Trade recap for January 25th

[Edit 1/28/2010:  I was wrong about Lightspeed being self-clearing. They clear through Penson normally but can also clear through Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing (GSEC). Please see my updated post on How to Borrow Shares to Short with info on Lightspeed.]

Daily profit: $50.00

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

0 thoughts on “Trade recap for January 25th”

  1. Hey!

    I use Lightspeed currently and I can’t say I’ve had any problems with it. I recall only two times that I wasn’t able to short something, but then again I’m not trading the hard to borrow stocks as much.

      1. Yeah, been busy since I got engaged 🙂 spent some time looking for a prop firm, and now I’m refining a scalable trade strategy.

        I actually started using LS because it was the only platform I could find that used ports my work wasn’t blocking, hehe.

  2. thanks for the info;

    One thing I wonder (and will contact and find out – can repost here if you want) is how they handle day trading funds generated from overnight sales. Penson will not let you trade these funds, no sure how gs views this. Certainly worth looking into.

    GL today,

    Joe

    1. Joe,

      The issue you’re talking about is present with all brokers because it’s a SEC/FINRA regulation.

      Basically, funds that you have because you liquidated an overnight position cannot be used for intraday trading. Otherwise you’ll get a margin call. This is an issue if you have a small account and you’re using most of your funds in a single trade.

      I learned that the hard way with TOS one time…I sold an overnight position, then did a day trade. Since my account is small, I used the funds from the overnight position to do the day trade. I got a margin call because of it.

  3. Congratulations on getting engaged! You’re a lucky man. 😉

    cwn6161 :

    Yeah, been busy since I got engaged :) spent some time looking for a prop firm, and now I’m refining a scalable trade strategy.

    I actually started using LS because it was the only platform I could find that used ports my work wasn’t blocking, hehe.

  4. Hey Reaper,

    I’ve been looking at Lightspeed since you mentioned it and have 1 question. Regarding funding requirements what’s the difference between Lightspeed trader and Web trader?

  5. Lightspeed has recently released web trader. The main difference between this and Lightspeed Trader is that web trader does not charge market data fees and does not have streaming quotes. In terms of funding – Web Trader has a $1,000 minimum where Lightspeed Trader has a $10,000 minimum. If anyone has specific questions they can send them to newaccounts@lightspeed.com.

  6. Two things you need to know about Lightspeed Trader Platform

    1) They allow you to short hard to borrow stocks. The Webtrader does not (you can only short those stocks that are easy to short, and can’t call in to borrow shares).

    2) They use a VPN connection. If you are weary about allowing this type of connection you should request their SSL version (what all other brokers use).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please complete the formula below to prove that you are human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.