Len, jawd, etc...
Wow, this Datek discussion has really taken off and been educational. Datek is my third brokerage account. I started off with Schwab a long time ago. Then I tried Discover Brokerage Direct(originally called Lombard). They were great, simple web pages that loaded easily, free real time quotes. Since I was still a green beginner(now I'm just a beginner), I didn't trade enough to be worried about execution times or slightly higher commissions.
Then their web sight started slowing down, the lack of real time updating on the accounts page became a problem, and as I tried to start shorting stocks I found they were really slow(they had to make a call to get shares, etc.). So I decided to switch again and I came up with WEBst. and Datek. I liked Datek's clean and fast web interface. Also, WebSt. still cleared trades through a person, where I got the impression that Datek was fully automated. Finally someone told me that Datek was quite quick on short sales.
So I chose Datek. I still like the web interface a lot, the real time account balance update is excellent, the confirmations are MUCH faster than Discover by far. I am just a bit frustrated with limit orders. Several times I have put in a sell order below the ask. Then I see my new lowered ask displayed on DBC real time quotes at my size. Then I see several trades go through at the ask I just created but my order does not get filled. I called Datek about this, and they said just because my ask is showing, doesn't mean it will get filled first. Only on the NYSE is there a first come first served set up. These types of trades are bothering me. Finally, I have examined my transaction confirmations and at least half of them show Datek acted as a "riskless principle". I'm not sure how that differs from another category listed which is just plain "principle". Either way they should have pointed this out to me in the email response I posted earlier(reply#503).
It looks like the best way to get great executions is to use someone like Castle or MBTrading. Who are the best e brokerages then? Datek? WebSt.? or Etrade?
cheers, RS |
