Etrade vs. Interactive Brokers

[TheGreenOct]

Hi all! Pleased to meet you.

As a newbie with just a few Ks to trade I am looking for a broker that would allow me to trade on a relatively frequent level (a few times a month?) whilst maintaining and cutting my transaction costs. This would seem to the IB however there are a few things that really trouble me and would force me to eTrade since they have an offer with my bank (HSBC) and they are better than Commsuc.

One thing about IB is that they don’t offer CHESS which not only doesn’t allow me to have ownership but also to miss out on dividends. These things I suppose are minor when the real danger is a possible (extremely unlikely) collapse of IB reflective of an Opes Prime. IB seems to be going strong, 31 years blah blah but it is a US financial and in the light of the event year just look at Bear Stearns.

Another would be the $37.50 real time live data price IB charges.

What I been thinking would be to join both eTrade and IB. The logic lying in the fact that eTrade provides you with CHESS which I can use during trades with IB I think? Also that eTrade provides you with real time live data for free. Though eTrade does charge you with an account activity fee of $19.95 at the end of each quarter though that can be remedied by taking the 10K I have in IB and putting it into eTrade just before the quarter I think? If not it still seems to be the cheaper route. eTrade seems have fewer random fees and commissions but they have a really expensive broker fee.
If this falls through I was wondering if there are any fees involved in closing one’s account whether in eTrade or IB.

Since I’m 19 turning 20 I can only get the cash account as opposed to the RegT margin one at IB. This sucks since I can’t trade forex or US shares and most importantly share shorting though I guess a put option would suffice to a degree?

I'm sorry about the long post its just I have a lot on my mine and need to express this flow of concept onto paper. I done a lot of research but at the same time there is whole lot more research needed I feel.

Many Thanks in advance and thanks for bearing with me. *sigh*

Oh and an Easter egg comparison of the two’s share price in the US.

IB = http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:IBKR

eTrade = http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ETFC

 

[tigerboi]

Re: eTrade Vs Interactive Brokers

Your best bet young mate is to open an anz account,link it up on internet banking then open an etrade account,then you can decide if you want the stock standard trading platform or say etrade pro,ive got the pro but i still use the other,if you are going to trade 10+ a month go the pro..

i wouldnt trade without the live data...tb

 

[professor_frink]

Re: eTrade Vs Interactive Brokers

Hi all! Pleased to meet you.

As a newbie with just a few Ks to trade I am looking for a broker that would allow me to trade on a relatively frequent level (a few times a month?) whilst maintaining and cutting my transaction costs. This would seem to the IB however there are a few things that really trouble me and would force me to eTrade since they have an offer with my bank (HSBC) and they are better than Commsuc.

One thing about IB is that they don’t offer CHESS which not only doesn’t allow me to have ownership but also to miss out on dividends. These things I suppose are minor when the real danger is a possible (extremely unlikely) collapse of IB reflective of an Opes Prime. IB seems to be going strong, 31 years blah blah but it is a US financial and in the light of the event year just look at Bear Stearns.

Another would be the $37.50 real time live data price IB charges.

What I been thinking would be to join both eTrade and IB. The logic lying in the fact that eTrade provides you with CHESS which I can use during trades with IB I think? Also that eTrade provides you with real time live data for free. Though eTrade does charge you with an account activity fee of $19.95 at the end of each quarter though that can be remedied by taking the 10K I have in IB and putting it into eTrade just before the quarter I think? If not it still seems to be the cheaper route. eTrade seems have fewer random fees and commissions but they have a really expensive broker fee.
If this falls through I was wondering if there are any fees involved in closing one’s account whether in eTrade or IB.

Since I’m 19 turning 20 I can only get the cash account as opposed to the RegT margin one at IB. This sucks since I can’t trade forex or US shares and most importantly share shorting though I guess a put option would suffice to a degree?

I'm sorry about the long post its just I have a lot on my mine and need to express this flow of concept onto paper. I done a lot of research but at the same time there is whole lot more research needed I feel.

Many Thanks in advance and thanks for bearing with me. *sigh*

Oh and an Easter egg comparison of the two’s share price in the US.

IB = http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:IBKR

eTrade = http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ETFC

IMO if you are comparing IB with etrade and can't make up your mind, then etrade is probably the one you want. You'll pay more in brokerage with etrade, but if you aren't trading regularly or think you'll need half of the things they provide, then IB may not be ideal

In regards to IB and chess, there has been discussion about it in this thread -

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7303

From post #610 onwards is where the discussion begins on this issue(roughly).

I'm not quite sure what the point of having an account with both would achieve???

 

[Trembling Hand]

Re: eTrade Vs Interactive Brokers

Buddy you are way off the mark with IB. They offer more protection and insurance than any Oz broker. Period. They are audited 6 monthly by the US regulators where the Oz regulators are toothless and incompetent.

If you are comparing etrade to IB then you only need etrade. anyone that thinks they are comparable obviously don't need IB's massive features and range of markets.

One thing about IB is that they don’t offer CHESS which not only doesn’t allow me to have ownership but also to miss out on dividends.

Wrong. You do get the divs and ownership of shares.

And if you are trading US shares they are not CHESS sponsored. All brokers will use the custodial model like IB in the US.