| Author | Message | ||
     Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 6257 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - Turns out TradeStation charges $100/month, but waives the fee after 5000 shares, which is less than my average day. I signed up. In a couple of weeks I should have a pretty good picture of them... | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 6254 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - They have a list of optional charges as long as my arm. It's hard to figure out. To me, the combination of Track and IB is ideal, as far as cheapness, ease of use, low margin requirements on options, and availability of shares to borrow. I don't expect anything better. I just wanted to spread it out a little more for insurance purposes... | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 1795 Registered: 07-2005 |
Heel, Isn't there a monthly trading platform fee with tradestation? With your volume of trading it may be worth it. | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 6252 Registered: 12-2003 |
Anyone here use Tradestation? I'm always on the lookout for sites where I can enter 100-500 share trades very cheaply, and they seem to be such a site... | ||
| Afterburner Registered Member Username: Afterburner Post Number: 691 Registered: 11-2003 |
PH: It's from Track Data. It doesn't explain what exactly happened, but it tells how to contact the 3 credit reporting companies. They also give a couple of numbers to call them (TD) with any questions: 800-463-6420 or 718-260-4441. | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 1773 Registered: 07-2005 |
P/H, I trashed it, but if I remember correctly it was from Track Data. | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 6153 Registered: 12-2003 |
Did the letter come from Track or from Penson? | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 1772 Registered: 07-2005 |
I got the same letter from Track Data, and I haven't had an account with them for two months, but I assume they still have my information in their computers, so I am at risk too. | ||
| Afterburner Registered Member Username: Afterburner Post Number: 690 Registered: 11-2003 |
PH: The letter from Track Data was actually snail mail, dated October 31. You didn't get one? If you need me to, I'll photograph it and email the photos to you. The reason I haven't moved the funds from E-Trade is just laziness in the face of the hassle factor of opening new accounts and making the transfers. If there's not a real risk, I don't want to do the work. (And cynically I jest that as soon as I moved the accounts to another brokerage, one would buy the other and I'd be in the same place anyway. None of these were e-trade accounts to begin with. They were DLJ, Harris, and other names I'd have to think awhile to remember.) | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 6151 Registered: 12-2003 |
A/B - If you got that Track letter as an e-mail, can you forward it to me? As for E-Trade, why not transfer? Your accounts may be safe, but why trust those idiots, and why reward them with more of your money? | ||
| Afterburner Registered Member Username: Afterburner Post Number: 689 Registered: 11-2003 |
I assume others here got the same letter I did this week that Track Data has (again) had a security breach. I'm going to write (certified mail) to the 3 credit agencies to put a freeze on my credit. What a hassle. Track Data screwed up, so they should be the ones to do the work, send us prepared materials we can just sign and send it in. Actually, I'm more concerned about E-trade -- my wife and I have 3 accounts with them -- is the money safe, or should I transfer the funds to another brokerage? Anybody know? | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 5773 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - I don't know, but it's all at interactivebrokers.com They charge me a penny a share up to 500 shares and half that much beyond 500. Anyway, at 5-15 trades per month,does it really matter? Seems like almost trading platform would be OK for you as long as it gives you the access you want, and access is, I think, IB's strong point. | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 1671 Registered: 07-2005 |
Heel, I only make 5-15 trades per month. Do you know how much IB would charge me per trade? | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 5771 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - I use IB because they have shares to short for way more companies than Track or Fido (I think they cheat) and because you can trade options in penny increments. They also have what seems to me to be a better trading platform. Probably none of that matters to you, but what might matter, since you mentioned it, is the abilities they offer for trading futures and trading on foreign exchanges. Trouble is, I haven't used either, so I can't evaluate them. You could try running a comparison http://www.infochoice.com.au/investment/onlinebroking/default.asp | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 535 Registered: 10-2003 |
bad omen, Joe | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 985 Registered: 07-2005 |
When I try to trade at Mytrack today I get a message saying "Invalid acct number" !@#%$!@%% | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2276 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - At 5 trades, you'd be worse off, while at 10 trades it'd be about the same, depending on the number of shares. You'd spend $1 for every 200 shares, plus the $100 monthly fee (waived if you trade 100k shares). Seems like you could save a small amount of money on a super-discount broker, but the difference is so small that I can't see how it would matter. | ||
