in talking about growing their customer base, i was referring more to the individual than the institution, hence my comments with regard to most investors/traders i talk to not even knowing about IB...i would have to think that most professionals are aware of IB
i don't think IB's platform is anything special, at least in terms of setting them apart from others such as ToS...frankly, it may be more complicated than brokers such as etrade or ameritrade for some people...the advantage that IB has over these brokers is price and interest rates, but those advantages are significant
i've seen various complaints about IB's customer service, though any time i have needed to get a question answered, they have been very helpful and knowledgeable...it may well be that etrade or ameritrade or others (certainly ToS) offer better service, but again, for IB's target customer, they may not need much hand holding, and may prefer the lowest cost way to execute their trades, including the lowest margin rates and the best interest rates paid on cash balances
in any event, it will be interesting to see what the market does with this one when it starts to trade |
