I've used TradeStation, eTrade, Scottrade and Interactive
Brokers.
......
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@xxxxxxxxxps.com,
"Pete" <dryheat3@xx.> 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
:-)
>