| Treesloth Registered Member Username: Treesloth Post Number: 741 Registered: 07-2005 |
Heel, here is my commission schedule from Mytrack. http://www.mytrack.com/volume.html I only do 5-10 trades a month. Would I do better at track trade? Thanks! | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2213 Registered: 12-2003 |
BTW, when I explained to the Fido guy who was reading me the Riot Act why I wanted to create offsetting long and short positions, he had no objection to my objective, only with the use of self-trading to accomplish it. He said that, in order for it to be kosher, there had to be someone else on the other side of all my trades and that, to make sure of it, I would have to wait for a buy order to be filled before entering a sell short, or vice versa... | ||
| Wallwakky Registered Member Username: Wallwakky Post Number: 192 Registered: 01-2005 |
Killernut and Heel, I just saw your later posts about trading between accounts. KN. I am pretty certain the IRS could get real nasty, if it realized what you did. While I don't think there was a securities violation, they would claim that you evaded (not avoided, but evaded) paying taxes on a withdrawal from your IRA. They would accuse of filing a false tax return. I had thought of something similar to get securities out of a regular IRA and into a Roth IRA. Heel, Fidelity and the better houses may police themselves, because they don't want to get nailed, but I don't think the brokerages cooperate. However, NASDAQ has a department that is supposed to use computer allogarithms to search for this kind of thing. Legitimate traders are aware of this, but their are a lot of dumb asses out there that never worry about being caught. Especially if they are working out of certain offshore locations. I am pretty sure the rule I mentioned earlier is SEC Rule 10b-5. Wakky | ||
| Wallwakky Registered Member Username: Wallwakky Post Number: 191 Registered: 01-2005 |
Killernut, That article sounds correct. BTW, that is not a loan. What the article doesn't explain is that should you miss redepositing the funds during the 60 day window, you will not only be dinged for income taxes and the 10% penalty, you will not be permitted to redeposit your funds. Any deposit will be limited to your annual deposit, if you are entitled to one. When redepositing your money, make sure it is treated as a rollover deposit. Wakky | ||
| Wallwakky Registered Member Username: Wallwakky Post Number: 190 Registered: 01-2005 |
Heel, I know it is illegal. While I never heard it called "creating volume", TC talked about something similar a long time back. While DAT wasn't part of the discussion, essentially what he said was that if one person or a group of persons sold stock back and forth to manipulate the price, they would be violating SEC rule 10b. Still, I think it is done and is being done to play VASO. I don't think the players are too concerned about being caught, as they may be off shore or otherwis think they will never be prosecuted. Wakky | ||
| Killernut Registered Member Username: Killernut Post Number: 3386 Registered: 10-2003 |
I guess you can. 60 days to pay it back. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/tax_adviser/20030102a.asp | ||
| Killernut Registered Member Username: Killernut Post Number: 3385 Registered: 10-2003 |
Can you borrow from IRA's? I know you can from 401K's. But my 401K plan at the time didn't allow new contributions (just repayments) with any outstanding borrowings and then contributions could not be started again for one year. | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2211 Registered: 12-2003 |
K/N - I would be less likely to get caught if using separate brokerages, but I'd rather not take the chance that they aren't cooperating to catch that kind of thing. What you did, as far as I know, is illegal, and could have, at worst, resulted in your retirement account being disallowed, and all the money in it becoming immediately taxable. That's what Fido told me. If you need the cash temporarily, just borrow it from your retirement account. I think you have six months to put it back... | ||
| Killernut Registered Member Username: Killernut Post Number: 3380 Registered: 10-2003 |
PH, you probably could have gotten away with it using two different brokerages. One time a while ago (pre 911) before INVN became a well known stock it would trade a few thousand shares aday. I had two accounts regular at Etrade and IRA at Datek. My IRA dwarfed the size of my regular account. I needed some cash for some purpose that escapes me now but what I did was buy about $10K worth of INVN in my Etrade account. During after hours INVN spread would go way wide because no one was interested in it. I put in a sell order in my Etrade account about 40% above my buy price. Obviously no one grabbed it. I went and entered a buy order for that exact amount and price in my Datek account. Viola, money transferred from a retirement account to a regular account. As far as I can tell I did nothing illegal. I recognized a taxable gain and a non taxable loss. I actually never realized a loss in the IRA account because I held those shares in the hope INVN would go up and of course they did post 911. Anyway, it doesn't fit WW's situation but it reminded me of it. It certainly riled up the INVN board. I remember many posters being convinced something was up and they were all over it speculating what it was. (Message edited by KillerNut on March 22, 2006) | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2209 Registered: 12-2003 |
