What broker and platform are you using?

[Infinity ♾️ assets 0]

I am planning on transition to life account. I was wondering what broker and platform to use

I am in USA and i can open account with 25k.

Also any suggestion for long term investment account and platform?

Thank you

 

[DollarBill 21]

for long term account, TD, Schwab, Chase or any American brokerage is fine as you are not looking for speed of execution.

depending on what financial instruments you trade different brokerages and platforms have their advantages.  the best all around free (no monthly data fee) is ThinkorSwim with TD or Schwab.  Free is very expensive when milliseconds matter, (trading the open [stocks and options] and/or ORB strategies), and the serious day traders are trading with the fastest platform, then Interactive as your brokerage and DAS trader as your platform is probably the best.  The deluxe DAS package is $150/month.   My home is Colorado and I get 57miliseconds network delay.  When I am in NYC the network delay is only 9 ms, while the average blink of eye is 200ms.  

Cheers, DH 

Edited December 1, 2022 by DollarBill

[PJ Garcia 3]

I have used tradestation, td ameritrade and IBKR. In my opinion, IBKR is awesome. Td ameritrade isn't bad unless you like to short allot of stuff, then definitely go with IBKR. DAS in my opinion is the BEST platform. It blows everything out the water!

Respectfully, 

PJ Garcia 

[louisrburns 3]

The recommended platform is DAS Trader Pro through Interactive Brokers (IB). I think all the educational materials here are oriented around that setup. 

If you're planning to day trade though, $25K isn't enough. That's right at the PDT minimum and if you have one red day, you'll be blocked from day trading until you bring it back up. That's probably too much pressure to perform for most people getting started. 

If you plan to day trade and want to do it with $25K, then consider one of the overseas brokers like CMEG. Their commissions are a little higher but once you get up to $40K or whatever you're comfortable with, you can switch over to IB. Also, I found CMEG seemed to have less capacity for shorting, filling orders, and had more slippage. Also, they charge their DAS platform fees directly from your account. I prefer to keep those separate because otherwise it feels like I'm taking more losses than I am. 

[PJ Garcia 3]

On 12/12/2022 at 12:25 PM, louisrburns said:

The recommended platform is DAS Trader Pro through Interactive Brokers (IB). I think all the educational materials here are oriented around that setup. 

If you're planning to day trade though, $25K isn't enough. That's right at the PDT minimum and if you have one red day, you'll be blocked from day trading until you bring it back up. That's probably too much pressure to perform for most people getting started. 

If you plan to day trade and want to do it with $25K, then consider one of the overseas brokers like CMEG. Their commissions are a little higher but once you get up to $40K or whatever you're comfortable with, you can switch over to IB. Also, I found CMEG seemed to have less capacity for shorting, filling orders, and had more slippage. Also, they charge their DAS platform fees directly from your account. I prefer to keep those separate because otherwise it feels like I'm taking more losses than I am. 

While $25k is not enough, if risk is managed wisely, you can trade with $25,500. This is what I started with in my IBKR account. I'm risking about $30 - $60 a trade with no issues. When I'm trading, I pretend the $25k is not even there. I do not risk that money. The purpose of the $25k is to keep me above PDT. As my account grows, I'm able to risk more provided I'm ready to accept more risk. I'm not an intermediate or advanced trader either. I'm actually a novice trader and I have no issues with a $25,500 account using IBKR and DAS. 

Respectfully,

PJ Garcia

[Derekhlady 0]

what is PDT?

[PJ Garcia 3]

1 hour ago, Derekhlady said:

what is PDT?

PDT is the Pattern Day Trading Rule. With American brokers, you need to have a minimum of $25k in your account in order for you to place multiple trades a day/ week. When you are under PDT, you are restricted to something like 3 trades every 5 trading days. There are ways to get around this such as going with CMEG but the commissions are just crazy. Some go this route and have no issue, but I just refuse to pay the high commissions they charge, plus, if your money ends up disappearing in your account with them for whatever reason, there is no protection.

[Derekhlady 0]

Thankfully we dont have those restrictions in Canada