How are their prices on high volume of penny stocks? ... seemed in my review a couple years ago very high relative to the flat 7.99 deals. maybe I was mistaken?
IAB has two pricing structures, bundled & unbundled. For us little guys, the bundled charges are:
.01 cents/share or 0.5% of trade (CAN), whichever is smaller. Exchange fees are additional.
If you're a high volume penny trader (I'm not), this won't be much use to you, but call them and ask - they may cut you a deal.
Flat rate brokers are to some extent a false economy depending on the nature of your trading. For example, if I'm selling 1000 shares of a $50 stock and I get a 1 cent better price on an alternate exchange, that's a difference of $10. The flat rate guy may not even have access to that exchange, or may be getting paid to route your order through an exchange with a less competitive bid. When you trade above a certain size these things start to matter - something you have to look at in the total context. Another example - let's say I'm day trading APPL in 100 share lots. That's $2 per round at IAB, vs. $16 with the "discount" guy. It adds up.
One thing I like about IAB is it's all under one roof - foreign markets, stocks, bonds, futures, options, currencies. You don't have to maintain separate accounts and trading platforms. You also have the option of linking your own trading program to their system. I haven't done that myself but it's there if I ever need it.
I imagine the best broker to have for trading pennies in size is one that's close to that market. Again, it's a matter of negotiating based on the total amount of business you bring them. Another consideration is access to placements. The closer you are, the better your chances of getting in, if that's your game.
Please note, I'm no expert on any of this stuff - I just chip away at it like some poor gampiero clinging to a ledge. If you've ever seen "Flight of the Phoenix" you may remember the German aircraft designer? That's me. All he'd built up to that point was models, but like he said.... the principles are the same.
ebear
