[abboman]

Does anyone have some thoughts or experience on which brokerage firms have the best order fills and executions in the futures markets?
I use IB right now but am thinking of switching over to infinity, because I have heard they have faster fills than most firms.

[BlowFish]

I would be surprised if you notice any tangible difference. TT and Zenfire are considered by many to be the fastest order execution engines. Latency internet => broker => exchange and back again is likely a large part of the equation. Are you having issues? Could you use resting orders (stops and/or limits)?

[Soultrader]

The "hosted gateway" model is perhaps ideal in regards to latency for an active trader. The servers are held directly at the exchange so an order would go like this:

Trader > Exchange Server (with your FCM/broker tag on it)

On the other hand, a decrease in latency would most likely follow this route:

Trader > FCM (or broker) > Exchange

So basically the first model skips the order from going to your broker first eliminating the extra step.

Ask your broker if the servers are held directly on the exchange or not.

[BlowFish]

Yes good point James. Having said that the bigger latency issues is likely to be client to broker/exchange. There is an argument that having a broker close to the client is better as the brokers infrastructure to the exchange is likely to be as fast or faster than the internet. Actually in many countries the worse performing bit is going to be the 'local loop' (A)DSL especially at peak times when contention becomes an issue.

The question remains do you have to use market orders? Are you getting slippage? Could you use native (to the exchange) resting orders? I wonder the reason for your question, I still think you are unlikely to see much difference between brokers. To be honest I have not had problems with IB though sometimes Zenfire/Mirus 'feels' faster. I think that might just be the feel of the client (Bracket Trader with IB and Ninja With Mirus) both can 'stutter' for a split second sometimes. Where are you located and what sort of internet connection do you have? I still reckon that you are likely to see better improvements looking at that.

[Soultrader]

Originally Posted by BlowFish »

Actually in many countries the worse performing bit is going to be the 'local loop' (A)DSL especially at peak times when contention becomes an issue.

Yes that is absolutely true. Some fail to realize that internet connectivity as well as your PC specs can delay datafeed. My office PC runs a dual core and yet I still run into data delay issues when the markets take off. On my home pc running a quad core, I do not see this issue at all.

Fortunately in Japan, many are now connected by fiber optics so our internet speed is lighting fast. Those trading next to the CME are going to have a latency edge compared to traders from abroad accessing CME as well.

[BlowFish]

Things in the UK aren't too bad but the 'last mile' (that is usually less than a mile) is copper. ADSL2 gives double digit speeds but most ISP's here work on contention ratios on the link between the local exchange and the backbone network. You have to start paying bigger bucks for 1:1 contention ratios.

[brownsfan019]

Originally Posted by abboman »

Does anyone have some thoughts or experience on which brokerage firms have the best order fills and executions in the futures markets?
I use IB right now but am thinking of switching over to infinity, because I have heard they have faster fills than most firms.

I use Open ECry and very satisfied.

[TraderJean]

Originally Posted by abboman »

Does anyone have some thoughts or experience on which brokerage firms have the best order fills and executions in the futures markets?
I use IB right now but am thinking of switching over to infinity, because I have heard they have faster fills than most firms.

Hi Abboman,

I have used Infinity for over a year now and highly recommend them. The feed is as fast as anything out there plus rates and service are great. They also have a 30 day demo with realtime data you can try out. My broker is Tom Duffy - PM me for more information. I think he is offering a special right now.

yours in trading,

Jean