CFD and USA market questions

[madraslover]

Hi guys.  I'm an experienced investor with American brokerage accounts but looking at IG's CFD package.  I primarily trade american stocks etc only.  I'd be grateful if anyone could help with the following questions:

 

1. How can I get better searches based on ticker symbol.  For example I want to trade JPM but when i put this in the search i get numerous JPMorgan offerings...I just want the pure JPM

2. For options, all I can see available are options for indices.  How do I find options for any other ticker?

3. Chart data: Is this actual market data or IG only data (ie regarding volume)?     How do i make a chart East Coast Time frame only?

4.Anyone experience of using Pro Real Time?  Benefits of using this via IG or going direct to pro real time website where you get IG and IB.   Are the prices to trade the same regardless of which system you go through?

5. Trading the USA.  At the moment it seems very expensive to me to trade USA markets....ie 0.5% currency conversion every time you buy or sell or if want to hold account in dollars, something like $15 fee each way.    Am I missing something?

 

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help with this or offer alternative solutions.  I am now based in UK and British but only trade USA markets.

[gezmond]

Unfortunately ig only allow option. trading on stocks via phone dealing only

I am in a similar position to you ......a few years ago i started trading us options via saxo bank....but the currency conversions were costing a lot , then they allowed me to upgrade have the account in usd and gbp ...but their dealing  fees arent very competitive....so I mainly use tastytrade and firstrade for my us option trades...both allow uk residents to open accts....the accounts stay in usd ....

Edited April 30, 2020 by gezmond

[Caseynotes]

On 28/04/2020 at 14:51, madraslover said:

Hi guys.  I'm an experienced investor with American brokerage accounts but looking at IG's CFD package.  I primarily trade american stocks etc only.  I'd be grateful if anyone could help with the following questions:

 

1. How can I get better searches based on ticker symbol.  For example I want to trade JPM but when i put this in the search i get numerous JPMorgan offerings...I just want the pure JPM

2. For options, all I can see available are options for indices.  How do I find options for any other ticker?

3. Chart data: Is this actual market data or IG only data (ie regarding volume)?     How do i make a chart East Coast Time frame only?

4.Anyone experience of using Pro Real Time?  Benefits of using this via IG or going direct to pro real time website where you get IG and IB.   Are the prices to trade the same regardless of which system you go through?

5. Trading the USA.  At the moment it seems very expensive to me to trade USA markets....ie 0.5% currency conversion every time you buy or sell or if want to hold account in dollars, something like $15 fee each way.    Am I missing something?

 

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help with this or offer alternative solutions.  I am now based in UK and British but only trade USA markets.

Hi, for large US companies the one marked 'all sessions' is the main listing and IG keeps open for extended hours trading.

As @gezmond says you are limited to IG's own options market which has indices, fx and some commods.

You can't change broker's chart time zones, you can only do that on third party charts such as IG's Prorealtime.

IG use various sources for the collection of volume data, the numbers will differ if compared to a single exchange (many companies are listed on a number of different exchanges) but I've found IG's volume chart profile is usually very similar to other volume charts. 

PRT aren't a broker so don't provide prices, the prices will be those of your broker that you have tied to the PRT platform.

You can keep currency in USD if you base currency is different or keep a USD account. 

[Tough_Cookie]

I'm based in Australia. I can trade both Aussie and US stocks. My based currency is AUD. Only problem with Prorealtime is that current version doesn't show pre-market / after hours data but it is updated in next Version 11. So awaiting till it is rolled out by IG. ( Doesn't matter whether the stock is all session or not . I've subscribed to both US and Aussie data )

Currencies are converted automatically on trade execution according to the real-time rate.

Yes the US stocks commission makes it impossible to use IG for day trading while other brokers such as IB offers minimum 1USD ( IG minimum 15 USD  ) per ticket. Hoping they would change it.

 

[Caseynotes]

9 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

I'm based in Australia. I can trade both Aussie and US stocks. My based currency is AUD. Only problem with Prorealtime is that current version doesn't show pre-market / after hours data but it is updated in next Version 11. So awaiting till it is rolled out by IG. ( Doesn't matter whether the stock is all session or not . I've subscribed to both US and Aussie data )

Currencies are converted automatically on trade execution according to the real-time rate.