Wakky - That is not allowed, and I think it is illegal. It is called "creating volume". I did it a few times, not to create volume, but to set up offsetting long and short positions in anticipation of bankruptcies, and Fidelity took away some of my trading privileges for a while. They said that what I was doing could be viewed as creating volume, even though the share amounts were too small for any regulator to take that seriously... | ||
| Wallwakky Registered Member Username: Wallwakky Post Number: 189 Registered: 01-2005 |
Can Direct Access Trading be used to trade sticks back and forth, while excluding others from hitting offers? Say I have 100K shares of a thinly traded nasdaq stock, VASO, that I picked up for a cost average of 20 cents. I want to unload those share for an average price of 30 cents. Could I enter a sell order in one account at a price slightly above the inside market and preference an ECN such as TRAC. Possibly make it AON. At the very instant that sell order is entered, I enter a buy limit order for the same size and price as that above the market sell order and I preference TRAC. Do this a lot and the suckers think that something is up and they start buying and the POS is bid up. Depite trading back and forth between accounts, you never hold more than your initial 100K shares. Even when you are ready to unlaod and start hitting the bids, you place some large AON buy orders to give the impression that there is more buying interest than exists. You may even continue to buy shares from your other accounts via DAT. Comments. Would something like this work with a low price thinly traded stock. Possibly VASO. Wakky | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2183 Registered: 12-2003 |
K/N - I don't really know how to use IB's platform for all it's capabilities. It seems to me to be somewhat more complex than any other broker I've tried (Track, Schwab, Datek, Harris, E-Trade, AmeriTrade, Fidelity). There are a lot of cute things you can do, apparently. All I want it for, though, is shorting stocks that Track won't let me short. Commissions are $1/100 shares for first 500 shares, and $.50/100 thereafter, but that doesn't include futures, which are: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/commissionFutures-FOPs.php?ib _entity=llc | ||
| Killernut Registered Member Username: Killernut Post Number: 3363 Registered: 10-2003 |
PH, thanks. The reason I ask is I quit my job today and I want to daytrade. just kidding I really am interested in taking a couple positions in long term futures in crude and trading more Canadian stocks as well as some Australian and Oslo stocks. How do you like IB's trading platform? What about commissions? | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2182 Registered: 12-2003 |
Fidelity allows trading of Canadian stocks and, I suppose, some other major markets. It's a bit clumsy, though. The number of trades you make, though, it shouldn't be a problem. I use IB a lot, but never yet for anything but U.S. stocks. They do make a big deal, though, of their foreign and futures capabilities... | ||
| Killernut Registered Member Username: Killernut Post Number: 3362 Registered: 10-2003 |
Not really an existing topic for this post so I will throw it here. Does anyone use any brokers that allow trading of foreign markets (in particularly Canada) and futures (like NG and CL)? I am looking at Interactive Brokers but would like any comments. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 350 Registered: 10-2003 |
Soleil Securities : who are they ? | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 1731 Registered: 12-2003 |
A/B - "500" just means there are shares available. They could have millions, and they'd still only show "500"... | ||
| Afterburner Registered Member Username: Afterburner Post Number: 362 Registered: 11-2003 |
It looks like Track/trade has cut it's standard number of shares available to short from 50,000 for any given symbol to 500. It kinda constrains the potential for quick-decision short-term trading. I wonder why they did it? (Maybe they got a caught net naked short on something?) Anyway, I hope they change it back soon, or I may have to give up shorting or look for a bigger brokerage. I know they'll go find shares on special request, but that changes the whole nature and timing of things. It's a psychological barrier that might impede the spur-of-the-moment impulse shorts. But it's nice to know they'll do that if you REALLY want to short something. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 1232 Registered: 10-2003 |
Of course super you are right but the web site is more practical and more legible. Thank you again for your assistance. My complements to the admirable and patient Mrs Super | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 979 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - The website is presumably LESS practical when it is inaccessible. I suspect myTrack.exe will have fewer interruptions of service. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 1227 Registered: 10-2003 |
thanks super it had never occurred to me to look into the entrails of MyTrade button because the website is more practical | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 977 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - you open myTrack.exe, you push the myTrade button, and you can't see your account balance, positions, etc? | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 1223 Registered: 10-2003 |
