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Interactive Brokers - experiences and opinions

  • #21
  • Feb 3, 2006 3:45am Feb 3, 2006 3:45am
Quoting WTB
You need a minimum of 25k account with IB, right?
When I opened mine it was $2500. If that's changed, its the first I've heard about it.

Steve
I was here, here I was. Was I here? Yes I was!
  • #22
  • Feb 3, 2006 4:11am Feb 3, 2006 4:11am
what is the futures spread for gbp/jpy please?
another INTP
  • #23
  • Feb 3, 2006 8:30am Feb 3, 2006 8:30am
Quoting narafa
I am emailing them for this issue?? Is it the minimum lot size of $25,000 or you should have a minimum equity of $25,000 to be able to trade forex in the first place...The examples on the website are a little bit confusing..
have you figured this out? I didnt find the answer also
I think they are talking about equity however
time is money! Z
  • #24
  • Feb 3, 2006 9:45am Feb 3, 2006 9:45am
Quoting Zazzy
have you figured this out? I didnt find the answer also
I think they are talking about equity however
The $25,000 refers to the (leveraged) order minimum. So you must have $25,000 divided by the leverage factor to place an order.

If the leverage is 25:1, then the order minimum would be $25,000 / 25 = $1,000.
  • #25
  • Feb 3, 2006 3:38pm Feb 3, 2006 3:38pm
Quoting bluewatercat
The $25,000 refers to the (leveraged) order minimum. So you must have $25,000 divided by the leverage factor to place an order.

If the leverage is 25:1, then the order minimum would be $25,000 / 25 = $1,000.
this is a good news thanks!
time is money! Z
  • #26
  • Feb 3, 2006 4:22pm Feb 3, 2006 4:22pm
Hello


I consider starting to trade with IB in some 6-12 months time and I have got 2 questions

1. Calculating the cost of a transaction:

Let us say I open a $100.000 trade on EUR/USD.
On oanda I pay 1.5 pip spread which makes some $15 of transaction costs.
On IB I will pay 0.02 of a basis point. Basis point is a pip. The value of a pip is $10, so 0.02*$10=$0,2. The lowest comission level is $2.5 so I pay to IB $2.5.

People say that Oanda is pretty cheap and I believe this. But compared to IB Oanda turns to be really expensive! So....this is suspicious I think... is there REALLY only this ridiculous $2.5 to pay? no more comissions, no spread? they say the spread is already included in the comissions. I cannot believe this...


2. Automated trading

Anybody using API there? Anybody can me explain what "CTCI (FIX)" is?
they say "Computer-to-computer interface that uses FIX protocol, which allows you to use IB's order routing network to facilitate your own trading application or front-end." Does that mean I can route my orders somehow directly to an interbank system avoiding the broker himself? I dont really get this.

Thanks in advance!
time is money! Z
  • #27
  • Feb 3, 2006 4:46pm Feb 3, 2006 4:46pm
Quoting Zazzy
Hello


I consider starting to trade with IB in some 6-12 months time and I have got 2 questions

1. Calculating the cost of a transaction:

Let us say I open a $100.000 trade on EUR/USD.
On oanda I pay 1.5 pip spread which makes some $15 of transaction costs.
On IB I will pay 0.02 of a basis point. Basis point is a pip. The value of a pip is $10, so 0.02*$10=$0,2. The lowest comission level is $2.5 so I pay to IB $2.5.

People say that Oanda is pretty cheap and I believe this. But compared to IB Oanda turns to be really expensive! So....this is suspicious I think... is there REALLY only this ridiculous $2.5 to pay? no more comissions, no spread? they say the spread is already included in the comissions. I cannot believe this...


2. Automated trading

Anybody using API there? Anybody can me explain what "CTCI (FIX)" is?
they say "Computer-to-computer interface that uses FIX protocol, which allows you to use IB's order routing network to facilitate your own trading application or front-end." Does that mean I can route my orders somehow directly to an interbank system avoiding the broker himself? I dont really get this.

