Hello fellow Bloggees

I use IB as a trading platform and it is very fast and efficient in trade execution. IB also provides a wealth of streaming features for technical analysis. The options platform is particularly good and the commission costs are very low. Forex costs are dirt cheap. Cons...The minimum asset requirements is 100K and they don't do RRSP's.
I like the platform very much but I have one concern (probably unfounded). How safe is the money deposited in this corporation. Or what are the financial risks in using a platform like this is the event of a market shaking event. Could a knowledgeable bloggee please address this issue.

Good question, quail. When you look at the due dilligence materials, you see that most of their businesss is options, where they claim to have 22% of market share. I wondered whether they have large proprietary positions in options and whether this poses financial risk for those who trade by IB.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/about/ibgStrength.php?ib_entity=llc

I use IB also, a very fast, stable, and highly customizable platform with an API for doing your own electronic trading if you wish.

I'm mostly a casual investor though, and I like the low commissions and access to forex, options, and stocks in multiple markets all from the same trading station.