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Interactive Brokers - experiences and opinions

  • #201
  • Mar 3, 2009 11:55pm Mar 3, 2009 11:55pm
This broker has one of the worst trading platforms I've seen. If you can find your way through it, you'd be doing allright.
  • #202
  • Mar 4, 2009 1:13am Mar 4, 2009 1:13am
There a good broker there leverage is low its 40:1 though, There a ECN and the smallest lot size can only be 50k, there platform they offer is pretty bad, but you can use other Front ends like Quotetracker or ninja trader and a few others i think.
  • #203
  • Mar 4, 2009 1:22am Mar 4, 2009 1:22am
Good.
Commission = Great.
Choice of Markets = None better.
3rd Party Software = Good choices (Ninjatrader etc).
Account Insurance.

Bad.
TWS Software = Utter rubbish, trying to do too much at once and failing spectacularly, seasoned users never upgrade until forced due to piss poor testing of new releases.
FX Trading = Confusing, all coversion back to base currency must be done manually.
Customer Service = Utter bullshit, as one user said 'the Communist party of Russia had better customer service'.
API = Buggy bullshit, each release breaks something new, need to run TWS on the same machine.

Summary.
Cheap commission, but you get what you pay for, good for day trading stocks and futures.
The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
  • #204
  • Mar 4, 2009 9:21am Mar 4, 2009 9:21am
Stay AWAY!!!

Bad Customer service - totally rude bunch of low lives..

The worst platform ever. Confusing, slow, charts are from the 19th century.

The most complicated accounting. You'll always end up with a position even if you open and close the position with the same lot amount.

I can write many more things but short of long is I'd not recommend them to my enemy...
  • #205
  • Mar 4, 2009 12:26pm Mar 4, 2009 12:26pm
Quoting Levent
Stay AWAY!!!

Bad Customer service - totally rude bunch of low lives..

The worst platform ever. Confusing, slow, charts are from the 19th century.

The most complicated accounting. You'll always end up with a position even if you open and close the position with the same lot amount.

I can write many more things but short of long is I'd not recommend them to my enemy...
I agree with the customer service but I've been with them for the last 8 years and have only ever needed to contact them twice so hardly a big deal.
The platform is indeed awkward but if you're trading fx the fxplatform is no worse than many other retail offerings

If you trade fx outside of retail, your pnl will ALWAYS be in the term ccy of the pair you're trading. I dont see this as being a big deal at all unless you're too lazy to manage your exposure. Personally I find it much better than having my pnl automatically converted to the ccy of my account. As I'm based in london, most of my pnl is in $ and yen which over the last 6 months has effectively increased my localised assets .

my only major annoyance with ib is that recently the banks quoting have been taking ages to fill orders, sometimes up to 2-3 seconds which quite frankly in these volatile times is unacceptable
  • #206
  • Edited 1:00am Mar 5, 2009 12:50am | Edited 1:00am
Quoting Craig
TWS Software = Utter rubbish, trying to do too much at once and failing spectacularly, seasoned users never upgrade until forced...
I can second that on not wanting to upgrade. For me it's mostly just a matter of keeping a stable version. I'm sure that most (if not all) of the upgrades are fine but I like to keep what is working.

Their software is cumbersome, customer service poor, but the quotes and executions are split second and very reliable.

This is a rock solid broker, perhaps second to none in the discount industry. They're not one of the fly by night forex bucketshops. Their subsidiary, Timber Hill, is a huge market maker. IB will stick around while others go under.

But for you as a trader, chosing IB or not all depends on where you're coming from and what you're looking for. If you've been trading for a while and want a broker with stability and a huge assortment of instruments at low cost, go with them. But don't if you're just starting out with a few thousand dollars and are focused exclusively on forex. In that case go with Oanda, a MetaTrader broker, or something along those lines. IB’s spreads are tight but you pay commission as well. IB’s “edge” is in stocks and futures, not forex.
  • #207
  • Mar 5, 2009 3:03pm Mar 5, 2009 3:03pm
I find IB the best forex broker I know, but only if one has a sufficiently capitalized account.
Their system is much more transparent than the retail forex brokers.
But for trading anything below a standard lot one is much better off with Oanda.
  • #208
  • Mar 6, 2009 2:48am Mar 6, 2009 2:48am
Quoting PiedPipper
IB’s “edge” is in stocks and futures, not forex.
I understand that the majority of ppl only trade one type of product, whether that be stocks, futures, fx etc, but ppl always fail to mention how beneficial it is in these times to have access to numerous products on one platform. I agree with all the talk on how their forced-upgrades are annoying but at least there is advanced notification and you dont always need to upgrade to the next version. If you use currenex, no doubt you'll see that it upgrades itself automatically whenever there are any changes and sometimes the changes can be daily. At the moment, trading fx based on short term fundamentals is pretty much guess work. One minute good data out of US is good for the dollar, the next vversa. With ib, you have access to stocks and ir-linked products, one of which you can be guaranteed to be more confident in how they'll react. For all its failings, I do commend ib on their product although I would use it as a backup broker
  • #209
  • Mar 7, 2009 12:40pm Mar 7, 2009 12:40pm
I agree with the previous post. It is extremely useful to have access to multiple products and markets, something which IB provides. I am currently only trading forex, though have traded stocks and futures in the past. But I see a definite correlation between markets, especially S&P 500 (ES) with EUR/US and EUR/JPY. Anyway, just my two cents. Also IB is currently not my primary broker, but makes a good backup.
  • #210
  • Mar 7, 2009 2:16pm Mar 7, 2009 2:16pm
IB is probably one of best brokers out there( I am with them). Now it vary what size you can trade. (go to this link for minium sizes) http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en...&ib_entity=llc

Also there platform is the most flexable platform out there. I have been with many of brokers over yrs trading FX. I am glad I made the switch to IB! Only thing that I do not like is if there platform goes down and u are trading outside US session office hrs you have to call there UK offfice. But other then that thy are great!
Life is a game, play it well, their is no restart!
  • #211
  • Mar 7, 2009 7:25pm Mar 7, 2009 7:25pm
Good luck with trying to get execution with the minimum order size. You'll get a 50 pip slippage and the answer is ready "there was no buyer on the other side". After complaining to CFTC I received a call from the CFO. They reimbursed me the slippages from 2 separate executions but if you want to invest hours of your time to argue.

