Berkeley Futures

[Pitscum]

Good brokers dont advertise heavily for punters

..you're right.....man trad, merrils, bache, calyon, amerex.....all crap brokers so desparately need to advertise.....

 

[BerkeleyFutures]

The minimum to open an account at Berkeley is £3 and we quote all our commissions including execution, clearing and exchange fees. There are no system charges and no other costs to pay.

 

[bulldozer]

..you're right.....man trad, merrils, bache, calyon, amerex.....all crap brokers so desparately need to advertise.....

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Scum,
You said you dont trade at all! So what is the point of posting?You'v been WRONG on MOST of your comments so far! Did you put your money into premium bonds like i advised you? And when are you going to reply to my posts on the other thread>> "tracking the Delta's]???? :cheesy:
I have not yet seen Berkeley Ftrs or some other BIG London brokers advertise on bloomberg for punters/novice punters. :cheesy: Fact or fiction?? I use a London base broker and i have NOT seen them adverise on Bloomberg or CNBC Europe TV!! yet!



Bull

 

[bulldozer]

The minimum to open an account at Berkeley is £3 and we quote all our commissions including execution, clearing and exchange fees. There are no system charges and no other costs to pay.

Mark,

Are your OPTIONS margin rules the same as IB or better? Is it more suited for the buyer or the writer of options?

Bull

 

[SOCRATES]

Good morning Bully, FACT. You are absolutely correct.

I can confirm this because in the ordinary course of business I get to talk to interesting and well connected people.

Coincidentally this morning talking to Bloomberg, they confirm they do not advertise for any of these, although they gleefully admit they would not turn away advertising revenue if it was offered, and however, on occasion they may advertise for Merrill, but that is because Merrill own 20% of Bloomberg anyway.

 

[bulldozer]

Good morning Bully, FACT. You are absolutely correct.

I can confirm this because in the ordinary course of business I get to talk to interesting and well connected people.

Coincidentally this morning talking to Bloomberg, they confirm they do not advertise for any of these, although they gleefully admit they would not turn away advertising revenue if it was offered, and however, on occasion they may advertise for Merrill, but that is because Merrill own 20% of Bloomberg anyway.

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Soc,
Thanx for that input!

Also there are lots of punters that are NOT accepted as clients by some of London brokers for obvious reasons and end up being easily accepted by IB and other cheap brokers! :cheesy: True or false? Fact or fiction?
So you would also agree that CHEAP rates = cheap/bad/slow service etc?

Bull

 

[bulldozer]

peto

To get $2,06 with IB you need to trade 250 lots a week, I am not doing 250 lots a week. so this wouldn't be much good to me, but thanks for you post peto

But the reason I moved from IB to Berkeley is this. I placed a trade on the YM 8 lots. then the platform frozen. Then you guessed it, the market was moving against me and fast. I called IB to get me out, but the phone kept ringing and ringing,AND RINGING, this cost me 48 ticks. if they picked the phone up within 5 rings when I called them I be only down about 15 ticks. This have happen more than once to me. I closed the account down after that.Thats the reason why I open with Berkeley. Yes, I am paying around 80 cenc more round tern. But i rather pay a little more in knowing when I get a problem they will pick the phone up quick. and I think the services is much better they seem very professional

And with my kind of trading I don't thrive on 1 to 3 tick moves on the YM,I look for around 10 to 20 ticks, I also trade the Russel2000 so I dont mind paying 1 tick to enter. and I am only paying half a point on the Russell

Thanks for the post peto

Badtrader,
Iv'e been preaching the same message to members and viewers for over 10 months! but only a few people are convinced They need a bad taste of reality b4 they believe what were both saying! :cheesy:
By the way folks i dont use Berkeley ftrs and i dont work for them either! and i dont own them or have connections wiv them.

Bull

 

[commanderco]

Thanks Mr Marcus

Gracias Mr Marcus for all the details.
It all looks good and I am following through with your contacts and suggestions.
I will stay in contact by PM.

 

[SOCRATES]

=====================================================================

Soc,
Thanx for that input!

Also there are lots of punters that are NOT accepted as clients by some of London brokers for obvious reasons and end up being easily accepted by IB and other cheap brokers! :cheesy: True or false? Fact or fiction?
So you would also agree that CHEAP rates = cheap/bad/slow service etc?

