I feel you on that. They're a newbie trader's wet dream but are an abomination if you actually value building your account. They suckered me in with no data fees, their own clearing house, and low commissions. I lasted 2 days before the platform froze and I was unable to exit my positions. Calling the trade desk was a smack in the face because they couldn't seem to understand what "get me the fuck out right now" meant. The dude on the phone also sounded like he was on a cocktail of Xanax and paint thinner. I am aggressive on intraday indices, oil, and gas, and have a very small margin for error, so I have about 2 minutes to exit a position as it's going against me or I'm completely fucked. Now I'm over with Sierra Chart and their Teton Routing service and have had zero problems. No options support, however, which is disappointing.
TDA futures comms are not great but you can trade an mIRA to the limits of net liq, no req to hold t-bills, etc. I have heard good things about Teton. If you’re after cash vol (equity vol; single names, index, etc) then it’s probably better to open an equity account. I do a lot of hedging in VX so it;s nice to have all three with TDA. IBKR is still cheaper than my negotiated rate with TDA but IBKR has been margining verts and complex positions as if they are in a cash account. Very strange.
Ya, TDA futures comm is absurd. The RTs I do wouldn't be achievable on TDA. I busted my ass to get to a point where I'm on a commission free plan through my broker while leasing a seat on CME so my RTs are less than $1. SPX, NDX seems doable on TDA for longer term stuff. I'll check them out.
Edit: Teton is the shit. Lately CQG and Rithmic have been having problems, but not so much as a hiccup on Teton. Less moving parts. SC staff are arrogant as fuck tho, so if there is a problem good luck getting help. Luckily the platform is rock solid and problems are almost unheard of. I'm purely directional on futures, but looking to expand my horizons, primarily into cash vol. I need a one-stop-shop and am pretty much done with IB. I'll call TDA first thing Monday and set something up. Thanks for your insight. Have a good weekend. I'm off for a bit.
The only people who follow cash VIX are the futures arbs on exp-day. ATM SPX vol is already trading 13-line.
I thought I would never post again, but I haven't laughed this hard to the point of crying, in a long, long time!!! Being riding OneWheel for like 12 months (see photo)... You remind me of Meatloaf in Fight Club, and you know how he ended up. You need to move on. I have been thinking about people like @SimpleMeLike, and I really genuinely want to help by sharing my experiences (not here to teach). I think @themickey has solid wisdom, and @volpri is the real deal, but due to innate talent, dedication, etc, not so much the Al Brooks stuff (who I want to punch in the face). I miss PADU, as he made me laugh but he had ZERO chance at making it. I will need a few days to prepare a kind post; honestly. Btw. He is not "Todd". You: Me:
The guy may not be your cup of tea,and I am guessing you don't trade derivatives. So WTF are you doing in a vol thread??