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Dubai, UAE
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Quantower
Trading: Futures Spreads and Options on Futures
Posts: 34 since Feb 2016
Thanks Given: 14
Thanks Received: 62
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Despite their advantages in terms of commissions and data fees, I originally passed on NinjaTrader Brokerage due to them confirming: a) no insurance protection for client funds and b) no two-factor provision on account authentication. I recently rethought the decision, but anticipated that these attributes would cause me to transfer a smaller amount of funds to the account than might have been the case, had these protections been in place.
Here was my experience with client on-boarding.
- The turn-around on the application process was quick. On Friday of last week I received notification that my account was open and ready for funding (that’s where the positives end).
- On Saturday (i.e. the next day) I received a message from someone at NinjaTrader Brokerage who didn’t introduce himself, or explain his role in relation to my account. Instead of orientating his communication toward actually being helpful, he demanded that I tell him when I am going to be funding my account. This apparently being required by his Treasury Team. Why they should require advance notification of an incoming wire transfer that would be carrying the correct account information was never made clear. It also wasn’t made clear why this was apparently so urgent. For good measure, this individual also suggested that I should take the effort to put any friends or colleagues who are seeking a futures trading account in touch with him. Given that I’d no prior contact with him, hadn’t yet used the service and given the attitude demonstrated, it was unclear why he’d imagine that I’d go out of my way to find any business for him.
- I then wrote to the EVP of brokerage operations. On Monday I received a non-apology apology from him i.e. “apologies if you felt….”. (The implication being that what was at issue was my perception, rather than the experience actually evident through the email history). Nothing was said about any specific corrective action being applied – presumably because none had been. Consequently, I can only presume that sales people hassling new clients to quickly fund their accounts is sanctioned by management at the brokerage in order to get the commissions rolling as quickly as possible.
- Given the wholly ineffectual response from the EVP of brokerage operations I then wrote to NinjaTrader CEO Raymond Deux. Unfortunately, while he has time to present webinars, he seemingly doesn’t have time to respond to client complaints.
The value of a NinjaTrader multi-broker lifetime license is obviously questionable when a) the number of supported brokers is already so limited and b) the company’s own brokerage behaves in an aggressive way that makes entrusting them with funds inappropriate. Whatever I have already spent on software, I am not going to give a company yet more of my business if I feel that they are treating me with contempt.
With new platforms like Tradovate and IQBroker coming on stream I can only hope that others may avoid the mistake of tying themselves into the NinjaTrader ecosystem.
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