Thanks in advance!
I can at least answer question 1.

First on OANDA they hit you with the spread on the buy, not the sell. So you are only paying the spread one time on a round trip. On IB, you have to pay 0.00002 of the trade value in both directions or 2.50 minimum each way. So effectively you are paying $5 with IB and like $10-$30 with OANDA.

Hope this helps!
  • #28
  • Feb 3, 2006 5:14pm Feb 3, 2006 5:14pm
Quoting kwallace
I can at least answer question 1.

First on OANDA they hit you with the spread on the buy, not the sell. So you are only paying the spread one time on a round trip. On IB, you have to pay 0.00002 of the trade value in both directions or 2.50 minimum each way. So effectively you are paying $5 with IB and like $10-$30 with OANDA.

Hope this helps!
Thanks a lot - this is a very valuable info. In fact IB is even more attractive when trading higher volume. If I trade $1.000.000 on oanda I'll pay 150$ on IB only 40$ - this makes the difference! Maybe I should start to trade with IB sooner
time is money! Z
  • #29
  • Feb 5, 2006 5:14pm Feb 5, 2006 5:14pm
Does any one have real trading experience with IB spot forex - not currency futures? My take on reading the forex info on their site is that they charge you a commission on top of the spread. I could not find the pip spread on majors such as eurusd. However, if you include the spread and commission then the difference between Oanda and IB may be negligible. I do use IB for futures and have no complaints.
  • #30
  • Feb 5, 2006 5:51pm Feb 5, 2006 5:51pm
Quoting Zazzy
have you figured this out? I didnt find the answer also
I think they are talking about equity however
Well, almost 2 weeks and they never returned my email back...!!! I don't know what's wrong with these guys...I get an email reply 2 weeks later from TradeStation with weird policies, and no reply from IB....Looks like I will stick with my Ameritrade account....


Thanks,

Nader
  • #31
  • Feb 5, 2006 10:40pm Feb 5, 2006 10:40pm
Quoting narafa
Well, almost 2 weeks and they never returned my email back...!!! I don't know what's wrong with these guys...I get an email reply 2 weeks later from TradeStation with weird policies, and no reply from IB....Looks like I will stick with my Ameritrade account....


Thanks,

Nader
Try sending another, it's worth the effort.

Steve
I was here, here I was. Was I here? Yes I was!
  • #32
  • Feb 5, 2006 11:05pm Feb 5, 2006 11:05pm
How much does it takes to open an IB account ?

Is there mini-lot in currency futures trading ?
The future depends on what we do in the present.
  • #33
  • Feb 6, 2006 1:08am Feb 6, 2006 1:08am
Quoting narafa
Well, almost 2 weeks and they never returned my email back...!!! I don't know what's wrong with these guys...I get an email reply 2 weeks later from TradeStation with weird policies, and no reply from IB....Looks like I will stick with my Ameritrade account....


Thanks,

Nader
they changed the description of $25.000 recently - maybe it was a soft of answer? Anyway new description I think containt an error - one zero too much. Again no explicit information that order is not equal to trade since one trade=open order + close order so one needs to double the real costs.

I tried to create an account - this took me some 30 minutes I had to go through good 10 ununderstandable for me cofirmations and signs, and at the finish they DEMAND me to make the payment. So I invested some 30 minutes so far and still dont have an account. Unfortunately I dont have $25000+some margin to daytrade. Yet again i find this weird to expect daytraders to have such a big sum - what for?
time is money! Z
  • #34
  • Feb 6, 2006 3:28am Feb 6, 2006 3:28am
Sterling, I did resent the email...Hope they reply this time....I will keep everyone updated about what they say...


Thanks,

Nader
  • #35
  • Feb 6, 2006 3:33am Feb 6, 2006 3:33am
Quoting Zazzy
they changed the description of $25.000 recently - maybe it was a soft of answer? Anyway new description I think containt an error - one zero too much. Again no explicit information that order is not equal to trade since one trade=open order + close order so one needs to double the real costs.