super: about your post of June 16 below: I do run MyTrack.exe and have no problem with it. It's that yellow board where you can trade but offers no access to one's account. I want to have access to my account all the time at https://trade.mytrack.com/trade/initlogin.htm and that's the site which is down repeatedly | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 704 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - the "myTrack application" is the file myTrack.exe on your hard disk in the myTrack folder typically in the "Program Files" directory (but that might be named something else on a French computer). If you run myTrack.exe it should let you connect to the myTrack servers. If you DON'T run myTrack.exe, the only way to connect to myTrack is via the web (which was down for 5 days). | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 960 Registered: 10-2003 |
just checked, the site is again accessible. Super thanks a great deal for your kind assistance; my regards to Mrs super | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 959 Registered: 10-2003 |
Super what do you call the MyTrack application ? Their yellow trading site ? If so, it does not allow you to access your account(s) and your portfolio(s) but you can trade on it all right. | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 703 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh, the website has been down but the servers that interact with the myTrack application are and have been operational. Use the myTrack application, not the web, and look for local problems that might make access via the myTrack application screwed up. ONLY the web servers have been down, most myTrack customers use the myTrack application!!! | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 956 Registered: 10-2003 |
the MyTrack site is still down this morning, 6th day in a row. Isn't that a record for a financial site ? | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 955 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thank you Pete. Elise the Lithuanian girl says hello too. Your call sure threw me off balance for a while being so unexpected and in such a different surrounding. Cellular phones can be a problem, don't you think so guys ? For one thing, women used to search men's pockets once the fellows were asleep; now they go directly to the electronic memories of phones and whatever other machine we use. We don't stand a chance. | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 699 Registered: 10-2003 |
myTrack customer service says there are no server problems for folks using the myTrack application but the website, accessible via browser (NOT the myTrack application), has been down for 5 days. | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 698 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - [I've also told their boss I was ready to leave them. He doesn't seem to give a shit] It sems strange that you're having prolems and we're not. They may just be humoring a crazy guy (you). Call em on the phone - unless their server really is treating Europe/France differently from USA it is NOT down. Call and verify the nature/existance of any server problems. Also, check others in France (if you know any) who are using myTrack. If possible, try using myTrack from a different system (a laptop or something). I'm going to try contacting em via chat for you. | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2656 Registered: 12-2003 |
JFH - For me, everything that I'm allowed to do on MyTrack (monitors, charts, news, scans) works fine. I don't have trading privilege on MyTrack, though. I trade on TrackTrade, which is as good as ever. As for Track Data's lack of help, have you tried pleading? (or maybe trying the Chat function, if it works for you) | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2655 Registered: 12-2003 |
Super (OT) If you can't it is because you have bad Karma or are French, How do you think people get reborn French? | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 953 Registered: 10-2003 |
super I've also told their boss I was ready to leave them. He doesn't seem to give a shit | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 697 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - I am able to log onto myTrack and check positions in a simulated trading account. If you can't it is because you have bad Karma or are French, I suspect, or your system is messed up and myTrack is humoring you with false assurances that the problem is on their end. I recommend you phone them - their support staff is infamous for bad info via e-mail. | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 696 Registered: 10-2003 |
jfh - if it's any help the phone 718-522-7373 is usually answered by a sleepy guy in the data center (i.e. server room) if you call around midnight NY time. During the day it's answered by office folks who know less. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 951 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yeah but in order to make up for the nuisance they just mailed me a cheque for 100 K | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2653 Registered: 12-2003 |
JFH - I just got the following message, to wit: "We hope you are enjoying improved performance over the last several days. In order to better service our most valuable customers, we have dedicated our better servers to their accounts, thus segregating them from our least valuable customers. You may hear or read complaints from the latter group. Just ignore them." | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 950 Registered: 10-2003 |
