Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Day trading in Canada -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taylorm. who wrote (2072)	1/23/1999 9:56:00 AM
From: IdiotJed	Respond to of 4467

<<Has anyone actually figured out on short term trades how much you actually have to make in a trade to come ahead?>> Depends which broker you use. Most charge $25-$29 for a 1000 shares or less, so you need a 5-6 cents difference between the buy and sell price to break even. For more than a 1000, you generaly break even for between 4 and 6 cents difference depending on the price of the share. For share under $1, you can make a round trip for a cent under certain conditions (and the right broker). That's for online trading only. It's a lot more if you use a live rep and you trade small volume. IdiotJed

To: Taylorm. who wrote (2072)	1/23/1999 11:01:00 AM
From: Syncrude	Respond to of 4467

Taylorm, Had you used Greenline's WebBroker you would have paid 1.5% on each trade (stocks $2.00 and under) thus $109 plus $121 = $230. For stocks over $2.00; under 1,001 shares $29.00 flat fee over 1,000 shares $0.03 per share A small improvement over the phone trade you used.

To: Taylorm. who wrote (2072)	1/23/1999 11:15:00 AM
From: TheBare	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4467

Taylorm, > I cannot figure out how these U.S. brokerages can charge so low > commissions. Any advice? Commission nothing! Take a look at what they give you. Free realtime charting/quotes, fundamental reports from reputable firms (eg. Zacks), instantaneous account updates, realtime news, free access to services like Briefing.com ... and on and on. I use Discover Brokerage and E*Trade USA. I also access RRSP accts through Greenline WebBroker 1.0. I can't use 2.0 due to firewall problems. WebBroker is like going back in time compared with US equivalents. Reminds me of the old DOS program interfaces of the pre-windows era. Of course, it really is .. HTML interface to their Micromax software. My advice. Never open a US broker account. That way you'll never know what you are missing! BTW, (this was discussed once before on this thread), I do not think there is any reason why Canadian residents cannot open an account with a US broker. You must tell them you are non-resident for tax purposes. You are required to declare your capital gains to RevCan under the Can-US tax treaty. US brokers are either very ignorant of Canadian-US rules or they are just plain hungry for business. Either way you should have an easier time convincing them to open an account than a US resident would with a Canadian firm. Some thots this fine Sat AM ...

To: Taylorm. who wrote (2072)	1/23/1999 11:45:00 AM
From: Spock	Respond to of 4467

I've often wondered why people will pay this much in commission and the put up with the poor quality of service I keep hearing about on this thread: Buy 5500 $7260.00 + 145.00 commission = 7405.00 sold 5500 8085.00 - 145.00 commission = 7940.00 You can negotiate a much better deal with a full service broker and get better service too. I'm paying 1/2%, $75 minimum, and can call directly to the trading desk. In fast markets or with market orders I've got a verbal fill report before I hang up or see the trade on my quote screen. Call a full service broker, tell them you're a day trader who makes a lot of trades, you want their best rate, and don't want to hear about their flavour of the day. They'll be thrilled to have your business. Kevin

To: Taylorm. who wrote (2072)	1/23/1999 3:50:00 PM
From: Wizzer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4467

U.S. brokerages give a much better deal due to the amount of volume and trades they do. I want Canadian brokerages to drop their commissions to about 1/2 of what they currently charge. I know that one trade I made last week on BII. I was only buying 500 shares, at the rate of $29 each way. There was a problem with the trade, and I should have been filled at a higher price. I had proof, and what they did was give me the whole trade at cost. Guess what.....I got charged $9 which is apparently what the cost is ($4.50 each way). This leads me to believe that there is more room for improvement. I want to see trades in the range of 0.75% of the value of the trade instead of 1.5% with a minimum of $15. Certainly this would improve the situation. I would likely trade 3 times as much as I do at these prices, as would many others. Funny thing is that buying a 1000 shares of a stock at $7, break even on the price would be around 6 cents also, although it would only cost you $29 each way. I hope you consider these type of trades as well, because it allows you to look at many opportunities in a day to make some money. There are many opportunities for day traders, and using the amount of money you were using in this situation provides you with a lot of opportunities to trade. Some stick with low cost stocks, because they don't have enough buying power. All I am saying is that money can be made on many stocks at most prices and at less commission. I'm sort of rambling on here. I feel for your complaint here because sometimes when I see what the commission is on one of my trades, it shocks me. I know what you mean about your trade because it would have certainly improved your profit had you paid $29 for the buy and sell. I'm glad that you made money, and that's the major point here. Currently, we are "handcuffed" in this respect and will have to take it until more competition comes in or something changes. It's tough when you have to start thinking of breaking even on a substantial commission. I often will "eat" a commission, if I think I am making a bad trade. Tough to eat a $280 commission, and it is a lot easier to "swallow" at a lower price. Side note: KOB seems to be a good buy at $1.18 or so, as I have seen it bounce off this price several times in the past few weeks. Just some thoughts. Regards, Wisam