The platform is the worst. In a few other occasions I would see the order gone through and the position closed yet on the platform it would still look like it's open for minutes.

Their web base system is a total night mare don't even go there.

Try to log on with your name and password, not a chance, you have to have to coded card to type more numbers and match them.

When you fed up with them try to close your account. You will have 10s of open positions worth NOTHING yet you have to pay commission to close them. It is a total night mare to close those worthless pennies to get your account closed.

They may be big but they have a long way to go when it comes to training the clueless and disrespectful staff they hire.
  • #212
  • Mar 8, 2009 5:50am Mar 8, 2009 5:50am
This is exactly why one should always try out a few different brokers. No trader wants the same from a broker as the next. Reasons that I recommend ib might be the exact reasons why some ppl wouldn't even bother trying them out. If you're a new trader then obv it's difficult to really know what you're looking for but if you've been doing this for years, you should know better than trying to cram your opinions down other ppls throats as to which broker is best.
  • #213
  • May 16, 2009 6:43am May 16, 2009 6:43am
Bump! Any one please post an uptodate spread on EURGBP during asianmarket time and non -asian market time from Interative Brokers? Thanks.
  • #214
  • May 16, 2009 8:41am May 16, 2009 8:41am
Is someone so kind to upload the EURGBP data M1 and M5 from Interactive Brokers to 4share.com? I needs to test one system, need the history data from IB on EURGBP.
  • #215
  • May 16, 2009 3:08pm May 16, 2009 3:08pm
How frequently can you post trades? Can you expire them automatically if the market moves?
  • #216
  • Jun 13, 2009 4:43pm Jun 13, 2009 4:43pm
I'd like to trade the ES and YM and am considering switching from FxSolutions to Interactive Brokers. However, I'd still like the ability to trade forex, so could anyone give some pros and cons regarding IB and trading forex.

I get the impression from some posts I've read, that trading FX with IB is slightly different than other brokers such as FxSolutions.

Some clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.
  • #217
  • Jun 21, 2009 10:50am Jun 21, 2009 10:50am
Quoting DynamicFx
I'd like to trade the ES and YM and am considering switching from FxSolutions to Interactive Brokers. However, I'd still like the ability to trade forex, so could anyone give some pros and cons regarding IB and trading forex.

I get the impression from some posts I've read, that trading FX with IB is slightly different than other brokers such as FxSolutions.

Some clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.
concentrate on Book trader app. in their platform. See their webinar on this. Excellent spread, speed and execution. A (very) big and honest broker. What you need more?
  • #218
  • Jun 26, 2009 10:07am Jun 26, 2009 10:07am
Quoting DynamicFx
I'd like to trade the ES and YM and am considering switching from FxSolutions to Interactive Brokers. However, I'd still like the ability to trade forex, so could anyone give some pros and cons regarding IB and trading forex.

I get the impression from some posts I've read, that trading FX with IB is slightly different than other brokers such as FxSolutions.

Some clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Hi, I've used IB for forex for 7 months back in 2007. I had a bad experience with them mainly due to the 3 following elements:

1) TWS, their application, is buggy and not user friendly
2) the customer support is terrible
3) P&L for forex is reported in the various currencies traded and you have manually to convert them to your account base currency (paying commissions on those conversions).

The good thing is that their fx commissions are the among the lowest.

I don't know how the situation has become in 2009, but I wouldn't try to find out myself.
  • #219
  • Jun 26, 2009 11:31am Jun 26, 2009 11:31am
Agree, i would immediately sign up again if they would ditch that p.o.s. java monstrosity they call a trading platform. IMO best commission and tightest pricing in the retail sector.

They will never do it, but i guess they could attract additional business if they would offer f/x only accounts, and lease a simple but stable native win32 order-entry application (i.e. like this ), connecting via fix and not tws-api. But no, they keep going with what is effectively an endured beta-test with semi-working updates every week or two.
  • #220
  • Jun 27, 2009 2:03am Jun 27, 2009 2:03am
Quoting Levent
Good luck with trying to get execution with the minimum order size. You'll get a 50 pip slippage and the answer is ready "there was no buyer on the other side". After complaining to CFTC I received a call from the CFO. They reimbursed me the slippages from 2 separate executions but if you want to invest hours of your time to argue.

The platform is the worst. In a few other occasions I would see the order gone through and the position closed yet on the platform it would still look like it's open for minutes.

Their web base system is a total...
I agree with Levent 100%. Same bad experience with them. If customer service and a bit user friendly interface make sense to you (and they should, in my opinion) stay away from IB. As a side note: their commissions are among the lowest, but who cares when you have to convert "worthless pennies" to your base account and paying commissions on them (minimum is 2.5 USD for each conversion?).
happy trading.
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