Prospective Canadian traders - if you have tears, prepare to shed them now 
So... I have done my research, tested my ideas, accumulated my risk capital, and now I'm ready to take the plunge and do some intermediate term equity and E-Mini trading. I researched the various direct access firms, picked a few candidates, and today I am making the phone calls to see which of them gets my business.
It turns out that NONE of them will get my business, because they are no longer allowed to take Canadian accounts! Apparently the Canadian gov't. came through a while ago and levied some sort of fine against a few of the bigger houses, sending the message that US firms were not to take Canadian clients.
Why am I posting this? I'm not sure - looking for an explanation or some alternatives. The big Canadian banks (the Big 5) are undoubtedly behind this - I remember hearing something a while back about how the Canadian regulators wanted US firms to open branch offices here, but I didn't know that things had come to this. Bright is the only firm with an office in Canada, but it's $600 US/month and I am not interested in tapping into that kind of leverage or doing that kind of trading - I am a beginner... IB and other direct access firms told me that they are working on it but not to hold my breath. Are there any alternatives for me? The average Canadian commission structure is insane compared to the US direct access firms - I suppose that since I won't be making that many trades per month, it might be feasible, but it's the _principle_ of the thing.
I found these guys
http://www.tradefreedom.com
but this doesn't look like a realistic alternative to me. Will be searching for more today
average commission here in Canada seems to be $25 CDN/trade for equiites, at least for those doing less than xxx trades/month
So... I have done my research, tested my ideas, accumulated my risk capital, and now I'm ready to take the plunge and do some intermediate term equity and E-Mini trading. I researched the various direct access firms, picked a few candidates, and today I am making the phone calls to see which of them gets my business.
It turns out that NONE of them will get my business, because they are no longer allowed to take Canadian accounts! Apparently the Canadian gov't. came through a while ago and levied some sort of fine against a few of the bigger houses, sending the message that US firms were not to take Canadian clients.
Why am I posting this? I'm not sure - looking for an explanation or some alternatives. The big Canadian banks (the Big 5) are undoubtedly behind this - I remember hearing something a while back about how the Canadian regulators wanted US firms to open branch offices here, but I didn't know that things had come to this. Bright is the only firm with an office in Canada, but it's $600 US/month and I am not interested in tapping into that kind of leverage or doing that kind of trading - I am a beginner... IB and other direct access firms told me that they are working on it but not to hold my breath. Are there any alternatives for me? The average Canadian commission structure is insane compared to the US direct access firms - I suppose that since I won't be making that many trades per month, it might be feasible, but it's the _principle_ of the thing.
I found these guys
http://www.tradefreedom.com
but this doesn't look like a realistic alternative to me. Will be searching for more today
average commission here in Canada seems to be $25 CDN/trade for equiites, at least for those doing less than xxx trades/month
