merrill or Goldman, all have good short lists. We also do not charge a monthly platform fee.

Kind Regards,

Charles
More...

exactly what are your clearing relationships?
 
Charles:

I am interested in RedSky, but you haven't convinced me.

My questions are:

1. If I open an account, what clearing firm does my account use? All of Southwest, Merrill and Goldman, or I just chose one?

2. Did RedSky have a special agreement with those clearing firms to let the clients of RedSky to short stocks with a better opportunity than those clients with the same clearing firm from other retail brokers? I don't know if Southwest or Merrill have a shortable list, but I know Goldman has one and it is not good at all.

Here is the Goldman list:
http://www.carlinequities.com/eblist/ftpebl.asp

Thank you.

sdbywf
 
Gentlemen,

When you opt to open an account at a particular clearing firm, you are stuck with that clearing firms easy to borrow list. We download/upload each clearing firm's list in the morning and orders to sell short are checked against that list. If your order is rejected, you can then call the help desk to see if we can locate it for you. Of the 3 clearing firms that we offer, Merrill seems to be best for short sellers but not the greatest in terms of margin. Then SWS. We like Goldman but I can see that others have been unable to locate specific shares there.

Charles
 
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