Investors

[ricklee]

Do any of you TV folks have a brokerage account with Interactive Brokers? I'm thinking of opening one and would appreciate any feedback. I presently have a E*TRADE account but there are some things that they won't let me do because I live in Thailand and not the US. Interactive Brokers doesn't have the same restrictions so I want to check them out. Thanks in advance!

[garyh]

What sort of Broker do you talk about Stocks? Forex? Futures? If the broker restricts you shop around there are lots of Brokers. Do they need to Know you live in Thailand?

[ricklee]

What sort of Broker do you talk about Stocks? Forex? Futures? If the broker restricts you shop around there are lots of Brokers. Do they need to Know you live in Thailand?

Stock broker. E*Trade, my current brokerage, already knows I live in Thailand. They have something on their website that blocks the global trading application from here. Twice I've changed my address back to my old one in San Francisco so I could buy mutual funds that are only available in the US but I've changed it right back as soon as I was done. It's not something I want to do permanently. What I want to do now is buy equities on foreign exchanges with the local currencies (the dollar is going nowhere but down, I'm afraid, and I want to minimize my exposure to it) and E*Trade won't let me do it from here. I've checked with some other online brokers before about opening an account of any kind and they wouldn't even let me do that from here. Interactive Brokers will open an account for me and let me trade globally. Lower commissions than E*Trade too. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with them. I've had some problems with E*Trade - specifically in having money wired over here - so I'm doing a bit of research before making the move. These guys can really make one's life miserable sometimes.

[webfact]

Moved to Banking, Business, Investments

[lannarebirth]

Interactive Brokers a fantastic Brokerage. Universal permissions in just about any global market and pretty inexpensive commissions as well. Do not lie to them about any of your details or about your location. Do not opt for the security hardware.

One thing to note is that customer service is not as good as it used to be a few years ago, but then again, where is it?.

[ricklee]

Thanks, Lannarebirth. Just what I was hoping to hear. And I seriously doubt that their customer service is as bad as E*Trade's. I did finally manage to hook up with a good guy there who's been taking good care of me but it took a long time and a few "situations" before I did.

[lannarebirth]

Thanks, Lannarebirth. Just what I was hoping to hear. And I seriously doubt that their customer service is as bad as E*Trade's. I did finally manage to hook up with a good guy there who's been taking good care of me but it took a long time and a few "situations" before I did.

Another good thing about IB is that wire transfers, domestic or Intl are free* if you have a $10k balance, and really why would one have an account if they didn't.

*One transfer per 30 day period is free, subsequent transfers within that period are $10.

edit:

One more thing. When I talk about a brokerage, I'm only talking about the service I get. IB seems financially sound, but I take no responsibility if it does a Refco or an Etrade. Check the chart daily, as is only prudent:

Edited October 29, 2009 by lannarebirth

[surayu]

http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public/revie...tivebrokers.com

[Naam]

Interactive Brokers a fantastic Brokerage.

academic questions: how save is my dough with Interactive Brokers? who guarantees? if any guarantee, up to what amount?

[lannarebirth]

Interactive Brokers a fantastic Brokerage.

academic questions: how save is my dough with Interactive Brokers? who guarantees? if any guarantee, up to what amount?

http://interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/...tProtection.php

There are ways around it of course. One time last year I had to buy both a long SPY and short S&P Ishares position because I was well over cash limits.

[lannarebirth]

One other thing. The thread title is "Investors". I don't consider IB an investment brokerage as much as a traders brokerage. The platform is not that easy to use for a novice and their charting sucks. There is no "hand holding" and there is no market research or insight to be gained there. Still, I think it's quite good for trading. I do not trade forex except occasionally in the futures market, so I have no idea how good they are for that. Options, futures shares trading excellent IMO.

[flying]

I was just looking at IB last week.

Some folks I know use them & like them a lot.

They allow trades on the TSX & fees are low.

Friends had the same cautions as LB

[ricklee]

One other thing. The thread title is "Investors". I don't consider IB an investment brokerage as much as a traders brokerage. The platform is not that easy to use for a novice and their charting sucks. There is no "hand holding" and there is no market research or insight to be gained there. Still, I think it's quite good for trading. I do not trade forex except occasionally in the futures market, so I have no idea how good they are for that. Options, futures shares trading excellent IMO.

How badly does the charting suck? They must have charts; exactly what is it that you don't like about them? Just how little market research is there? I'm assuming they have balance sheets and things like that, P/E, P/B ratios and such. Another question: have any of you switched brokerages online? Maybe I'm a Luddite, but I'm a bit skittish about transfering large amounts of money from one company to another in cyberspace. Like maybe they don't call it space for nothing. Also I'm considering keeping my E*Trade account and opening an IB account for foreign trading, splitting the money between the two. Later, if I love IB, I might go with them exclusively. Any thoughts on that? Thanks.

[lannarebirth]

One other thing. The thread title is "Investors". I don't consider IB an investment brokerage as much as a traders brokerage. The platform is not that easy to use for a novice and their charting sucks. There is no "hand holding" and there is no market research or insight to be gained there. Still, I think it's quite good for trading. I do not trade forex except occasionally in the futures market, so I have no idea how good they are for that. Options, futures shares trading excellent IMO.

How badly does the charting suck? They must have charts; exactly what is it that you don't like about them? Just how little market research is there? I'm assuming they have balance sheets and things like that, P/E, P/B ratios and such. Another question: have any of you switched brokerages online? Maybe I'm a Luddite, but I'm a bit skittish about transfering large amounts of money from one company to another in cyberspace. Like maybe they don't call it space for nothing. Also I'm considering keeping my E*Trade account and opening an IB account for foreign trading, splitting the money between the two. Later, if I love IB, I might go with them exclusively. Any thoughts on that? Thanks.

Well, if you're not used to Tradestation or Esignal charts you'd probably find it adequate. You can do studies, trendlines, fibs, etc.. Can't program but you can do simulated trading in Real Time.

There is no research at IB of any stock or whatever. You can use Yahoo or another similar site though.

I have never had a problem wiring money either into or out of IB. I did have a problem opening an account once having to do with supplying an inordinate amount of proof to show I live where I told them I live.

For newcomers the IB platform can be a bit twitchy. Hit the wrong button and you bought something, Not paying attention? You just doubled down rather than sold out your order. I recommend some time on the simulator.

Oh, here's what a basic IB chart looks like, but you can modify in any number of ways:

Edited October 29, 2009 by lannarebirth