I tried to create an account - this took me some 30 minutes I had to go through good 10 ununderstandable for me cofirmations and signs, and at the finish they DEMAND me to make the payment. So I invested some 30 minutes so far and still dont have an account. Unfortunately I dont have $25000+some margin to daytrade. Yet again i find this weird to expect daytraders to have such a big sum - what for?
Zazzy, you must have been trying to open a universal account...The US regulations require that you have at least $25,000 in equity to be able to daytrade stocks...This of course is not eligible for futures or currencies...But since the Universal account allows trading stocks and you are asking for a daytrading account, then you must at least deposit $25,000...Start with a normal account, and you will be able to daytrade anything else other than stocks...

There are conditions for being noticed as a stocks daytrader...I can't exactly remember the rules, but they are written on the website...I think opening and closing 4 trades within 4 days (Each trade opened and closed during the same day - And if you opened 4 trades and closed them during 1 day, this qualifies you as a daytrader too) (Including after-hours trading)


Thanks,

Nader
  • #36
  • Feb 6, 2006 6:39pm Feb 6, 2006 6:39pm
Here is the reply to my email...It's weird, but I think they might have a point although I can't understand it yet....

{
Dear Trader,

Thank you for your interest in Interactive Brokers.

Please note, e-mail assistance at IB is designed to assist customers with an answer to a quick question.

For the amount of inquiries you have, please contact us by telephone.

Our phone numbers are listed here:

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/contact/contact.php?ib_entity=llc

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us again.

Regards,

Melissa
IB Customer Service
}


Because I asked a lot of questions, they prefer me to call them instead of an email, although an email can be prepared, take lots of time to answer or request unknown answers from other people...

Will see what I can do further and will keep it updated in here...


Thanks,

Nader
  • #37
  • Feb 6, 2006 6:40pm Feb 6, 2006 6:40pm
Quoting Zazzy
Hello


I consider starting to trade with IB in some 6-12 months time and I have got 2 questions

1. Calculating the cost of a transaction:

Let us say I open a $100.000 trade on EUR/USD.
On oanda I pay 1.5 pip spread which makes some $15 of transaction costs.
On IB I will pay 0.02 of a basis point. Basis point is a pip. The value of a pip is $10, so 0.02*$10=$0,2. The lowest comission level is $2.5 so I pay to IB $2.5.

People say that Oanda is pretty cheap and I believe this. But compared to IB Oanda turns to be really expensive! So....this is suspicious I think... is there REALLY only this ridiculous $2.5 to pay? no more comissions, no spread? they say the spread is already included in the comissions. I cannot believe this...


2. Automated trading

Anybody using API there? Anybody can me explain what "CTCI (FIX)" is?
they say "Computer-to-computer interface that uses FIX protocol, which allows you to use IB's order routing network to facilitate your own trading application or front-end." Does that mean I can route my orders somehow directly to an interbank system avoiding the broker himself? I dont really get this.

Thanks in advance!
I can kinda answer 2. for you.
FIX is just a protocal specificaction, which basically describes the syntax used for sending requests to their server etc.... it's a protocol designed specifically for trading. API trading with them doesn't mean you've avoiding the broker, it just means you're accessing the trading functions of the broker directly via the API instead of pressing buttons on the platform.

I don't actually use their API... but I too have been considering opening an account with them.
  • #38
  • Feb 6, 2006 6:45pm Feb 6, 2006 6:45pm
I noticed that they offer a currency conversion service, whereby, you can deposit and withdraw in different currencies (after converting using their service). Anybody tried doing this with IB? just wondering if they're good for that or not.
  • #39
  • Feb 6, 2006 9:30pm Feb 6, 2006 9:30pm
How to open a IB normal account ? Which option should i choose ?
The future depends on what we do in the present.
  • #40
  • Feb 7, 2006 12:19am Feb 7, 2006 12:19am
Before signing up with IB for spot forex trading check this out:

http://www2.oanda.com/cgi-bin/msgboa...;f=16;t=005487
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