[John]

Hello all it’s great to meet you.

I have recently got into day trading and have one account (I won’t say who with) but they’ve been crap, high fees, sometimes orders aren’t filled, absolutely  abismal help when I need it. So I’m going to change broker but I don’t want to make the same mistake twice, so what do you all look for when picking a firm for day trades?

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[Damien]

This feels familiar, I’ve had this experience myself John. Slick advertising and lots of ‘good’ reviews but then you join and it’s a different story, orders don’t fill at the requested price, the support team don’t know their head from their arse and actually withdrawing money is easier than finding ice in a desert.

That’s why now I stick to the big brands who’ve been around for ages and I always start with a simulator account. If they’re sh*** during my trial I’m out.

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[Steve]

1. Are they regulated? 2. Can you reach them on the phone? 3. Do you like the platform? 4. Are the fees low on the securities you want to trade. 5. Do other traders rate them?

Those are the 5 things I look for.

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[James Barra]

Hi John,

Have you read our guide on day trading brokers?

We have broken down some of the key considerations we, and you, may want to consider when picking a platform for day trading, namely trust and regulation, pricing, charting platforms, investment offering, execution quality, leverage requirements and account funding. We’ve explained why these are important and compared top firms in each category.

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[John]

Hello,

Thanks all for providing your insights, I’m keeping all these things in mind. Fingers crossed I have better luck on the next one.

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[Christian Harris]

What country are you in and what instruments do you trade?

For day trading forex I use IC Markets, or TopFX when I want to trade indices using micro lots (IC Markets has a minimum 1 lot trade size for indices). Spreads and execution times are excellent for both.

For day trading stocks, I use IG.

For swing trading and investing in stocks, I use eToro.

I hope that helps!

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[Juan23]

Beyond the basics like regulation, pricing and execution are absolutely critical for day trading.

Lots of platforms advertise fees from X but then you start trading and never see those spreads which can make executing profitable day trades extremely difficult.

Execution is just as important because delays will lead to sub optimal prices. I stick with firms known for their fast speeds like Blackbull.

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[Trade2Day]

John what is it that you trade? And do you have a preference in terms of platform, as in one you already use such as cTrader as not all firms offer that? I’d also be thinking about pricing structures, do you want tight spreads in return for paying a small commission?

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[John]

FX mainly though I dabble in European indices. I’m actually not fussy about the platform as long it has a reasonable charting package, I’ve used cTrader and plenty of web platforms over the years. I really want low spreads and that’s why I’ve steered clear of IG to date although I know it’s been suggested on here. I don’t think they do a low spread/commission account.

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[Trade2Day]

Have you looked at IG’s DMA account? That does have pretty low spreads on currencies – 0.165 average on EURUSD and 0.399 on average on USDCHF. I can’t fault their execution either – it’s always fast and filled.

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[John]

I did not know this existed! You are a gem, thank you

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