Interactive Brokers Troubleshooting

[paulchow2k]

for last couple of days i've tried to put buy limit orders in at end auction and theyre not getting filled Today i had a look on the pending page in TWS and status was blue "order is being held and monitored" . usually it would be green "the order is on the exchange". there was nothing unusual about the orders and one did go through so im stumped

Upgrade to the latest TWS, you will then receive a dialog box regarding this issue. You will need to call IB to take the trading cap off. You will also find that you can't sell a stock at pre-market open if it's going to gap up higher than 10%

Premarket close is also an issue. If you want to buy any stocks that has moved by more than 10% in PreMarket Auction, then even though your purchase price is accepted, you buy price will start below where the price is. I know it's complicated but this is what happens as an example:

XYZ moved more than 10% [$1] and closes at 15% [$1.15]
You want to purchase the shares at Market Auction at 4:01pm and want it at $1.16.

On the TWS platform, you submit an order to purchase 1000 shares at $1.16 and it's accepted [green]. What you will noticed on the depth is that your order will start at $1 and move up the depth every minute until $1.15.

SO you need to make sure that you that's the price you want, if you change the price, it will need to start from $1 again which means if it takes 5 minutes to move to $1.15, and you changed it to $1.16, then this process will start all over again.

All part of the fun and games with IB at the moment.

 

[captain black]

Thanks for the explanation Paul. I've lodged a ticket with IB regarding the issue as it's truly awful trying to trade at the open and close at the moment and it shouldn't be.

 

[wanky]

yes paul my TWS was out of date so thanks for that tip
my orders shouldnt have been affected by the 10% rule and i dont think they even went to exchange so i will have to test some things monday to see if i can make any sense of what is going on .

 

[paulchow2k]

yes paul my TWS was out of date so thanks for that tip
my orders shouldnt have been affected by the 10% rule and i dont think they even went to exchange so i will have to test some things monday to see if i can make any sense of what is going on .

Hey mate,
If your TWS platform said it's on the Exchange, it's NOT on the exchange. Check your depth. It's capped at IB. IB has now effectively given every1 a way to manipulate the Pre-market with this method.

Say if a stock is at 0.3 open & 0.33 at the close. And you know it takes 8 minutes for your order to go from 0.3 -> 0.33, then you could effectively put in say 2 x $10,000 worth of order at 4:02 so that your orders will only get to 0.315 & 0.32 marking the market look deep and plenty of buyers support it. You can then pull the orders out after the close.

It's a win-win situation as IB gets more commission if you are a buyer and the person doing that becomes wealth as well. The ASX can't nab anyone for this because the broker platform that is conforming to the ASX rules. This is for the purpose of getting out of the order. I have seen people doing that and wonder if they are doing something similar using IB...

Paul

 

[johenmo]

Any one explain what IB mean by "Brokers Commisions minimum"?

"A commission minimum of USD 2,000 (or equivalent) per month will be applied. In addition, a USD 10,000 (or equivalent) upfront deposit will be required that will be applied against commissions during the first five months of business. The USD 2,000 (or equivalent) monthly minimum will be waived during this period. "

I understand I need 10K US to open, and under 2k balance takes the min activity fee up from 10 to $20 US/month.

Is this something different or just a crappy way of saying something simple? Because "a commision minimum of USD 2,000 per month) says that one will pay a minimum of 2K in commissions to IB every month. It obviously can't be true.

Clarification would be great
Thanks
johenmo

 

[paulchow2k]

Thanks for the explanation Paul. I've lodged a ticket with IB regarding the issue as it's truly awful trying to trade at the open and close at the moment and it shouldn't be.

Guys... an update. There is talk at IB that they won't be offering aussie equities due to the limited nature of the ASX and their current fully electronic business model.

I'm starting to hunt around for other brokers who do not have these vetting issues. Good luck.

paul

 

[captain black]

Thanks again Paul. It would be a shame if IB stopped offering Aussie equities, but if it doesn't fit their business model then not much we can do. I lodged a ticket on the 12th and haven't received a reply. I'm in the process of closing out any open positions with them and moving the cash back into an account I have with a local broker. The price capping at the open and close is truly awful at the moment using IB.

 

[beamstas]

I have positions with IB, so what happens if they stop offering aussie equities? Will they close all my positions for me and send me the cash?

 

[white_goodman]

oh gay i was gonna sign up with them tomorrow... maby a cfd provider that offers ETF's etc

 

[NAsX]

Guys... an update. There is talk at IB that they won't be offering aussie equities due to the limited nature of the ASX and their current fully electronic business model.

I'm starting to hunt around for other brokers who do not have these vetting issues. Good luck.

paul

Thanks for that Paul. May I ask where you heard this? Was it from IB directly? I only recently signed up to their ASX data, looks like am gonna have to look to the US! Any idea how soon they would be pulling the plug?

 

[johenmo]

Guys... an update. There is talk at IB that they won't be offering aussie equities due to the limited nature of the ASX and their current fully electronic business model.
paul

Conspiracy theory!!!! ASX/Aust brokers workign together to keep cheap brokers out of the ASX!

