Actually, having fast execution is critical if things are going the wrong way, as well. Position trades have a bad habit of becoming "excellent long term investments" if you let them get away from you.
It's easy to get hypnotized with the level 2 thing, and start feeling like you "have to be" in a trade. One can start over trading.
But, with the ability to execute very quickly, one can take advantage of short term moves that can give excellent entry points for a position trade. ASND is a good example. Let's say you wanted to be long the stock today. You see it drift down, and you maybe decide to put an order in to try and get close to the bottom. Maybe you are lucky, maybe not, you don't know where you will get executed.
With level 2, you see the bottom, you see the stock start its move back up in the afternoon, and you jump on it fast. Now, you may have picked the same price either way, in hindsight, but if ASND had not rebounded, you would have been in on the one hand, but waiting for a better entry with level 2. So yes, it is a question of small percentages, but small losses are better than large losses.
It's not for everyone, but when you are trading for 2 or 3 days, you are trading with a lot of people that are on level 2, and you aren't. Where would you rather be?
Another thing, if you are spending 3 or 4 hundred bucks on commissions every month, you might save money. |
