Executions are quick. They don't run your stops (at least I haven't seen evidence of it yet) like a lot of other brokers I've seen. For the most part they appear to be honest, though, granted, I've only been using them since May of '06. I've heard people say they don't help you--that they're support is terrible--but every time I have an issue I go through the problem ticket, which is quicker than an email, and I get a prompt answer (usually less than 24 hours). The spreads on forex are usually equal to or better than Oanda, though they do widen a bit (briefly) during news events, and not by as much as Oanda, who seem to be the benchmark in this game. The software platform takes some getting used to but how many forex brokers do you know where you can trade every other financial instrument conceivable from the same platform?!

For Forex trading, you dont get ( as at Sep 2006) by trade profit a loss calculations live. Spreads on majors are the best out there. However trading the Crosses of the majors is not as clear as MT4 platform. They way they handle Forex Swap is a bit more confusing than standard fix brokers. You trade either large forex contract (IDEALPROD) or small contract. To conclude ok for position trading forex, not so good for intraday trading. Purely as the platform is not as good as MT4.

PROS: Great on costs (.2 pip) and usually the tighest spreads. Low cost stock and option trading too. Fast and easy withdrawals, not a hassle like some other brokers (mbtrading - can only fax in request, no electronic) CONS: Worst customer service ever. I was once chatting to a rep because my charts weren't working, and after he said lemme check something, he never came back. I didn't terminate the session for like 30+minutes -got NOTHING. I gave it awful ratings, and sent it in, no response. They also respond rather rudely and dismissively to any kind of problems or complaints. SCAM: Though they have the tightest spreads, some of those spreads I have to say are fake (maybe to scare you into taking the opposite position/closing or to make themselves look better, I don't know) because sometimes I see the quote and I send a limit order but doesn't get filled. Sometimes the quote gets even better by .5 pip or something and still no fill. Or I send limit orders ahead of time and the quote comes up, but no fill. Another thing, on margin calls: if you deal with IDEALPRO you get nice spreads, but IDEAL has awful spreads, but you have to trade larger lots to trade on PRO. If you get a margin call, they close positions using IDEAL, and they will steal about 10pips from you. I had them cover 19,000+ euros, just a few euros under the minimum (20,000), so they could use their IDEAL system and steal 10 pips. And it wasn't even necessary to cover 19,000+ to bring the margin above 5%. Bottom line: they don't care about you and treat you like c***, but will give you low cost service. And be careful of some of the fishiness

I have used IB for a couple of months for stocks and options very successfully. However, I wanted to move to forex to trade after work. Their platform is good as I said for stocks and options, but forex is totally another monster. 1-You have to decide if you are going to use IDEALPRO or IDEAL. 2-You have to learn how to place an order for this market 3-No P&L tracking for forex. 4-As soon as your position is bought it just vanishes from the order book. You have to quickly go to the trades done in the day to keep a log of the execution price and be able to calculate your P&L. 5-There is no such thing as a lot. You buy/sell money with a minimum of $25K for IDEALPRO. Very hard to get out of a position, as you sell back your long position and there will be a remainder of the currency pair in your account. If you want to convert back to USD, then you have to use IDEAL, which is more money you waste in the process. 6-Their support is good for stocks, but they don't explain you how to do forex. You have to figure it out from some links they have on their website, which leave more questions than answers. Overall. I like and will continue with IB for stocks, but I will be fishing for another broker for forex. Ah, last comment. Their chart software sucks! You will have to find another package like Quotetracker if you are serious about doing stocks or forex.

They sure have an elaborate and impressive platform. And if you want to be able to trade every kind of financial instrument, then they would be worth considering. I even think IB would be OK for Forex, but NOT During news announcements. I executed a trade upon news announcment, and the market moved 30 pips and a full 4 seconds, before I got filled. I ended up losing 1 pip, when I realistically couuld have made 20+. They were professional and did the research to tell me that the banks simply rejected my order multiple times, until it was finally executed after 4 seconds. They are very technologically advanced, and I may even still use them, esp for automated trading, based on technicals, but I surely Will Not use them for trading around the news.