Yes the US stocks commission makes it impossible to use IG for day trading while other brokers such as IB offers minimum 1USD ( IG minimum 15 USD  ) per ticket. Hoping they would change it.

 

PRT needs to be hooked up to your broker to actually trade through and can only reproduce the data provided by you broker, IG doesn't provide the premarket exchange prices so it won't appear on either the IG version of PRT or PRT that is tied to IG.

As in a similar thread you can keep USD for trading US markets and not need to keep converting back and forward if your base currency is different.

[Tough_Cookie]

2 hours ago, Caseynotes said:

PRT needs to be hooked up to your broker to actually trade through and can only reproduce the data provided by you broker, IG doesn't provide the premarket exchange prices so it won't appear on either the IG version of PRT or PRT that is tied to IG.

As in a similar thread you can keep USD for trading US markets and not need to keep converting back and forward if your base currency is different.

Yes , I launch pro realtime through IG.  If you search through posts regarding pre-market data on pro-realtime ( via IG ) , they officially confirmed that pre-market data cannot be shown in current version. If you go read about the features of V.11, they've updated that.  In terms of trading US Stocks , brokers like Interactive Brokers are much better options ( very low commissions , can link to DAS trader etc ). But each platform has pros and cons. One thing I like about PRT is that you can trade on the chart etc. Then again level 2 data cannot be shown on PRT is disadvantage. Overall , IG is not suitable for day trading US Stocks.

[Caseynotes]

3 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

Yes , I launch pro realtime through IG.  If you search through posts regarding pre-market data on pro-realtime ( via IG ) , they officially confirmed that pre-market data cannot be shown in current version. If you go read about the features of V.11, they've updated that.  In terms of trading US Stocks , brokers like Interactive Brokers are much better options ( very low commissions , can link to DAS trader etc ). But each platform has pros and cons. One thing I like about PRT is that you can trade on the chart etc. Then again level 2 data cannot be shown on PRT is disadvantage. Overall , IG is not suitable for day trading US Stocks.

yes, PRT only displays the data given to it by the broker, PRT are keen to display all the functions so set up their manual is if a broker was supplying all possible data which they don't. IB will have different inputs to IG so take your pick. 

There was recently on the forum keen followers of a US guru trader using premarket data to trade US stocks but the forum users couldn't replicate his method. One reason was because he was paying $300 a day for subscriptions for pre market exchange, L2 and a host of other services. So pay your money and take your pick.

[Tough_Cookie]

If I'm based in US , no brainer. But I'm in Aussie , so there's always other fees such as interbank transfer , exchange rate  etc to consider. DAS with level 2 data  ( US - including premarket  ) cost you only 150USD/month ( platform and data ) . Interactive brokers charge only 1USD minimum per ticket. But not easy to get CFD account with IB for Aussie resident.

With IG it's easy to deposit and withdrawal fund in AUD . And real-time conversion rate is not that bad if I ever take a few US trades.

I know PRT can't display level 2 data because it's not the direct access platform like DAS. For short-term ( day trading ) with or without access , it sometimes doesn't make much difference as trades are in and out at market price anyway.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Tough_Cookie

[Caseynotes]

2 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

If I'm based in US , no brainer. But I'm in Aussie , so there's always other fees such as interbank transfer , exchange rate  etc to consider. DAS with level 2 data  ( US - including premarket  ) cost you only 150USD/month ( platform and data ) . Interactive brokers charge only 1USD minimum per ticket. But not easy to get CFD account with IB for Aussie resident.

With IG it's easy to deposit and withdrawal fund in AUD . And real-time conversion rate is not that bad if I ever take a few US trades.

I know PRT can't display level 2 data because it's not the direct access platform like DAS. For short-term ( day trading ) with or without access , it sometimes doesn't make much different as trades are in and out at market price anyway.

'Not easy to get cfd account with IB'? you either can or you can't. US brokers will accept clients outside the US but they need to abide by SEC minimum amount account holding rules ($25,000). Either that or IB opens branches outside the US, don't know if they do.

IG has the DMA platform which has L2 data but don't bother to offer most US exchanges because the monthly cost is so high they know there are no takers. You can get the LSE data with L2 on DMA cheap enough but LSE doesn't do premarket.

[Caseynotes]

Should have added to the above that of course the US banned CFDs back in the late 1970s so it's either Futures or Options.

