WebICE

[garywernick]

Does anybody know of any brokers/ FCMs who allow proprietary traders to use this software.

It sounds very attractive as it is free (and unlike software like Ninja Trader, etc allows one to trade spreads).

However my broker says that there is no risk control and so won't support it.

Has anybody had any experience of using it - including the autospreader excel link.

 

[Dogfish]

I know one of the biggest gasoil spreaders in the market and he uses this and clears through the below

http://www.trxfutures.com/home

 

[grg03002]

RCG allows it, I use it once in a while mostly just to see depth in the market since it has all the depth up and down the ladder. There is no actual ladder though so very tough to day trade on. There is a fee if you don't make any trades in a month I believe it's the data fee which would be around $60. I don't know what your broker means by risk controls you can definitely define risk on the futures, though spreads I'm not sure.

 

[bone]

I have used WebICE for years. Past six years I have spread Gas/Oil Cracks and PJM-W heat rates using the Trading Technologies Pro License. WebICE is great to see the block trades and LCH-cleared swap trade prints. Most FCMs use a risk product like SunGard in conjunction with something like the TT AdminSuite tied into their Guardian interface. It's not that WebICE doesn't support risk controls, it's that some risk managers on the 'less than proactive side' don't like to look outside their nice little pre-defined world of GUI windows because six of their 2,876 clients are using WebICE - a convenience issue, but it carries weight because the risk manager at a clearing firm absolutely rules the roost in terms of veto power. As a trader without admin allowances, I know that if I initiate a trade on PJM-W swaps on TT, I can see the position on WebICE. But if I subsequently offset that position on WebICE, the position will show as flat on WebICE but not on TT unless I physically put in a manual (synthetic) fill.

 

[garywernick]

Again - if anybody has had any experience of using WebIce (esp the autospreader) then I would be very interested

 

[garywernick]

Thanks very much for all your replies

 

[garywernick]

RCG told me that they are not offering WebIce for new clients ("difficulties in monitoring risk") but TRX are offering it.

 

[Dogfish]

There is a risk loophole to do with offsetting your position in the outright/flatprice oil, with the minute marker which can give absurd limits on your outright position. TRX clear some of the biggest oil locals in the world, quite a few ex IPE guys