Bull

I have been using IB for 5 years now but only for futures out of Eurex. The only hitches I have experienced have been due to temporary internet disconnection. Otherwise no significant problems other than they keep "updating" their execution platfom which is a nuisance, as I find it disconcerting to have to keep setting up platforms in the simplest manner possible with hotkeys whilst avoiding all the extra bells and whistles that are not needed. On the very few occasions (if I recall correctly 3 times) that I had to ring them to close a position I do recall noting the telephone could have been answered more quickly, but as none of them were critical exits I did not consider response time to be critical. I will say however that for Dax and SMI overall, execution is very satisfactory with very rapid fills.

 

[BerkeleyFutures]

Mark,

Are your OPTIONS margin rules the same as IB or better? Is it more suited for the buyer or the writer of options?

Bull

We can and will offer exchange minimum margin requirements. Although customers that have this facility would be expected to meet any margin calls that may arise on the account. However, our usual policy on Uk equity and index options is to have a 20% multiplyer on the initial margin requirement.

 

[badtrader]

Berkeley

Am I correct that you are introducing a new trading platform. where one can set parameters When scaling in or out of a position, that will automatically update all pending stop loss and profit target orders to reflect the position strategies.

Also Auto-Breakeven which allows you to set a profit condition that will trigger the platform to automatically adjust your stop loss to a break-even price. Optionally, you can also assign a value (called 'Break-even Plus') that will be added (when long, subtracted when short) to your break-even price. This allows you the added benefit of moving your stop loss better than break-even to cover your commission costs.

Thanks

bt

 

[BerkeleyFutures]

Berkeley

Am I correct that you are introducing a new trading platform. where one can set parameters When scaling in or out of a position, that will automatically update all pending stop loss and profit target orders to reflect the position strategies.

Also Auto-Breakeven which allows you to set a profit condition that will trigger the platform to automatically adjust your stop loss to a break-even price. Optionally, you can also assign a value (called 'Break-even Plus') that will be added (when long, subtracted when short) to your break-even price. This allows you the added benefit of moving your stop loss better than break-even to cover your commission costs.

Thanks

bt

Hi Badtrader,

We are likeley to be announcing a new product soon that will give you all the functionality you have mentioned and a bit more. I'll let you know when we launch what its full capabilities are and set you up for a demo.

 

[zigglewigler]

For the smaller trader. If you deposit 10k and it goes down to 5k and below. you will get charged $9 r/t to trade regarding the small time trader. like I said in my last post. plus exchange, clearing, and regulatory fees one need to add all these up first. You know the old saying If it sound to good to be true. ///??????

I think you can open an account with berkeley for 3k.I am not sure maybe by marc form Berkeley can comment on this

Well, that's my point, if you can't stump up $5k, you shouldn't be trading anyway. If you complain about a broker simply because you have to make a modest minimum deposit, then you're really focusing on the wrong area.

 

[zigglewigler]

IB new rates effective Nov 1st

Stocks*: $0.005/Share (all-in)
Options*: $0.75/Contract (all-in)
Futures: $0.25 to $1.20/Contract (plus exchange costs)
Forex**: 1 to 2 PIP wide EUR/USD spreads

*$1.00 minimum on all orders, no extra ticket charge
** Whereas other brokers inflate their forex spreads with more than their fair share for commissions, IB quotes the best bid/offer from multiple large banks and charges a separate 0.2 PIP commission on EUR/USD.

Interesting, I've had no info from IB about this. Where did you come across this news?

 

[turtle trader]

I've had an e-mail confirming these new comms. If you go to their website you can access the info via the scrolling 'News at IB' area on the homepage.

Simon

Interesting, I've had no info from IB about this. Where did you come across this news?

 

[bulldozer]

I have been using IB for 5 years now but only for futures out of Eurex. The only hitches I have experienced have been due to temporary internet disconnection. Otherwise no significant problems other than they keep "updating" their execution platfom which is a nuisance, as I find it disconcerting to have to keep setting up platforms in the simplest manner possible with hotkeys whilst avoiding all the extra bells and whistles that are not needed. On the very few occasions (if I recall correctly 3 times) that I had to ring them to close a position I do recall noting the telephone could have been answered more quickly, but as none of them were critical exits I did not consider response time to be critical. I will say however that for Dax and SMI overall, execution is very satisfactory with very rapid fills.

================================================================
Soc,

Thanx again.

I read too many horror stories experienced by IB clients see my links on Brokers thread.

I take it you dont trade options with them? If you do plz let me know cause i have many questions to ask you, also for the benefit of the viewers too for them to know first hand and not from some guys of the company that dont give straight answers to simple questions and cleverly avoid to answer most of them.

Bull

 

[SOCRATES]

================================================================
Soc,

Thanx again.

