Which online broker gives the best Margin Rates?

To put a finer point on it, with USD LIBOR at 4.75%, the rates look like:

IB: 6.25% (<$100K)
Assent: 6.5% (<$50K?)
MBT: >= 8.45%
Scottrade: 9.75% (25-50K)
E*Trade: 9.74% (<$50K)
 
Quote from uservirgo:

Hi there:

I was wondering if anyone had tried the following platform at
Harmon Trading Group, http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?blziasyElaOGyst1qNsB3Q ,?

As they claim themselves, "Their biggest BENEFIT to traders is the ability to day trade UNRESTRICTED with as little as $2,000 in equity."

Thank you.

Uservirgo
More...

Your funds deposited at Harmon will not have SIPC protection. You will face a big problem and small problem.

First, the small problem. If Harmon's clearing broker bankrupts, then Harmon will have SIPC protection of $500,000 and additional private insurance of 25 million dollars, which you will have to share with all other Harmon traders, according to the Harmon website, but there is no info on the website by which one could determine if this insurance is adequate to protect against bankruptcy of the clearing broker.

Now the big problem. The big problem is that other Harmon traders can bankrupt the company through trading losses. If this happens, you will have absolutely no protection from SIPC or any other private insurance. You will simply lose the entire value of your account. This is because you will not be a retail brokerage customer of Harmon. You will be an equity "partner" of Harmon, that is, sort of like a shareholder in Harmon.

This information is my interpretation of the info on the Harmon website. If my info is incorrect, I hope somebody will correct it.
 
I am with Harmon Trading Group. They are just fine.

fwiw, they use Penson for clearing. I'll take my chances of them going down in a ball of flames.

Also they only allow the standard leverage of 4 to 1 intraday. I'd be more concerned of the latter issue if they were extending enormous leverage.

They are ideal for my situation.
 
max - while this firm says that it extends 4:1 daytrading margin it also makes a contradictory statement that you can trade unrestricted on an intra-day basis. Since you are with them maybe you can shed some light on the above. Are they in effect saying that you can trade unrestricted on an intra-day basis upto the maximum 4:1 buying power. If so then they are no different than all the other retail brokers out there with the exception of the $2000 minimum equity vs the $25,000 minimum required by all the others. Thanks.
 
Quote from alanm:

To put a finer point on it, with USD LIBOR at 4.75%, the rates look like:

IB: 6.25% (<$100K)
Assent: 6.5% (<$50K?)
MBT: >= 8.45%
Scottrade: 9.75% (25-50K)
E*Trade: 9.74% (<$50K)
More...

What is this, i don't understand, Do you mean Etrade gives 9.74% on your cash balance?
 
Quote from Nana Trader:

What is this, i don't understand, Do you mean Etrade gives 9.74% on your cash balance?
More...
I believe that's how much you pay on money you borrow.
 
Quote from loufah:
Hah. According to https://us.etrade.com/e/t/estation/help?id=1907000000 their sweep deposit account pays .25%, .50%, or 1%, depending on the balance.

There are many more sweep options, though, which pay over 4%, but are probably not FDIC-insured (though very low-risk).

But this thread is about margin rates - the charge levied on debit balances in margin accounts.
 
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