Re: OnLine trading with the "Big Guns"
I was thinking of starting a thread where I might find other folks who have taken a stab at trading with the likes of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, American Express, etc. Perhaps this is the place to do it.
I have an account with Merrill (it happens to be an IRA, but you can have a regular account) and pay an equity based fee (The greater of 1%, or $1,500 annually) for "unlimited" trading, subject to some restrictions:
1) No stocks under $5.00 traded online
2) No buying and selling the same day
3) No option trading online
So far, I see some pluses and minuses. Trading with this account is akin to trading with Datek. Executions are pretty good, IF you can get an order into the system. Usually you can, but the servers are sometimes overloaded, or go down, and I frequently get returned to a blank form instead of the intended confirmation page when I try to submit an order. I had 1_1/8 point slippage on a sale today because I couldn't get an order in when I wanted to. It's not the first time. Confirmations are usually received in a reasonable time, but I most often see my trade go off on my data service screen first.
You have to have a separate source of data to use this system. I use myTrack for r/t quotes and charts. I don't use level 2, and it would be of no value because of how slow the order entry process is. There is no coupling between the data service and order entry.
Unlike Datek though, if you have a problem you can call and actually talk to somebody. Your broker can and will place orders for you on options or sub-$5 stocks, or anything else if the online system is not accessible.
The engineering of the online trading screens is, IMHO, just plain awful!! The layouts are poorly conceived, and the number of pages you have to access, with no links, to get the whole picture is ridiculous. There is no intraday account management; you are on your own (I use myTrack portfolios for that function, but entries are manual so you have to be careful).
I'd be interested in hearing other's experience with this or similar systems.
Dan |