I say it jokingly but I reckon the b####### would do it if they could.

Anyone feel a good alternative to IB for ASX equities if this is the case?

 

[paulchow2k]

Thanks for that Paul. May I ask where you heard this? Was it from IB directly? I only recently signed up to their ASX data, looks like am gonna have to look to the US! Any idea how soon they would be pulling the plug?

I trade quite often with IB on the ASX so as I tend to speak to 2 of their senior English speaking staff. I was complaining about their stupid pre market auction implementation & missing out on a sale again. This was when they were telling me that they are considering getting out of ASX market.

Guys, this is only one of the options considered by IB so I don't think any discussion is final.

regards

paul

 

[alphaman]

There is talk at IB that they won't be offering aussie equities due to the limited nature of the ASX and their current fully electronic business model.

Not surprising. TWS works seamlessly on US markets, but ASX is an entirely different story. ASX is probably too high maintenance for IB.

 

[cutz]

I trade quite often with IB on the ASX so as I tend to speak to 2 of their senior English speaking staff. I was complaining about their stupid pre market auction implementation & missing out on a sale again. This was when they were telling me that they are considering getting out of ASX market.

Guys, this is only one of the options considered by IB so I don't think any discussion is final.

regards

paul

I hope you're wrong Paul, i find it a bit hard to believe.

I don't know much of the issue in question but what's the problem ? You can still participate in the auction, you just need something like iress to see the match price and the surplus details.

Can someone fill me in on what's going on.

 

[paulchow2k]

I hope you're wrong Paul, i find it a bit hard to believe.

I don't know much of the issue in question but what's the problem ? You can still participate in the auction, you just need something like iress to see the match price and the surplus details.

Can someone fill me in on what's going on.

Cutz,
I'm a trader so I deal in facts. I've got multiple data providers giving me auction/match price so that's Not the issue. Have a read of what some readers are complaining about.

IB's TWS platform works best when they don't need staff involvement. The current issue requires lots of attention by their staff. So that's not how an efficient market/platform should behave.

I like TWS, it's professional and gives us traders the edge but the current limitations has put us at a disadvantage.

regards

Paul

 

[white_goodman]

Cutz,
I'm a trader so I deal in facts. I've got multiple data providers giving me auction/match price so that's Not the issue. Have a read of what some readers are complaining about.

IB's TWS platform works best when they don't need staff involvement. The current issue requires lots of attention by their staff. So that's not how an efficient market/platform should behave.

I like TWS, it's professional and gives us traders the edge but the current limitations has put us at a disadvantage.

regards

Paul

i asked IB last night and they said they have no intention of stopping to offer ASX, I'll assume youve got a better source tho

 

[paulchow2k]

i asked IB last night and they said they have no intention of stopping to offer ASX, I'll assume youve got a better source tho

White,
I'm hoping they don't pull out of ASX either! But it's not what I think that matters. What I'm told is just on discussion. Will it happen? ..... unfortunately I can't do technical analysis on it to tell me which way it's going to be.

If your sources said no, then that's good news. I'm still looking for a backup broker just in case the vetting issue is not solved for another few months. Most traders won't have this issue if they are not trading the ASX or day trade.

Paul

 

[cutz]

Cutz,
I'm a trader so I deal in facts. I've got multiple data providers giving me auction/match price so that's Not the issue. Have a read of what some readers are complaining about.

Yeah thanks paul, we're all traders here who like to deal in facts, i guess i was looking for something on the ASX site, i had a quick look but i didn't have much luck.

Anyway, probably isn't of too much concern to me as i prefer to be tidy before 4, last time i played with an order after the close was a few weeks ago and i can't recall having any difficulties that’s why this topic has attracted my curiosity.

Not something I normally do ( after close stock trades ) so I think I’ll leave it at that.

 

[andy1kenobi]

I use IB and also BellDirect and Comsec. I have only been using IB since March and have really liked it until now that is. Most of the trading I do with Comsec and Belldirect is straight through with only a few held up for vetting while the same kind of orders with IB are mostly hitting this brick wall. I would have thought that they should be able to tweak it to work in the same way so that only a odd one or two of my orders needed vetting.

Andy

 

[andy1kenobi]

The kinds of situations I am affected are:

Price rises by more than 10% from its opening price and I want to buy, but can't. Can with either Comsec or Belldirect with straight through processing. So why not with IB?

Participating in opening closing auctions with a jump of 10% or more. You can with Comsec or Belldirect with straight through processing. So why not with IB?

I won't be trading now for about a month (moving to New Zealand) and so hopefully it will be sorted out by then. My options for cheaper brokers in New Zealand are limited and I was looking to use IB as my primary broker. May have to look elsewhere. Can't do Belldirect there yet, but can do Comsec. Enfinium international may be one to check out. Any suggestions out there for an New Zealand resident enabled broker for the ASX?

Andy