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[amibroker] Re: Opinion Poll: Who do you trade with? Why?



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Pete,

I did review MB Trading about 1.5 years ago.

According to my notes, they did not have the full basket order 
support that I was looking for. My notes aren't detailed, but I'm 
assuming that they did not support importing a list, but rather only 
allowed you to create a list through their UI (i.e. time consuming 
and error prone typing).

Also, at the time they did not have a web client accessible from 
behind a firewall. I don't know if that has changed or not.

The other thing I was looking for was to click on each symbol in my 
list of positions, and have the chart update to show the new 
selection. MB Trading did not support that at the time. I don't know 
if they do now.

Good luck with your search.

--- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Pete" <dryheat3@xxx> wrote:
>
> Mike,
>   Thanks so much for taking the time to provide this very detailed
> description of your personal experience with several brokers. I can
> see the value of being able to upload basket orders and this was
> something I had not considered before. Now it's on my list. I am
> really attracted to the idea of being able to trade from Amibroker 
and
> IB so far seems to be the only broker which supports this. 
> Someone else recommended MB trading. They don't support orders from
> Amibroker but they do support a trading interface with several data
> providers. Since you are using a separate data provider you might
> check them out. 
> http://www.mbtrading.com/default.asp
> So far, thanks to the recommendations and opinions of others, they 
are
> at the top of my list.
> 
>   Pete  :-)
> 
> --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Mike" <sfclimbers@> wrote:
> >
> > I've used TradeStation, eTrade, Scottrade and Interactive Brokers.
> > 
> > I complete well over a thousand round trip trades a year using 
EOD 
> > data. I typicaly place anywhere from a dozen to a couple of 
hundred 
> > limit orders each night, only about 10-20% of which ever get 
filled. 
> > I plan to continue working full time for at least the next year.
> > 
> > As such, the most important features for me are:
> > 
> > - Low commissions
> > - Ability to upload basket orders
> > - Web access from behind a firewall (while I'm at work)
> > - Easy reporting, exportable to GainsKeeper or TradeLog for the 
> > accountant
> > 
> > TradeStation
> > - Honestly, I don't recall if these guys supported my 
requirements. I 
> > only started with them because they seemed more professional than 
> > AmiBroker and I needed a backtesting tool. However, I soon found 
out 
> > that they had fixed limits with respect to not being able to scan 
> > more than 1000 symbols (or somewhere around there), so they were 
> > useless to me since I scan 8000+ each night. Their comissions 
were OK 
> > (penny a share), but if you ever made fewer than some number of 
> > trades you got hit with a $100 monthly platform fee. With my 
volume 
> > that was not an issue, but it irked me anyway.
> > 
> > eTrade
> > - Again, I only went with these guys because my employer 
> > automatically opened an account for me when I joined the employee 
> > stock purchase plan (ESPP). Even with active trader status, they 
were 
> > too expensive ($9.99 each way), did not support basket orders, 
and 
> > required special permission and a whole lot of phone calls to 
open 
> > more than one margin account. Customer support was VERY slow with 
> > LONG wait times, but helpfull once you finally got through. 
Trying to 
> > connect using the web client during fast trading would sometimes 
> > fail. 
> > 
> > Scottrade
> > - These guys had excellent customer support, I was happy with 
their 
> > desktop platform and the web based access from behind a firewall. 
> > Depending on your order size, their comissions are higher than IB 
> > (for stock orders of fewer than 1400 shares, they're better than 
IB 
> > above that point i.e. $7 each way vs. .005/share). They suffer 
from 
> > the same charting problem as IB in that they do not show the 
correct 
> > EOD Close and so can screw up an EOD trader ( 
> > http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/message/116777 ). 
I 
> > use a separate data provider because of this. However, the 
biggest 
> > problem for me was that they did not have support for uploading a 
> > basket order. Trying to type in dozens or hundreds of orders each 
> > night is just too time consuming and error prone. My request for 
this 
> > feature went unfulfilled. Had they offered basket trading, I 
probably 
> > would have stayed with them.
> > 
> > Interactive Brokers
> > - It's a mixed bag with these guys. They have been awful. They 
update 
> > their software constantly and introduce new bugs every time as a 
> > result. Complaints go unaddressed for weeks and months if ever 
> > addressed at all. Support tickets get closed after a period of 
> > inactivity, even when the ball is in their court! You have to 
keep 
> > pinging your ticket just to keep it alive. However, feature-wise 
they 
> > are one of the best games in town. They offer everything I need. 
An 
> > AmiBroker exploration can be written to output the format of an 
IB 
> > basket order such that 1 click import and you're done. 
Alternatively, 
> > the IB plugin from AmiBroker can be used to place the trades 
> > directly. Their web portal is satisfactory. They support 
GainsKeeper 
> > and TradeLog, including Mark To Market accounting. Despite the 
above 
> > negatives, they recently did a complete overhaul of their 
software 
> > that fixed all my outstanding issues (over a year later for 
some). 
> > So, for the moment, they are the perfect setup for me. But, once 
> > burned, twice shy. If they can stay stable for a period of time, 
I'll 
> > feel better about recommending them.
> > 
> > Mike
> > 
> > --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Pete" <dryheat3@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I've been with Scottrade for several years and now that I've 
become
> > > more educated about the different types of markets out there to 
> > trade
> > > in I have realized Scottrade does not offer much. Just low 
> > commissions
> > > and a nice, user friendly trading platform. 
> > > 
> > > It would also be great if you were willing to share the name of 
the
> > > brokerage but I understand privacy is top priority. But that's 
the
> > > whole point here. I'm trying to save time searching for the one 
with
> > > the features I want. I'm hoping you all can provide some helpful
> > > advise by describing what features you find most important and 
why.
> > > 
> > > Here are some thoughts I've been tossing around as features I 
would
> > > like to see in a single brokerage:
> > > 1. Reasonable commission structure
> > > 2. Trading available on Forex, Commodities, Equities, and 
Options
> > > 3. Ability to trade on Asian and European markets
> > > 4. RT Data feed which can be easily linked to Amibroker
> > > 5. Reasonably priced RT streaming quotes and charts available 
for
> > > smart phone/Pocket PC's.
> > > 
> > > Thanks for taking the time. Looking forward your responses.
> > > 
> > >   Pete  :-)
> > >
> >
>



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