Quote from Squilly_D:
It already does cost me that much! Ytd I'm over $4k. I've generated a 38% return Ytd on the portfolio with those cost. Any suggestions on brokers with cheaper cost? I do know that TD does not trade their own desk, the only make money from commissions (in general), so I'm not to worried about them blowing up when there is another financial crisis.
Thanks again Brighton, I appreciate the info.
The TOS platform is definitely worth something, but if you're profitable and spending $500/mo on commissions it might not be worth that much. You may be at the stage where you continue to keep some money there but place the majority of your trades at a lower cost broker. There has been a lot of discussion about this; TOS seems reluctant to negotiate and they must know by now that a lot of their formerly active traders are keeping their TOS accounts open just for research and analysis purposes. Oh well...
If you're trading mostly options, I think any of the firms below are good choices. It all depends on what's important to you.
- Interactive Brokers, $10K minimum, 70 cts per option per side, but you may be pleasantly surprised at how much of that gets rebated. I often have net credits (negative commissions) and it's rare for me to pay the full 70 cts. Much has been written about IB - Large, stable, good execution, good prices, etc but learning their platform can be a pain and it doesn't offer much in the way of options analysis.
- LiveVol Securities, $35K minimum, 65 cts per option per side, tons of volatility data, I don't like their price charts or their very limited 'user defined' layout choices, in business less than a year, clear through Interactive Brokers and APEX. You may have a choice in a taxable account; in an IRA they direct you to IB.
- TradeMonster, dumb name but so is Yahoo and Twitter, 50 cts per option per side with a $12.50 minimum (that's NOT a ticket charge plus 50 cts per option like at TOS), they'll negotiate a bit if you typically trade 10 lots or less. Clear through APEX. They license LiveVolX data for their vol scans. They look fine but I think you're paying a bit for all their education offerings. Stock trades are $7.50 per side (nothing special - and on the high side if you're an active stock trader).
- OptionsHouse, basically a buck an option per side up to a ten lot; once you're over that it's an $8.50 ticket charge plus 15 cts per contract. Stock trades are $3.50 or $3.95 (about half the px of TradeMonster). Not much on educational offerings; website and analysis tools are nothing special. I glanced at their px charts and they're REALLY basic. I think they focus on experienced, active traders who don't need hand-holding and do their analysis elsewhere. Clear through APEX.
I currently have equity/equity options accounts with IB and OptionsHouse. I'm halfway through opening an IRA at LiveVol Securities but having doubts about their platform. The vol data is overkill for me and there's not much else on the platform that I want or need (I trade mostly futures options). And since the clearing is through IB, I might just go direct with IB because I'm satisfied with their service and their option rebates, which apparently aren't as generous at LiveVol Securities. That said, if you need real time vol data sliced six ways to Sunday, LiveVol might be for you. Fortunately, you can demo LiveVolX (the core application) for up to a month, before you decide to open an acct with LiveVol Securities.