[Tough_Cookie]

13 minutes ago, Caseynotes said:

'Not easy to get cfd account with IB'? you either can or you can't. US brokers will accept clients outside the US but they need to abide by SEC minimum amount account holding rules ($25,000). Either that or IB opens branches outside the US, don't know if they do.

IG has the DMA platform which has L2 data but don't bother to offer most US exchanges because the monthly cost is so high they know there are no takers. You can get the LSE data with L2 on DMA cheap enough but LSE doesn't do premarket.

Nope PDT rule doesn't apply to Aussie Resident. Doesn't need to hold 25k to day trade.

IB offers standard trading account . To switch to margin account ( leverage trading account ) , need to show liquid asset at least 100,000 USD and have minimum 3 years trading experience . Showing that liquid asset is easy only if you are with the banks that IB can assess easily . If the fund are in some other accounts , you are like stuck ( such as mortgage redraw account etc ) . Not saying it's not doable.. ( but well I'm not that encouraged to try that yet ) . Other reason is, with IG I can trade both Aussie and US easily ( PRT is much better than TWS ) . DAS platform support US stocks only. To trade Aussie stocks ( any stocks ) on TWS would be nightmare 😰. No deposit and withdraw fees with IG . 1% deposit fees ( minimum 50USD ) and they can hold the fund up to 7 days with IB. Depositing and withdrawing with IG is pretty easy for Aussie resident.

 V11 PRT would be a long awaited update for me as it will be able to show pre-market data.

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Tough_Cookie

[Caseynotes]

4 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

Nope PDT rule doesn't apply to Aussie Resident. Doesn't need to hold 25k to day trade.

IB offers standard trading account . To switch to margin account ( leverage trading account ) , need to show liquid asset at least 100,000 USD and have minimum 3 years trading experience . Showing that liquid asset is easy only if you are with the banks that IB can assess easily . If the fund are in some other accounts , you are like stuck ( such as mortgage redraw account etc ) . Not saying it's not doable.. ( but well I'm not that encouraged to try that yet ) . Other reason is, with IG I can trade both Aussie and US easily ( PRT is much better than TWS ) . DAS platform support US stocks only. To trade Aussie stocks ( any stocks ) on TWS would be nightmare 😰. No deposit and withdraw fees with IG . 1% deposit fees ( minimum 50USD ) and they can hold the fund up to 7 days with IB. Depositing and withdrawing with IG is pretty easy for Aussie resident.

 V11 PRT would be a long awaited update for me as it will be able to show pre-market data.

 

hmm, so you don't need a min account of $25,000, you just need to prove you have over $100,000 liquid.

You can already get PRT V11 from PRT, you just need to hook it up to a broker that has  US premarket data, the problem is IG doesn't. 

[Tough_Cookie]

46 minutes ago, Caseynotes said:

hmm, so you don't need a min account of $25,000, you just need to prove you have over $100,000 liquid.

You can already get PRT V11 from PRT, you just need to hook it up to a broker that has  US premarket data, the problem is IG doesn't. 

Yes no PDT rule . No limitation to numbers of trades even if your account falls below 25K. 

IG has pre-market data if you are subscribed but you can't trade all stocks unless they are " all sessions ". Old platform ( web based ) charts show real-time pre-market data. Then why don't I just use web-based charts ? Because Web based charts does not have all functions such as hotkeys ( not very advanced but still useful for me ) and unable to load /monitor multiple charts simultaneously and so on.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Tough_Cookie

[Caseynotes]

3 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

Yes no PDT rule . No limitation to numbers of trades even if your account falls below 25K. 

IG has pre-market data if you are subscribed but you can't trade all stocks unless they are " all sessions ". Old platform ( web based ) charts show real-time pre-market data. Then why don't I just use web-based charts ? Because Web based charts has not all functions such as hotkeys ( not very advanced but still useful for me ) and unable to load /monitor multiple charts simultaneously.

IG 'all sessions' isn't exchange premarket data it's IG market making outside of US trading hours, not sure what subscriptions you are meaning. The data for IG's web based charts is the same data sent for the IG PRT chart creation.

From memory PRT do offer prices without using a broker but the commissions and the added exchange fees were way outside those offered by a competitive broker.

