I began trading with a little more frequency and was looking to save some money so I transferred to Interactive Broker from TDA. It was a pain in the %^$ to open the account and the platform seemed old to me. Also, it was really hard to figure out what the fees were. When I got my statement I noticed extra fees beyond the regular ones I was used to at TDA. It was still a lot less in fees than TDA, but not great all in all. Someone in my trading forum recommended Generic Trade and I moved over there a few months ago. They definitely don't give much help since they don't have any brokers or salespeople, but I've been trading a while and didn't need anything they couldn't help me with. Love the platform and the fees are simple to understand - everything is on the fee page and easy to read. It's like a paragraph or something. For the transaction, it's the 59 cents commission and the same exchange fees that are listed on the exchange website. They charge $59 for the 3 platforms that you get when you open the account. Also, you pay for the CME fees, which are the same everywhere $15. There was no overnight fee or any of the other BS I had elsewhere. BTW, it took me like 10 minutes to apply for an account and it was set up the next day. Really different than the other places. I applied for a futures account at eTrade, since I trade stocks with them and I'm still waiting for them to get back to me. If you aren't a beginner or have help from someone if you are a beginner, I would say to give them a shot.
Customer service is one of the most important things to look for in an online broker. Due to the low commission structure, Generic Trade's customer service really is atrocious (nothing like I've ever seen before). When asking a question about the wording of their policy, I was met with the response "you should note that we are a deep discount brokerage firm and do not offer any educational services". I was then charged $74 and denied intra-day margin (even though the intra-day margin requirement is $0), and told it was because I asked about the policy. This is just one of the many incidences over the past 2 week account opening process. TD Ameritrade's (Think or Swim) trading platform is top-notch and I have spoken with reps at Trade Station who have been nothing but a delight thus far.
Generic Trade Reviews
Generic Trade review
I began trading with a little more frequency and was looking to save some money so I transferred to Interactive Broker from TDA. It was a pain in the %^$ to open the account and the platform seemed old to me. Also, it was really hard to figure out what the fees were. When I got my statement I noticed extra fees beyond the regular ones I was used to at TDA. It was still a lot less in fees than TDA, but not great all in all. Someone in my trading forum recommended Generic Trade and I moved over there a few months ago. They definitely don't give much help since they don't have any brokers or salespeople, but I've been trading a while and didn't need anything they couldn't help me with. Love the platform and the fees are simple to understand - everything is on the fee page and easy to read. It's like a paragraph or something. For the transaction, it's the 59 cents commission and the same exchange fees that are listed on the exchange website. They charge $59 for the 3 platforms that you get when you open the account. Also, you pay for the CME fees, which are the same everywhere $15. There was no overnight fee or any of the other BS I had elsewhere. BTW, it took me like 10 minutes to apply for an account and it was set up the next day. Really different than the other places. I applied for a futures account at eTrade, since I trade stocks with them and I'm still waiting for them to get back to me. If you aren't a beginner or have help from someone if you are a beginner, I would say to give them a shot.
Customer service is one of the most important things to look for in an online broker. Due to the low commission structure, Generic Trade's customer service really is atrocious (nothing like I've ever seen before). When asking a question about the wording of their policy, I was met with the response "you should note that we are a deep discount brokerage firm and do not offer any educational services". I was then charged $74 and denied intra-day margin (even though the intra-day margin requirement is $0), and told it was because I asked about the policy. This is just one of the many incidences over the past 2 week account opening process. TD Ameritrade's (Think or Swim) trading platform is top-notch and I have spoken with reps at Trade Station who have been nothing but a delight thus far.