Is Interactive Brokers suitable as a platform

[Nvesta81 10]

Hi, I'm new here. I've been lurking this site for a few days, and I must say I'm very pleased to have found it. Totally impressed with the quality of information here, and you all seem very nice compared to the other cess pools I have frequented online.

 

Okay, so to my question(s):

 

Interactive Brokers (IB) is my broker, and I have been viewing the trading videos on this site and realized that my charts are quite weak compared to those shown in the vids. IB seems to be lacking most of the features that are displayed in Trade Station. I am just curious to know if there are any successful e-mini traders here that get by simply with IB and their native charts, or would you recommend I get a third-party program to assist me? I am in Canada so I'm not even sure if the TS service is available to me, their site is a little hard to browse (or maybe I'm blind, ha). Just to clarify I have been day trading stocks for awhile now, I know my way around for the most part, but I'm new to futures, and I really think they would suit my style more than trying to juggle between stocks trying to find the right movement I'm looking for daily. Futures seem to be pretty consistent as far as trading patterns go (SEEMS, this comment will prolly get me shot! lol). Anyway, that's it for now, I'm sure I'll bother you all with more questions in the near future :P.

 

cliffs:

 

-Is IB good enough stand-alone or should I get a third party utility such as TS?

-Are there any of you guys that get by with IB alone, no tape reading, and their basic chart setup?

 

Again, great site, looking forward to your responses.

[brownsfan019 17]

Welcome to the board unleashed.

 

I've never traded at IB but have heard mixed results, mainly b/c of what you have seen with the charting. You may want to consider getting an independent, 3rd party for charting. I personally don't like having all my eggs in 1 basket. I would recommend MultiCharts. TradeStation is also good. Just about every decent chart service has a free trial, so I would start there.

[wsam29 10]

Unleashed, i'm from Toronto and I had no issues with opening an account with Tradestation.

 

They are pretty quick in the turn around time and you should be able to send the forms overnight on them.

 

IB charts are not very flexible, not to mention they don't have real time time and sale ie TAPE.

 

If you do 10 trades each month with Tradestation, the platform feeis waived and you only pay for exchange fees.

 

I myself have IB and TS. They both have good points and bad points.

 

The product you trade should be irrelevant because you're trading against other people. Its learning and finding the right market to suit your personality.

[Guest cooter]

Are there any other brokers that Canadians can use to trading U.S. futures that you know about?

[Soultrader 12]

Are there any other brokers that Canadians can use to trading U.S. futures that you know about?

 

Correct me if I am wrong but did Quest Trade in Canada offer futures?

[The Bear 10]

Yo dudes - From what I recall Quest Trade didn't last year. There's another one in Canada called TRADEFREEDOM, Scotiabank bought them I think recently. They have futures too.

[nickm001 10]

Assuming that you like IB platfrom for trading, and are looking to supplement it with charting SW, I would search for charting SW that is compatible with IB data feed, like:

 

http://www.quotetracker.com/index_nn.asp

or

http://www.amibroker.com/

 

Tradestation offers far more then just charting, ability to program your strategy and back test it, auto execution, etc.

[Nvesta81 10]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

 

Assuming that you like IB platfrom for trading, and are looking to supplement it with charting SW, I would search for charting SW that is compatible with IB data feed, like:

 

http://www.quotetracker.com/index_nn.asp

or

http://www.amibroker.com/

 

Tradestation offers far more then just charting, ability to program your strategy and back test it, auto execution, etc.

 

I'm quite satisfied with IB for trading, it's mostly the charting that isn't really up to par it seems. I also would like a time & sales screen, I tried Ensign's trial program, that also gets data feed from IB, so far I'm happy with it, but I think I'll have to pay 35$/month or something in the end - noticed on their site that quotetracker has a free version, I might give that a go and see how it runs.

[Tasuki 10]

The simple answer is: NO.

A friend of mine traded with them, and they seemed fine until he realized that their platform mistakenly failed to get him out of a position he was in. When he called them, they put him on hold for 45 minutes while the price moved against him. This is just one of a dozen horror stories I've heard with IB. Best to play it safe and find a more responsible broker.

[nickm001 10]

My experience with IB was quite the opposite. I had an order that executed in error. I was modifying already existing stop/limit order, and because of the bug in IB software another parameter of the order got changed, causing immediate execution.

I closed the order as soon as I noticed ( within minutes), but the loss was already ~$300. Then I called technical support and reported the error. During the support call he was able to replicate the bug.

I have documented the error, filed request to be compensated for loss and received FULL compensation ( loss + commission )...

 

My rule is simple- if the trade is wrong - CLOSE the trade first and limit damage.. then you have all the time in the world to analyze, report and complain.

 

Disclosure: I have both TS and IB. I do 10 RT in TS to get platform cost free and trade mostly with IB. I like IB universal account that lets you trade just about anything from the same account - Stocks, futures, etc.