[Tough_Cookie]

13 minutes ago, Caseynotes said:

IG 'all sessions' isn't exchange premarket data it's IG market making outside of US trading hours, not sure what subscriptions you are meaning. The data for IG's web based charts is the same data sent for the IG PRT chart creation.

From memory PRT do offer prices without using a broker but the commissions and the added exchange fees were way outside those offered by a competitive broker.

Not at all. 

PRT cannot show pre-market data even if it is showing on web-based charts ( of course I made sure to compare with US based traders' real-time chart/ data with IG web-based charts )  . But it will be updated in V11.

I'm fully aware that PRT is not direct access software like DAS Trader. PRT is not the reason I'm with IG. IG is the reason I'm with PRT. If I can link IG to DAS I would do it in a heart beat. 😛

Ideally IB with DAS is the best for US stocks day trading in terms of commission . I'll get there one day. 

One thing I like about PRT is the ability to trade on the chart / simple hot key etc. There are always pros and cons as I've mentioned above such as fund transfer fees , conversion rate etc. 

At least I'm not paying anything for stock scanner as I'm in the trading community/chat.

Also PRT high volume scanner for Aussie stocks is not bad at all ( that is customisable ). I just hope we will be able to customise gap up and gap down scanner on PRT in the future.

Cheers .

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Tough_Cookie

[Caseynotes]

6 minutes ago, Tough_Cookie said:

Not at all. 

PRT cannot show pre-market data even if it is showing on web-based charts ( of course I made sure to compare with US based traders' real-time chart/ data with IG web-based charts )  . But it will be updated in V11.

I'm fully aware that PRT is not direct access software like DAS Trader. PRT is not the reason I'm with IG. IG is the reason I'm with PRT. If I can link IG to DAS I would do it in a heart beat. 😛

Ideally IB with DAS is the best for US stocks day trading in terms of commission . I'll get there one day. 

One thing I like about PRT is the ability to trade on the chart / simple hot key etc. There are always pros and cons as I've mentioned above such as fund transfer fees , conversion rate etc. 

At least I'm not paying anything for stock scanner as I'm in the trading community/chat.

Also PRT high volume scanner for Aussie stocks is not bad at all ( that is customisable ). I just hope we will be able to customise gap up and gap down scanner on PRT in the future.

Cheers .

 

you're not trying to copy Ross Cameron's US market open 'Stock Gappers' are you. There is a long and painful thread on that here somewhere, I'll try to remember the name and dig it out for you.

[Tough_Cookie]

1 minute ago, Caseynotes said:

you're not trying to copy Ross Cameron's US market open 'Stock Gappers' are you. There is a long and painful thread on that here somewhere, I'll try to remember the name and dig it out for you.

No way! Avoid penny stocks at all cost. 

[madraslover]

Hi Guys

 

Thanks very much to you all for taking the time to answer my questions.

I'm starting to get somewhere now.  USA Brokers Lightspeed and Speedtrader accept UK citizens.  I already hold an IB account in the UK but the downside for me with this is that due to whatever european rules changed in 2018, europeans can no longer trade USA ETF's unless they meet the criteria as a professional.   I will not have these issues with Lightspeed and Speedtrader.

Another option i am looking at is offshore brokers tradezero and CMEG.   As these are offshore (bahamas and trinidad based) you do not have to meet the pattern day trader minimums of $25k and they offer 6x leverage on very small accounts.

I'm doing trials for all these but so far struggling with their charting platforms (I was always a keen eSginal user but none of these get close to the performance and functions of that so far).

For IG, i believe they charge you 0.5% currency conversion fee each way for usa trading which is prohibitively expensive for the trades i do.  Also, I believe theres the option to hold the account in us$ but if you do this you get charged $15 each way.....again ridiculous when most of the american brokers are offering commission free trades now or 0.004  per share or $2.95 fixed for example.

My current IB account is via the UK tradestation which gives Realtick as part of it for free (albeit with slightly higher commissions via tradestation) but again am struggling with realtick, dont want to dedicate too much time to mastering it and instead just get up and running.

I'm having a walkthrough demonstration with tradestation tomorrow.

Maybe i just have to stop being a miser and pay up for eSignal and then choose the best broker for my trading.

I found bullishbears to be a great website just to bring some of the other brokers to my attention which i hadnt found on google amongst some other good info on chart programs etc

Thanks again guys, I'll keep you posted