I read too many horror stories experienced by IB clients see my links on Brokers thread.

I take it you dont trade options with them? If you do plz let me know cause i have many questions to ask you, also for the benefit of the viewers too for them to know first hand and not from some guys of the company that dont give straight answers to simple questions and cleverly avoid to answer most of them.

Bull

Bully I have read the thread with great interest and followed your arguments on it very closely.
But I only use them as I describe above and so far what I have posted is what I have experienced with them since 2000. I have not traded options with them at all, so I cannot comment one way or the other, and none of my people have either so they cannot comment either.

 

[bulldozer]

We can and will offer exchange minimum margin requirements. Although customers that have this facility would be expected to meet any margin calls that may arise on the account. However, our usual policy on Uk equity and index options is to have a 20% multiplyer on the initial margin requirement.

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BF,

I think most people here [myself included] realise that your trying to generate business for your firm. So i hope its ok to ask a few questions and that you dont mind answering them:

1. If i were looking for a broker to trade mainly Options on footsie index and i reside in UK ,.Plz tell me why i should not use IB? [they claim they are the cheap] and why i should use BF.

2. Would you allow me to trade Short OTM puts or trade Short OTM Strangles.[ftse index]

3. How much margin do you add on top of clearing house.and is it posible for BF NOT to add on top.

4. How many days grace do you give if on Margin-call and how do you notify me.

5. When and HOW do you intefere with positions if margin -calls are NOT met. or do you close some or all positions when margins are not met.

6. Do you allow clients to adjust/convert positions if on margin-call or would i need to first settle the margin first by adding cleared funds into account.

7. is there any criteria i need to meet to be allowed to trade Short otm puts or short otm strangles.

8. Are my funds protected against bankrupcies or coruptions etc [insurance protections]

Bull

 

[rossored]

Posts edited/removed. Please keep posts on topic.

 

[BerkeleyFutures]

================================================================
BF,

I think most people here [myself included] realise that your trying to generate business for your firm. So i hope its ok to ask a few questions and that you dont mind answering them:

1. If i were looking for a broker to trade mainly Options on footsie index and i reside in UK ,.Plz tell me why i should not use IB? [they claim they are the cheap] and why i should use BF.

2. Would you allow me to trade Short OTM puts or trade Short OTM Strangles.[ftse index]

3. How much margin do you add on top of clearing house.and is it posible for BF NOT to add on top.

4. How many days grace do you give if on Margin-call and how do you notify me.

5. When and HOW do you intefere with positions if margin -calls are NOT met. or do you close some or all positions when margins are not met.

6. Do you allow clients to adjust/convert positions if on margin-call or would i need to first settle the margin first by adding cleared funds into account.

7. is there any criteria i need to meet to be allowed to trade Short otm puts or short otm strangles.

8. Are my funds protected against bankrupcies or coruptions etc [insurance protections]

Bull

Hi Bulldozer, all good questions and i will answer them as best i can.

1) It wouldn't be very professional of me to sling mud at other brokers so i won't. But i will point out 1) major difference between Berkeley and a pure on-line broker. We tend to be able to offer a level of flexibility that a lot of other brokers don't, this is due to the fact that we offer both on-line and telephone dealing. For example if you had some positions and wanted to take out more but didn't have the funds with us then depending on your account value and what you wanted to do i would let you put the trade on whilst you get your funds together. Or another example might be holding stock as collateral to support margins which lots of on-line brokers don't like to get involved in.


2) We will allow you to write any options as long as you can support the margin requirements.

3) We can offer you exchange minimum margin requirements although our multiplier is usual 20% on top of exchange minimums. If we treat you as a professional and offer you exchange minimum margin requirements then we do expect you to act professionally and meet any margin calls the day that they are due.

4) We can notify you any way you want but it is usually by phone or email. If the account is not in order by the 5th day then for regulatory reasons we would have to close enough positions to bring your account in line.

5) We try not to interfere with anyone's position. The only time we do do this is when there is a commercial risk to Berkeley on the account. In which case we would endeavour to close off positions to avoid a situation whereby a customer would go into a debit situation.

6) We would allow customers to trade around positions to reduce the margin call although if customers are going to do this we would ask them to do this on the day the margin call arises and not on the 5th day. In general, the policy is that you can't use our funds to support your positions.

7) Only to be able to support the margin requirement on the position. We do allow customers to support margins with stock as collateral.

8) Your funds will be segregated at Berkeley and if we treat you as a private customer it is my understanding that you would have access to the Financial Services Compensation scheme which would cover you for up to a maximum of £48,000.