newbie needs help

C

con2rol

i have been practincing for some decent time (DEMO) and i think i am ready now to start live trading but since i have never opened a real account with a broker i dont know anything about how to deal with that.. during my demo practice i have really been satisfied with the NINJA trader platform and i wish to use it in live trading so i checked their list of brokers that provide ninja..

i need your advice on which broker from that list http://www.ninjatrader.com/webnew/partners_onlinetrading_brokers.htm

is the best to use i personally narrowed it down to MIRUS FUTURES , IB , ADVANCED , or Man financil...what do u think

my requirments are just fast excution as i only scalp fast moving futures index eminis.. and reliable desk support. and minimal errors filling orders and that sort of errors
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i would like to know what are the risks of putting my money in any of the brokers mentioned, i know this sound silly, but i dont exactly have a lot of money to invest in trading and cant afford to loose that money to a broker scam. ( i can afford to loose it in trading though because then it would have been at least been educational for my mistakes)..

back to the point, i mean with mirus futures, its a private small company with a not so impressive encourging site..

-what gurantees are there that i should look for in a broker aganist my money being lost/stolen.

-what happens to my money when a broker gets bankrupt or some kind of legal trouble.

-how to check the history of a broker and detect suspicious behaviours

i would be opening an acount via the internet.. i know that i send my info to them but all i recieve is there pass ..no hard paper documentation of their responsibilty..(again silly but important for a complete newbie.please bare with me)

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another question is what are the problems that people encouter with online brokers.. i have read few here like poor desk support, delayed fills, getting charged or filled for trades they didnt do,...ect

i would hope that experienced traders put a list here with such brokers screw ups so that people like me beaware of it

i mean i dont how to check up after a broker to see if there are any errors--how do you do that

:confused: :confused: :confused:
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Finally, i tend toward opeing with mirus futures as it offers ZEN fire with NJ, which i heard, would be good for my scalping.. so if any body have experience with mirus please let me ( recent experience as i read reviews here dated back to 2005)..

And is there any risk of me loosing my money wiring it and trading it through MIRUS futures being the small private firm it is.. ofcourse risk other than actual trading!!

i know this have been a long post and silly to some but i would really like this post to be about all kinds of things newbie traders just starting live trading should know..

thanks
 
Those are good questions, I went through similar considerations about 6 months ago. Mirus spent the time to answer my questions upfront, but you can do your due diligence as well. For example, the NFA website allows you to use "BASIC" to search brokers for complaints or sanctions against them.

Also, if your concern is the safety of your money, you should be aware that brokers don't hold your money, the clearing firm does. So, even if the broker went out of business, you shouldn't have any trouble getting your money because it's help by the clearing firm. Sometimes though, the broker is the clearing firm.

Like I said, I'm happy with Mirus. They always answer the phone, even when I called late at night. I'm not a scalper, but I can tell you I always had problems with data and execution before I began using Zen-Fire. The NinjaTrader with Zen-Fire solution is head's above everything else I've seen, in terms of speed and stability.
 
Quote from con2rol:

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i would like to know what are the risks of putting my money in any of the brokers mentioned, i know this sound silly, but i dont exactly have a lot of money to invest in trading and cant afford to loose that money to a broker scam. ( i can afford to loose it in trading though because then it would have been at least been educational for my mistakes)..
More...

Regarding the money, it is not the broker that matters but rather the FCM of your account. Brokerages can be an introducing broker, a guaranteed introducing broker, or a FCM.

That said, there is a very minor, but nonetheless extra layer of "safety" by doing business with an introducing broker... *IF* the FCM of your account became insolvent, an introducing broker (not to be confused with a guaranteed introducing broker) has "some" financial requirements, and "can" become an additional avenue to pursue monies owed.

It's (usually) simple to determine IBs, GIBs and FCMs... IBs can offer accounts at multiple FCMs. GIBs are required to offer accounts only through the guarantor FCM. Account paperwork or just a glance at funds wiring instructions will tell you the FCM.

-what gurantees are there that i should look for in a broker aganist my money being lost/stolen.
More...

No guarantees or account insurance is available for futures. Some "all-in-one" brokerages such as interactive Brokers offer SIPC insurance on funds that are not encumbered in any way with futures. You need to weigh the benefits of futures only brokerages vs all-in-one (aka universal) brokerages for yourself.

-how to check the history of a broker and detect suspicious behaviours
More...

to determine brokerage and FCM compliance...
http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/

to determine financial condition of FCMs...
http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/

i would be opening an acount via the internet.. i know that i send my info to them but all i recieve is there pass ..no hard paper documentation of their responsibilty..(again silly but important for a complete newbie.please bare with me)
More...

You should receive PDFs, at least, of the "signed" account paperwork. Some brokerages/fcm will send snail-mail hard copy if asked.


