ivankyou for all your help so far.
Ok Sir Ivankalot, you have now hereby convinced me through bringing me to the logical conclusion that I am simply losing money unnecessarily at Swiss brokers, to finalise an IB account and get rid of my Swiss brokers. I figure that the $10 commission may be do-able if I portion my salary into stocks each month, and even if it isn't do-able it will, as you say, still easily beat the yearly Swiss broker trading/holding/stampduty costs. I figure I may be able to hit 100k in a reasonable time which will then cut out the inactivity fees anyway.
I'm tempted to open an account with IB as well and I applied for a demo account. I have been testing their software (TWS) for the last 2 days and it is very intimidating Being used to the more 'user-friendly' alternatives like Postfinance or Swissquote, this looks very professional and I have my issues getting around it...
Well then don't use it. They have far simple UIs too and a friendly mobile app
At first glance yes. After a few weeks and when you will have customized it to your needs you will find it very powerful and easy to use.
If you just want to exchange currency and buy ETFs, you don't need TWS. Just use WebTrader. It looks really simple and is easy to use. TWS looks like a software for somebody who has four 30" screens and wears red suspenders.
Uuuuh that's a different story I didn't know about WebTrader but I agree that this is so much better to start with.
Thanks a lot guys, another convinced EF member switching to IB
WebTrader link-> https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=4990
Holy smokes. This thread couldn't be more relevant.
I was just looking for something like this, convinced that there has to be a better way than all those insane fees (imagine I even thought of opening a trading account with UBS... and then I saw the fees, and was like, uh, nope).
So basically IB seems like the best platform, even for newbies? Basically I would plan to keep a more substantial amount in Swiss ETFs without minimum trading or fees, possibly on Swissquote or so, and use this one for some less important trading in stocks and industries that I know of because of my hobbies or other activities.
The Web Trader doesn't seem to open for me on Chrome (and their website looks completely broken) I hope that's not a problem. Hopefully I'll get to open an account with them then.
What about this new Degiro.ch thing that keeps popping up in ads? Their price comparison - if you believe it - suggests incredibly low fees, and they are a rather large entity from the Netherlands.
I've looked at some forum threads in German about them. It seems that the fees aren't a problem, but people get screwed by customer service.
ΙΒ GUI is not difficult but you need a few days to learn it and customise it.
People should also consider these platforms:
or
from TDAmeritrade.
tastyworks is pretty cheap, but only you can decide how much ease of use is worth to you. I use both, and IB.
What's the advantage to just using Ameritrade?
Actually not much unless you are a very infrequent trader only wanting to trade on the NYSE (the only exchange they will trade on).
Thats incorrect, they trade all US markets including OTC & pink sheets. Most foreign companies are traded as ADR's so no local stamp duty either.
Fair enough, but all I meant (and I worded it badly based on my not knowing the other US options) was that you can't trade on non-US stock markets.
In addition to the comments from others, the thinkorswim (TOS) platform is pretty impressive. tastyworks is getting there with their platform and product offering
Hello, probably the question is not new
Do you know where to find a clear explanation (possibly not in german) concerning all the forms of taxation related to online trading (i.e. stocks, bonds, funds, dividends, US and EU markets, etc.)?
Specific information on how filling the tax form for permit B holders would be a plus. Am I asking too much?
Thanks!
what is the name of the trading site that has the name swiss in it? thanks. trying to search.
Another happy IB user here.
I opened it a couple of weeks ago and am switching from a UK broker (HL).
The commissions are unbelievably low, for currency exchange and for buying stocks. The interface is also very nice once you get used to it.
I especially like the freedom of adding money from different currency accounts and holding them in that same currency, to exchange whenever you like into another currency if needed.
Is there a min amount that IB requires in order to give you a good rate in currency conversions? For example 10k?
Swissquote.com