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Was thinking of using something like SureTrader or TradeZero (I'm not an American) just to avoid PDT and the settlement date issue. I'd essentially not be over leveraging my account as I'll only trade with what I have.

In a way, I'll only be using "margin" to continue day trading while waiting for my sell orders to settle. Any flaws with this?

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Yes. You are correct. You can use margin like this no problem.

Just my opinion, you should go to a reputable brokerage like Interactive brokers. You know they will never make problems for you and they have the highest credit rating. It’s the safest brokerage in my opinion.

I have not heard of the brokerages you mentioned... maybe it’s good but I wouldn’t personally take the risk.

Ask me any questions if you still have any. I used to be an active day trader and have some opinions. ><

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  • Thanks for your answer! I currently use IB but the biggest issue is my small capital, meaning PTD and settlement dates make it hard to day trade. Hence the reason i mentioned the 2 brokers.
    – fauxylar96
    Nov 9, 2019 at 6:58
  • @fauxylar96, I don’t understand your comment. You can convert your IB account to a margin account and get the benefit you seek without switching to another broker.
    – prl
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:07
  • I thought the same thing but assumed he didn’t have the 2,000 minimum. maybe different for other countries but I doubt it. Nice comment @prl
    – Yoshi Onimusha
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:39
  • What rate does your margin account charge? Is there a minimum fee?
    – JACK
    Nov 9, 2019 at 16:28
  • @JACK like 2% interest per year or less? something ridiculously low. There is no minimum fee. I think there is an $10 a monthly fee for an IB account which gets deducted by commissions. so fee is $10-commissions. (0 fee when around 2,000 shares traded.) Then you pay for whatever data you want or you can use free data like yahoo/google then make ur trades on IB if you want. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=14193 I really should say, Interactive Brokers is not considered new user friendly, Since TD/Schwab are free commissions now.
    – Yoshi Onimusha
    Nov 10, 2019 at 2:33
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Using an offshore broker circumvents the PDT rule.

Trading in a margin account in the US allows you to use unsettled funds, avoiding settlement date violations that could happen in a cash account. It's a de facto line of credit while waiting for trades to settle. I assume it's the same offshore.

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  • Yep exactly what i was thinking. Have you tried either suretrader or tradezero?
    – fauxylar96
    Nov 9, 2019 at 7:20
  • I have not used Suretrader or Tradezero (been with IBKR for 20 years or so). For regulatory reasons, I have a fundamental distrust of offshore brokers. A long time ago, I took a broker to arbitration (and won damages). I doubt that I would have succeeded if the broker was offshore and could have blown off FINRA and the SEC.
    – Bob Baerker
    Nov 9, 2019 at 13:10

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