Manny,
I used to scalp teenies through an account at Fidelity (Fido). I did this on highly liquid stocks, like DELL and INTC. Whether Fido routed to NITE or to itself (it has an in-house MM department), I consistently got filled at the bid (when selling) or ask (when buying). I would get that fill even when there was just one MM on the ASK showing fewer shares than I had. Thank you AutoEx! No complaints.
I then tried an account at ABWatley. More than half the time, when I selected ISLD (Island, an ECN), I got partial fills. And this occurred, again, on highly liquid stocks like INTC. It also occurred even when ISLD showed more on the book than I was selling. Someone must have kept getting there before me so, after a short time, I stopped selecting ISLD at all.
As for Level 2, I've now eliminated that $300/monthly expense. I've also eliminated the commission expense by moving to Merrill's unlimited advantage account (no commission on equity or option orders, annual fee of $1,500 minimum, which can be paid for through Visa points accummulated on the Merrill Visa card). Also, I stopped scalping teenies (and paying short term capital gains on my ininitesimal wins) and am now investing for the long haul. When I want excitement (such as it is), I turn on isld.com and watch the book go by.
Gary Korn |
