Hi I'm wondering if there is something similar to Betfair when it comes to trading stocks.
I'm slightly aware of some sites like internaxx but would like to know your experiences. I'm interested in low costs and ease of use.
Regards
Betfair for stocks?
You may want to have a look at http://www.prospreads.com/
Thanks Peter, looks kinda familiar.Euler wrote:You may want to have a look at http://www.prospreads.com/
"ProSpreads Limited only offer spread betting services to 'professional clients'.
The categorisation criteria of a professional client is defined by The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Please answer the following questions, so that ProSpreads Limited can establish whether you can be categorised as 'professional' under MiFID"
Is this just "formal" requirement?
The categorisation criteria of a professional client is defined by The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Please answer the following questions, so that ProSpreads Limited can establish whether you can be categorised as 'professional' under MiFID"
Is this just "formal" requirement?
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superfrank
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prospreads are essentially a futures broker (and clearing firm) as you are trading in the actual futures markets, unlike traditional spread betting firms where they are the counterparty.
with futures trading there are 2 elements to the transaction cost - exchange fees and broker's commission (both per contract/trade). prospreads will pay the exchange fees on your behalf out of the spread and the rest of the spread is their commission.
with direct futures trading your clearing firm does the accounting (pays the exchange fees for you and collects commission on behalf of the broker).
you should compare direct futures trading commissions to the spreads offered by prospreads as transaction costs are everything in financial trading (especially in short term trading). viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4962
the advantage of prospreads is that you are dealing in £s (no exchange rate considerations/costs for account funding/withdrawals), but i'm not sure what the trading platform is like (and you are probably tied to it). i use ninjatrader which is a great tool and is independent of brokers.
edit: out of interest i filled in the details on the Pre-Qualification page (honestly - yes/yes/no/no/yes) and got the message...
with futures trading there are 2 elements to the transaction cost - exchange fees and broker's commission (both per contract/trade). prospreads will pay the exchange fees on your behalf out of the spread and the rest of the spread is their commission.
with direct futures trading your clearing firm does the accounting (pays the exchange fees for you and collects commission on behalf of the broker).
you should compare direct futures trading commissions to the spreads offered by prospreads as transaction costs are everything in financial trading (especially in short term trading). viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4962
the advantage of prospreads is that you are dealing in £s (no exchange rate considerations/costs for account funding/withdrawals), but i'm not sure what the trading platform is like (and you are probably tied to it). i use ninjatrader which is a great tool and is independent of brokers.
edit: out of interest i filled in the details on the Pre-Qualification page (honestly - yes/yes/no/no/yes) and got the message...
Unfortunately the answers you have given to the questions below mean that ProSpreads Limited is unable to categorise you as a 'professional' client under MiFID.
Please check that the answers you have given are correct, make amendments if required, and then click 'resubmit'.
If you're interested specifically in US stocks, then I can recommend Interactive Brokers as a broker. They are low cost (0.5 cent per share, $1 min), and you'll get routed to the exchanges pretty efficiently without incurring massive spreads that are common with the spreadbetting companies. In terms of software you could try NinjaTrader like superfrank suggested, but I'm not sure it supports ladder trading for stocks (might just be for futures and fx).
If you're interested in UK stocks, then you'd need to find a broker for CFDs rather than the stocks themselves as UK stocks would incur a stamp duty which makes short term trading pretty impossible. I've not really looked down the CFD route in a lot of detail though.
If you're interested in UK stocks, then you'd need to find a broker for CFDs rather than the stocks themselves as UK stocks would incur a stamp duty which makes short term trading pretty impossible. I've not really looked down the CFD route in a lot of detail though.
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superfrank
- Posts: 2762
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:28 pm
NinjaTrader is for stocks too (i assume possible on the ladder)... http://www.ninjatrader.com/tour
i just liked the idea of a standalone tool - i can change brokers without changing tools - i've spent many hours settings up workspaces in NinjaTrader (which you can backup and use on any machine) to get the market views i wanted.
NinjaTrader support is excellent too - simple email support without form filling and quick knowledgeable replies.
i just liked the idea of a standalone tool - i can change brokers without changing tools - i've spent many hours settings up workspaces in NinjaTrader (which you can backup and use on any machine) to get the market views i wanted.
NinjaTrader support is excellent too - simple email support without form filling and quick knowledgeable replies.
Last edited by superfrank on Sat Mar 10, 2012 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That ninja with broker might be better fit. All I want is long or short some of the Us stocks time to timexitian wrote:If you're interested specifically in US stocks, then I can recommend Interactive Brokers as a broker. They are low cost (0.5 cent per share, $1 min), and you'll get routed to the exchanges pretty efficiently without incurring massive spreads that are common with the spreadbetting companies. In terms of software you could try NinjaTrader like superfrank suggested, but I'm not sure it supports ladder trading for stocks (might just be for futures and fx).
If you're interested in UK stocks, then you'd need to find a broker for CFDs rather than the stocks themselves as UK stocks would incur a stamp duty which makes short term trading pretty impossible. I've not really looked down the CFD route in a lot of detail though.
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superfrank
- Posts: 2762
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:28 pm
poor value. there's a good reason Euler is an IG investor!! (or i assume he is given that he posts their results).jimrobo wrote:how about IG??
I use IG for currencies and I have never had a spread issue and execution is instant. I can't comment on stocks though as I've never used them.
I also know at least 2 professional currency traders that only use ig and have done for a number of years.
I also know at least 2 professional currency traders that only use ig and have done for a number of years.
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superfrank
- Posts: 2762
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:28 pm
spreads are tight for currency trading - my comment related to stocks.
btw you can trade EURGBP, USDJPY, AUDCAD and (soon) USDCAD at zero spread with WorldSpreads (£1 flat admin charge for opening and closing each trade).
i used IG for years but find that there is better value elsewhere these days (but they are the most reputable of the spread firms).
btw you can trade EURGBP, USDJPY, AUDCAD and (soon) USDCAD at zero spread with WorldSpreads (£1 flat admin charge for opening and closing each trade).
i used IG for years but find that there is better value elsewhere these days (but they are the most reputable of the spread firms).
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superfrank
- Posts: 2762
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:28 pm
not much different to IG - probably not a slick visually and occasionally have to restart session in browser for some reason, although there is a new version in beta that you can use.