IB and their real time services.......

[Angel]

Hello all,

I have a recurrent issue with NinjaTrader I would like to talk with you :

Two or three times per week, NT is disconnected with my broker IB with the following error message :

New account data requested.API client has been unscribed from account data.Rescrubscribe2AccountData

I have NO data subscription with IB because my main Real Time data provider is eSignal. What is worrying me is if prices reach my stop loss during this disconnection with IB, the order to close the current position would'nt be execute by IB !!!!

I dropped some lines to the NT desk support, this is their reply :

"Please contact IB, and subscribe to their real time services. You will need there data to place live trades".

So, I would like to get some real testimonials concerning the quality of the real time data services from Interactives Brokers, and IB RT data VS eSignal ?

Thanks for your lights

Happy trading

Cheers

Angel

[Russell Stagg]

I have used IB for about 4 years - found them to be mostly reliable. Have also used esignal and Tradestation - IB is more reliable IMHO. eg last week when TS went stale with their quotes for about an hour at the European open IB were ok. Of course if the problem is at the exchange then it often doesn't matter who you subscribe to.

Outtages will ALWAYS happen hence the need for multiple data feeds if you want to try and minimise your loss potential / maximise your profit potential.

Hope this helps.

[Angel]

Hello Russel,

Thanks for your reply, it's very kind of you :)

Concerning your experience with IB for about 4 years, did it concern REAL TIME or delayed data/EOD because I need REAL TIME data for my 3Min charts ?

Thanks

Best regards

Angel

[Russell Stagg]

Who uses delayed these days?

[tonis]

I have used RT data from IB since september and have found that they are 99% reliable.

The only time I got an outage was just after the first 0.50% drop in Fed rates announcement, some months back. It only lasted a few minutes.

I am very happy with their service, especially being FREE (provided a minimum account activity).

One little thing. I try not to use "simulated" stop orders, where orders are entered by NT the moment the stop is activated. I prefer a "real" stop loss order which sits at my broker. If the connection fails, my back is (almost) always covered.

Cheers

Anton

[Angel]

Hello Tonis,

I try not to use "simulated" stop orders, where orders are entered by NT the moment the stop is activated. I prefer a "real" stop loss order which sits at my broker. If the connection fails, my back is (almost) always covered.

Do you mean that you use NT just for entering the trade and place the stop loss order using Trader Workstation from IB ? If yes, would you mind to explain step by step the process and give me an example for a LONG trade ?

Thanks for your attention,

Cheers

Angel

[scJohn]

I have found the IB real time data feed to be just as reliable as Esignal and TS. You have to decide if you can live with the negatives: not a true tick feed so forget about tick, range and volume charts, limited historical data, servers are down on the weekends. There are others but those are the big ones.

[Russell Stagg]

I have found the IB real time data feed to be just as reliable as Esignal and TS. You have to decide if you can live with the negatives: not a true tick feed so forget about tick, range and volume charts, limited historical data, servers are down on the weekends. There are others but those are the big ones.

Actually TS is a "streaming snapshot" quote (That's from their IT dept helpdesk some time ago) - a true tick quote is incredibly expensive and unusual in the retail world I believe. But you're right IB won't do Tick charts natively.

[tonis]

Do you mean that you use NT just for entering the trade and place the stop loss order using Trader Workstation from IB ? If yes, would you mind to explain step by step the process and give me an example for a LONG trade ?



No, I don't mean that. NT interacts with the IB TWS both for entering and exiting. But, there is an option in NT where the order is not transferred to the IB server until certain conditions are met ("simulated stop"). This prevents drawing attention to your unusally large order (pretty unlikely in my case!), for example.

I never use that option, to avoid my order from not being on time, or not entered at all. That's all.

Cheers

tonis

[Angel]

Hello Tonis,

This is exactly what I have been looking for :)

Because I'm not familiar with NT settings, would you mind to tell me the exact settings you use for avoiding "simulated stop orders" ?

Thanks for your careful attention

Happy trading

Best regards

Angel

[tonis]

They are easy to avoid. All orders are non-simulated unless you say otherwise.

More info, albeit very limited:

http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/HelpGuideV6/helpguide.html

Cheers!

[Angel]

Hello Tonis and all,

Let me thank you all for your help, it's very kind of you :)

Have a nice trading journey

Cheers

Angel