Tommytwo: I'm running the latest version. They know they have a problem hence their latest msg of 3 minutes ago, to wit: "Dear Customer, We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, our program department is diligently working on rectifying the situation. The estimated time for a resolution is currently unknown. Your patience will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for selecting myTrack, Carmen" Why is it that there is no problem for certain customers ? Do they use different servers for different areas ? | ||
| Tommytwo Registered Member Username: Tommytwo Post Number: 117 Registered: 10-2003 |
Jfh - MyTrack is working for me now. Are you running a recent download? Also, on the main web site they have a link for trouble logging on that states: "update the HostID to host.trackdata.com" on the main log in screen. Hope that helps. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 949 Registered: 10-2003 |
The MyTrack site is still down, fifth day in a row. That says something about the firm, doesn't it ? | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2646 Registered: 12-2003 |
NO, I wasn't thinking about SDK, just about the monitors, news, charts and transaction logs. | ||
| Super Moderator Username: Super Post Number: 695 Registered: 10-2003 |
PH - when you say "the MyTrack functions that I use" do you mean that SDK-driven datasucker program? There used to be separate mytrack servers for the SDK and others, I think. That might explain the disparity. | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 945 Registered: 10-2003 |
How is that possible ? Different servers depending on the destination ? Sure beats me | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2641 Registered: 12-2003 |
TrackTrade is working fine, as far as I can tell. In fact, the MyTrack functions that I use seem to be OK, too... | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 944 Registered: 10-2003 |
They're still kaput; here's their answer of a few minutes ago: "Sorry for the inconvenience, there was a problem over the weekend that is still not resolved. They are working on it now, it will probably be down for most of the day. Again we are sorry . Thanks support@trackdata.com Dianne " | ||
| Jfh Moderator Username: Jfh Post Number: 943 Registered: 10-2003 |
The MyTrack site has been down for 3 days now. They say they've had server problems over the week end; the market is open and they're still inaccessible. The same thing happened 2 weeks ago and from time to time in the past. So it's getting worse obviously | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2133 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - I don't get much out of it, except in very specific instances that would not be of interest to you. I think some others do, though, Phantom_shark, for one... | ||
| Tree_sloth Registered Member Username: Tree_sloth Post Number: 504 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thanks P/H...Do you find that level II is very helpful when you trade? I used it for awhile but I never felt I got that much better prices with it. | ||
| Public_heel Moderator Username: Public_heel Post Number: 2121 Registered: 12-2003 |
T/S - I use TrackTrade a lot. About half of the time I have traded 100k shares in a month, and not had to pay the fee. I guess, though, if I were evaluating it afresh, I would go on the assumption that I would always have to pay. TrackTrade has two major benefits: 1) The commissions. At .005/share (with a $1 minimum), you can trade up to 2400 shares before you break even with Datek/AmeriTrade commissions ($12/trade). If you want to trade 1000 shares, you can do it in five 200-share trades, and still only pay $5, while D/A would cost $60. So, if you want to day-trade a lot, and do so in smaller lots, then it's really the best. 2) The platform. The platform is a little odd, with lots of independent windows that have to be arranged to best advantage on your screen. Nevertheless, I think you can set up something that will be pretty good. Orders can be routed to many locations, which is great. You can also enter conditional orders (order B is submitted automatically when Order A is filled). I find this feature useful when I want to leave for a while, but want to add or remove a hedge as soon as the purchase/sale of a regular position goes through. One further advantage/disadvantage: availability of shares to short. Normally, I would consider that other brokers (Harris, in particular, but also Fidelity and to a lesser extent Interactivebrokers) would be better than TrackTrade. Recently, though, TrackTrade has had shares of a number of stocks (LWAY, IDSA, MACE, IPIX) that no one else has had. I think it all boils down to your trading style. If you describe your style (frequency, shares, shorting, etc), I can tell you which of my brokers (Fidelity, IB, TrackTrade, Harris, Ameritrade) would best suit you. | ||
| Tree_sloth Registered Member Username: Tree_sloth Post Number: 502 Registered: 10-2003 |
Tracktrade price is going up to 1 cent per share from 1/2 cent per share. If someone establishes an account before August that can permanently lock in the cheaper price. I was thinking about opening an account. Does anyone use tracktrade? Is the $99/month software worth it? | ||
| Jfh Registered Member Username: Jfh Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2003 |
Was/is level 2 really all that necessary ? From the start I was doubtful because simply what's the point of buying at the best possible price just to watch your stock crash the next day/days. Anyway read this: http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/031112/corner_1.html |