HTH,
Osorico :)
 
thanks for your replies..

i have narrowed it down to either MIRUS FUTURES or IB (interactive brokers).

does any body know if IB offers NJ with Zen Fire or if they offer NJ at all...it says so on ninja 's site yet NOT A WORD on IB's site

what are my best options to use NJ with ZEN fire

if i choose to open with MIRUS futures what are the potential risks on my money ( not actual trading risks).. being the small private firm its, same goes for its FCM DORMAN trading LLC

what if mirus and its clearing firm goes insolvent or one of them
Quote from osorico:

Regarding the money, it is not the broker that matters but rather the FCM of your account. Brokerages can be an introducing broker, a guaranteed introducing broker, or a FCM.

That said, there is a very minor, but nonetheless extra layer of "safety" by doing business with an introducing broker... *IF* the FCM of your account became insolvent, an introducing broker (not to be confused with a guaranteed introducing broker) has "some" financial requirements, and "can" become an additional avenue to pursue monies owed.

It's (usually) simple to determine IBs, GIBs and FCMs... IBs can offer accounts at multiple FCMs. GIBs are required to offer accounts only through the guarantor FCM. Account paperwork or just a glance at funds wiring instructions will tell you the FCM.


do i need to have some hard documentation of Mirus SIGNED for their responsibilty.

Osorico, u said that there pdf involved when opening an account via internet.. i know a friend of mine opened with a broker online and he printed the pdfs filled, signed them and then sent them in an email and THAT WAS IT..the account is opened but he never recieved a pdf from the broker with a REAL SIGNATURES OF ANY OF THEIR PEOPLE...is that normal


i read some info on nfa and it said that they accept claims only with written documentation....what do they mean by that


i hope that traders with experience either with mirus or IB to help me set a pro/con list for both]

thanks again for everybody's help
More...
 
to determine financial condition of FCMs...
http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/


Osorico, i did so and checked the numbers for DORMAN trading LLC but how to "determine" their financial condition.


No guarantees or account insurance is available for futures. Some "all-in-one" brokerages such as interactive Brokers offer SIPC insurance on funds that are not encumbered in any way with futures. You need to weigh the benefits of futures only brokerages vs all-in-one (aka universal) brokerages for yourself.

Osorico, what do mean by the benefits of all-in-one vs futures only?

do u recommend having the FCM AND IB the same firm like IB or seperate in case of mirus so incase one become insolvent the other help.

thanks again for your help
 
to determine financial condition of FCMs...
http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/

Osorico, i did so and checked the numbers for DORMAN trading LLC but how to "determine" their financial condition.
More...
Osorico's guide to reading the FCM Financial Data Report...
1) Size of the firm is determined by the amount of customer segregated funds.
2) Excess net capital (over and above regulatory requirements) should be at least 5% of customer segregated funds *IMO*. In analyzing, keep in mind there is an economy of scale... Larger firms do not (necessarily) need large amounts of excess capital as regulatory requirements are already substantial. OTOH, for smaller firms (aka with fewer clients) larger amounts of excess capital may be appropriate to "diversify" risk away from the the top x% of accounts taking down the entire firm. Conversely, a buildup of excess capital may be indicative of an adverse situation, or it may just be an increase in segregation-exempt customers. Oh yea, one more thing... the report is a snapshot in time. By the time you or I get it, it's outdated by more than a month. BTW, it's an interesting exercise to look at back reports to see inflow/outflow.

No guarantees or account insurance is available for futures. Some "all-in-one" brokerages such as interactive Brokers offer SIPC insurance on funds that are not encumbered in any way with futures. You need to weigh the benefits of futures only brokerages vs all-in-one (aka universal) brokerages for yourself.

Osorico, what do mean by the benefits of all-in-one vs futures only?
More...

As hinted, it's personal preference. Very few people trade futures. An exponential number of futures traders "trade" stocks. I trade futures for a living, I "trade" stocks for "hobby". Specialization expertise coupled with tailored service is what I want. If I want a SIPC insured checking account I go to a bank. The IRS frowns on commingled business and personal funds anyway.


do u recommend having the FCM AND IB the same firm like IB or seperate in case of mirus so incase one become insolvent the other help.
More...

I personally use introducing brokers, or for FCM diversification purposes only, guaranteed introducing brokers. There is no advantage IMO having an account directly with an FCM or a guaranteed introducing broker for that matter. In fact, IMO there is a very slight "funds safety" disadvantage. But at the bottom of the pole, IMO, the worse possible setup for a RETAIL account is directly with a CLEARING FCM.

Good trading to all
Osorico :)
 
I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH OSORICO, for your help.. and i hope u help me a little more..

the dorman llc which is the FCM for Mirus futures has a customer seg (38 million) and the net excess capital is (10 million).. that more than 5 %... the net capital requirment is only (500000)..is that good.

i wish you could help me determing the risks of putting my money with a small private firm like mirus as IB and Dorman as FCM..beacuse they offer NJ with zen fire which i want to use..

what happens if both the IB and FCM goes insolvent and has it happened before.

thanks again for all your help
 
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