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Strategies & Market Trends : Stock Attack -- A Complete Analysis

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To: sam_o who wrote (27963)8/20/2000 11:54:41 PM
From: martin001  Read Replies (2) of 42787
 
Sam - RE brokers

I dont know if you got the answer you are looking for
but perhaps I can help.

I trade with 2 brokers MBT and Schwab.
(and have tried a few others) I should also point out
that I trade aggressively and frequently <g>

I opened up an account with MBT (Manhattan Beach Trading)
a couple of years ago because Schwab was down too often
on high volume mornings and their executions were not
that fast.

MBT offers realtime data (Realtick) for quotes and charts.
Level 2 data so you can see the depth of the market.
They offer full books of Island/REDI/ARCA. You
can use selectnet to broadcast orders or preference individual market makers. THey also have access to
Instinet and SOES.
In otherwords with a firm like MBT you have to choose the
route for your orders. Against ISLAND ECN if there is
a match the order is executed in 1 second. However in
fast moving stocks there are alot of players and you have
to be fast to get a fill against ISLAND. MMs can pull away
from your bid as well forcing you to cancel and reinput
another orders. Of course knowing good entry and exit points
minimizes poor order execution (but thats another story)
MBT confirms orders immediately on your order entry
screen. THe next day you get an electronic confirmation
and 2-3 days later you get a hard copy. I have never had
any problems with errors. They have been down perhaps
3 or 4 times in the last year. So all in all one hell of
a service.

Having said that Schwab is really starting to become
a fantastic broker. Their site is always up now. Cant
remember the last time it crashed or was slow. I liked
MBT because of access to Pre and post market trading
but now Schwab has that as well. And another thing is that
They give me great fills in a fast moving stock.
With MBT if a stock is plummeting and I need to get out
often I will go below the best bid because I dont think
my chances are good that it will be filled. (probably
NITE sitting there with a 100 share order so you cant get
a short filled but thats another hard fact of life)
I do the same thing with Schwab but often they will get
the best bid/ask. Many times I get price improvements.
In fact now when I trade the riskiest plays (like first
15 min of an IPO) I will use Schwab because they get better
fills. Frankly I think MMs know who the daytraders are
using Cyber/MBT/etc and pull away. (its all a conspiracy
LOL )

As far as cost Schwab is 15/trade and I just received
a notice that MBT will be 10/trade (for high volume traders)

You mentioned 500MHZ PC - that is more than enough.
I have a 350 MHZ with 128 MB RAM running 4 - 19 in monitors
with up to 10 2 min intraday charts and 6 daily charts
plus live news feed, multiple quote screens and of course
good ole SI. However I do have a DSL line so that maybe
one factor.

ANyway hope this helps.

Good Luck
Martin
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