MB Trading Review

MB Trading Review

MB Trading is built with active and seasoned investors in mind, while also catering to intermediate investors. The broker offers the full spectrum of trading: equities, options, futures and forex. While most prominently known for forex trading (we ranked them No. 1 for forex in our 2011 Forex Review), the broker's other offerings are also strong.

This review will only focus on MB Trading's equity and options offering. 

Commissions & Fees

For regular stock trades, two commission plans are offered: flat fee $4.95 per trade and the other is $0.0075 per share with a $4.95 minimum per trade. Options trades are $.95 per contract with no minimum.

One important note for options trading is that MB Trading charges a $10 data fee for options, which is waived if 10 options contracts are traded each month. The same goes for a $6 data feed for equities, which is waived if $25 in commissions is spent during the month.

Lastly, mutual funds are not supported by MB Trading. 

When it comes to commissions and fees, active traders will find MB Trading's rates competitive, however, not as low as some deep discount competitors such as Lightspeed, Interactive Brokers and Cobra Trading.

	MB Trading	TradeStation	Interactive Brokers	optionsXpress	OptionsHouse
Stock Trades	$4.95	$9.99	N/A	$8.95	$3.95
Options Base	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$8.50
Per Contract	$0.95	$1.00	$0.70	$1.50	$0.15
Broker Trades	$4.95	$20.00	$100.00	$8.95	$3.95
Commissions, Fees

Platforms & Tools, Mobile

MB Trading offers a variety of platforms, with the two primary ones for equities trading being MBT Desktop Pro (desktop-based) and MBT Web (web-based). The broker also offers mobile apps for the iPhone, Android and iPad.

MBT Desktop Pro is not built for newer investors, and instead has active traders at heart. From trade hotkeys to market depth ladder trading, level II quotes, advanced charting, one-click trading buttons, completely customizable watch lists, direct market access and all data real-time streaming, there is a lot to like.

The weaknesses with the platform include a lack of snap windows for easy setup, lack of depth for available studies for charting (we counted just more than 50 available) and limited option trade analysis (P&L reporting is minimal, and probability and risk analysis could be more intuitive for less experienced traders.)

As far as speed and smoothness goes, MBT Desktop Pro is the flagship platform, a pleasant experience and bug-free. However, the same cannot be said for MBT Web and Mobile. We found opening and closing MBT Web in Chrome to be a headache, and the iPhone app was clearly not updated to support the iPhone or iOS 6, as bugs were so bad we had to use an iPod instead. 

On the positive side, the iPad app has a lot of potential. It is apparent that MB Trading's mobile strategy is to create a seamless user experience whether on mobile or the web, and given proper tech resources alongside time, they may very well accomplish their mission.

Back to MBT Desktop Pro, one big positive for active traders is the order entry capabilities. Customizing and placing orders, despite the type, is a smooth experience. The number of order types available is also staggering, with 28 total available as of this review.

Other Notes

Like most active trader-focused brokers (in this case TradeStation, Lightspeed, Interactive Brokers and Cobra Trading) MB Trading does not offer any research, and education is extremely weak. This is expected.

One disappointment came through our customer service testing. MB Trading's support, whether it be phone, email or live chat, was very inconsistent. Some reps were nice, while others made us feel rushed and unappreciated. In some phone calls, we had a connection in less than a minute, while others took up to five minutes. One email came back in less than an hour, while another took more than two days. Overall, when it comes to customer service, MB Trading has room for improvement.

On the positive side, MB Trading's website has made significant improvements in the past year. We find the main site to be fresh, well organized and very easy to navigate. For a broker with such a diverse offering, this is no easy task, and while MB Trading has done multiple iterations of its website, we feel this one is the best yet.

Closing Thoughts

MB Trading is a broker built for active traders and investors who not only have an interest in stocks, but also options, futures and forex. The flagship platform, MBT Desktop Pro, is fast, bug-free and an order entry magician. Coupled with its competitive commissions rates, this makes MB Trading a legitimate competitor for any investor's portfolio.

Like all brokers, there is also room for improvement. The MBT Web platform and mobile apps look very promising, but still have too many bugs to make them top contenders. Customer service is also weak, with inconsistency and a lack of attention to detail making for a poor client experience.

MB Trading is heading in the right direction. The focus on innovative technology and dramatic improvements to its website in 2012 signal that MB Trading has the potential to be among the best of the best for equities and options trading.