Since September 2014, I've been charged three times @ $0.01:
| USD | ||
| 2014-09-12 | Order Cancellation Fee for Sep 2014 | -0.01 |
| 2014-12-26 | Order Cancellation Fee for Dec 2014 | -0.01 |
| 2015-01-02 | Order Cancellation Fee for Jan 2015 | -0.01 |
| Total | -0.03 | |
IB is great for their overall low option and stock trading commissions. However, there is pressure to keep up with your commission cost to avoid data fees that you subscribe to. If you don't meet their minimum requirement in trading fees, you will be charged for data fees for the exchanges you subscribe to. In the month of November, I did not meet their quota and was charged $11.27.
| CAD | ||
| 2014-10-01 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Sep 2014 | 1.68 |
| 2014-10-01 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Sep 2014 | -1.68 |
| 2014-10-01 | US Security and Commodity Exchanges for Sep 2014 | 11.20 |
| 2014-10-01 | US Security and Commodity Exchanges for Sep 2014 | -11.20 |
| 2014-11-05 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Oct 2014 | 1.69 |
| 2014-11-05 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Oct 2014 | -1.69 |
| 2014-11-05 | US Security and Commodity Exchanges for Oct 2014 | -11.27 |
| 2014-12-03 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Nov 2014 | 1.71 |
| 2014-12-03 | US Options Level I Non-Professional for Nov 2014 | -1.71 |
| 2014-12-03 | US Security and Commodity Exchanges for Nov 2014 | 11.41 |
| 2014-12-03 | US Security and Commodity Exchanges for Nov 2014 | -11.41 |
| Total | -11.27 | |
IB offers the cheapest commission for option trading by far in Canada. But I would like to point out the "hidden" costs behind IB from a real honest review.
Disclosure: To date, I have paid $112.51 in commissions @ IB for 72 contracts.
Thanks for sharing this info about IB. I have a friend that has been on IB for many years and swear by it. He loves it for options trading. I'm not quite there for options trading but I'm not against it.
ReplyDeleteIB is the cheapest brokerage for option trading in Canada. If I were to stick to my old brokerage, I wouldn't make the trades I do now. It is a good platform, I still have a lot to learn about options myself... I find it forces me to make a decision rather than ponder on it like I do with my longer term stock holds.
DeleteThat's it though: you don't have to subscribe to those data fees... You can use your other brokerage platforms or even google finance to get the numbers you want and enter your limit orders accordingly.
ReplyDeleteThe crux of it though: the paultry monthly fees are as spendy as 1 option trade a month with any other brokerage. You go with IB because you KNOW you will be saving money. The difference for me? 1 spread a month. Yeah, ONE.
My monthly spend including fees at IB is $75-125 a month. My monthly spending on fees before I switched to IB was $200-400 a month. So for me, it's a huge savings.
Subscribing to data for real time quotes is much easier to make a trade on the same platform than switching back and forth between screens. Don't really like to have a blank slate in front of me as I'm entering in an order.
DeleteI am with IB for their lower option commission fees, but I do feel the pressure to make a trade to offset the $10/mo inactivity fee + other data fees when subscribe. It's great for higher volume trader like you, but not so great for a lower volume trader like me. I guess it's time for me to make some spreads instead of selling 1 put option at a time. This month, I only did 3 contracts for $2.67 in IB vs 1 contract for $10.99 in VB. Time for me to look for new plays in my IB account.