Looking to switch Brokerage, but to which one?

[sharon_w]

Hi,

I am looking to switch to another online brokerage. I am currently with Interactive Brokers (IB) but the commission charges are working out to be rather high. I have $300K in my IB account and I don't do futures or options, just straight forward buying and selling of US stocks with occasional dabbling in Forex.

With $300K to trade with I end up paying at times hundreds of dollars in commission charges when buying large numbers of low-value shares... hence why I am looking to switch.

One last thing, I am based in the UK (ie a UK national)... so I need a broker that accepts accounts opened by overseas nationals.

Your advice/recommendations here would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Sharon

 

[gedward3]

Hi,

I am looking to switch to another online brokerage. I am currently with Interactive Brokers (IB) but the commission charges are working out to be rather high. I have $300K in my IB account and I don't do futures or options, just straight forward buying and selling of US stocks with occasional dabbling in Forex.

With $300K to trade with I end up paying at times hundreds of dollars in commission charges when buying large numbers of low-value shares... hence why I am looking to switch.

One last thing, I am based in the UK (ie a UK national)... so I need a broker that accepts accounts opened by overseas nationals.

Your advice/recommendations here would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Sharon

Sharon,

I dont trade shares but on these boards IB are the cheapest by far.

Ged

 

[sharon_w]

Hi Ged,

Just this month I bought 46,700 shares @ $4.28 and the commission charge was $233, later I bought 9,900 shares @ $3.85 and the commission charge was $49.50... surely there must be other brokers who charge less for trading shares?

I enquired at TradeKing who charge $4.95 per trade but they unfortunately do not cater for overseas individuals just US nationals.

Sharon

 

[gedward3]

Hi Ged,

Just this month I bought 46,700 shares @ $4.28 and the commission charge was $233, later I bought 9,900 shares @ $3.85 and the commission charge was $49.50... surely there must be other brokers who charge less for trading shares?

I enquired at TradeKing who charge $4.95 per trade but they unfortunately do not cater for overseas individuals just US nationals.

Sharon

Sharon,

Have a look at the unbundled versus bundled charges as it may be something that
could get you a lower price per share.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/commission.php?ib_entity=llc

If not try someone like below where you can trade remote and get vastly lower comms.They are US based.

http://www.smbcap.com/

Ged

 

[sharon_w]

Hi Ged,

Yes it seems I am on the "Bundled North America" package which charges USD 0.005 per share, where as the "Unbundled North America" is USD 0.0035 per share (for a monthly share volume of up to 300K).

However I just spoke to IB customer service and was told the unbundled package excludes exchange, clearing and regulatory fees and these would need to be taken into account when comparing the two... but the gentleman I was speaking to could not give me an idea of what these extra charges would be. I was told I would have to go back and look at previous IB statements, to see which exchange a trade was executed through, then come back to the IB website and click on the exchange in question to find out their fees!... personally I think it's easier if I switch brokers!

By the way, phoning IB customer service is often a frustrating experience!... I give them a rating of 3/10 at best... maybe one day I'll start a new thread on what people think of IB customer service!

I had a quick look at SMB Capital, they seem to offer only training???... there's no telephone number as well just an email address?

In the meantime I will continue searching on the net for a US broker accepting UK citizens and offering lower commission charges.

Kind regards

Sharon

 

[gedward3]

Hi Ged,

Yes it seems I am on the "Bundled North America" package which charges USD 0.005 per share, where as the "Unbundled North America" is USD 0.0035 per share (for a monthly share volume of up to 300K).

However I just spoke to IB customer service and was told the unbundled package excludes exchange, clearing and regulatory fees and these would need to be taken into account when comparing the two... but the gentleman I was speaking to could not give me an idea of what these extra charges would be. I was told I would have to go back and look at previous IB statements, to see which exchange a trade was executed through, then come back to the IB website and click on the exchange in question to find out their fees!... personally I think it's easier if I switch brokers!

By the way, phoning IB customer service is often a frustrating experience!... I give them a rating of 3/10 at best... maybe one day I'll start a new thread on what people think of IB customer service!

I had a quick look at SMB Capital, they seem to offer only training???... there's no telephone number as well just an email address?

In the meantime I will continue searching on the net for a US broker accepting UK citizens and offering lower commission charges.

Kind regards

Sharon

Hi Sharon,

There is a thread on here somewhere by Interactive Brokers themselves.


If not try some of these

Online Trading - TD AMERITRADE - Online Stock Trading and Investing

Lightspeed Trading | Online Stock, Options and Futures Trading

http://www.genesisft.com/

http://www.assent.com/

Or this forum on Elite Trader as a lot of them trade US futures and stocks so
you will get a better response over there.

Forums - Retail Firms

All the best

Ged

 

[Interactive Brokers]

1. Here is a comparison table on how we rate i.e., commissions, price improvement and margin versus some of the largest US online brokers http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/education/highlights.php?p=c&ib_entity=llc

2. There is a maximum per US trade 0.5% of trade value plus exchange, ECN, and specialist fees.