Guardian Trading Review

Guardian Trading Ratings at a Glance

Guardian Trading Product and Systems Offerings

Guardian Trading offers traders sponsored access to stock and options markets, allowing them to execute trades independently without intermediaries. The platform leverages its institutional-grade trading infrastructure encompassing multiple  trading platforms and routing options to deliver an exceptional trading experience for scalpers and day traders, high-frequency and momentum traders, short-sellers and expert traders seeking speed and control over their strategies. Guardian Trading stands out in its ability to adapt to the needs of various traders with diverse strategies, delivering a tailored experience and pricing structures. Here's an overview of the trading tools, features and platforms powering this brokerage.

Short Locates and Borrow

In short selling, investors or traders sell assets they don't own, typically by borrowing them, expecting the asset's price to decrease so that they can repurchase it at a lower price and profit from the difference. Although short selling has its downsides, it presents an excellent opportunity to earn profits for professional traders with access to locate required and easy-to-borrow stocks. Locate required stocks are securities for which there is significant demand among traders looking to engage in short selling because of factors like negative news or overvaluation.

Traditional brokerages typically only provide easy-to-borrow stocks for short-selling, reserving locate required stocks for traders with substantial capital or in special arrangements. Sponsored access brokers offer locate required stocks and the tools to locate such equities. The Firm’s proprietary short-locate tool, "Velocity Locate," is built on speed and efficiency, enabling traders to locate the stocks to borrow for their shorting strategies. Unlike most sponsored access brokers, Guardian Trading's short-locate charges are competitive and affordable, and traders can use the tool throughout the day from 4 a.m.. to 8 p.m..

Additionally, traders have access to an impressive list of locate required and easy-to-borrow stocks for shorting, further reducing the expenses associated with shorting securities. However, it's essential to consider overnight borrowing costs, which can vary based on daily demand, and overnight holding costs..

Multiple Order Routing

Guardian Trading grants you access to over 30 trading routes, allowing you to route your trades to various exchanges depending on your specific trading strategy and goals. These routes are categorized into four groups: 1) aggressive routes, 2) electronic communication network (ECN) and exchange access, 3) dark liquid aggregators and 4) midpoint and algo specialty routes. Guardian also offers “smart” routes which utilize Velocity-managed destinations to maximize cost-effective routing for all market sessions and can be used from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Available Order Management Systems

DAS Trader Pro

The DAS Trader Pro platform is one of the most widely used platforms for traders at Guardian. The short locate window allows traders to seamlessly check availability and pricing of locates. Traders can choose to accept locates within the window and begin trading these securities. In addition to equities, DAS offers options trading, stock scanners, news, replay features and paper trading. Try the DAS 14 day free trial to familiarize yourself with the platform before live trading. https://snapshot.dastrader.mobi/newwidget3.html?a=34F42F3F-41A3-4814-A993-188D556D7908

Sterling Trader® Pro

Sterling Trader® Pro is another platform offered by Guardian for equities and options trading. Sterling offers advanced order types, ticker watchlists and robust charts. Sterling also offers the ability to check for Guardian locates within the platform.

Guardian Trading Account Minimum

Guardian Trading requires a minimum initial deposit of $30,000. In order to trade you need to maintain at least $25,000 at the start of the day. The entirety of Guardian’s accounts are Pattern Day Traders. If you fall below $25,000 you will need to wire in funds to be over the PDT threshold. Once you submit a wire to Guardian, the wire will need one business day to clear and it will reflect in your account the next business day.

Guardian Trading offers well-rounded customer support across multi-channel including phone, email and LiveChat. The LiveChat feature facilitates real-time responses and immediate assistance from the support team. However, if you prefer to speak directly with a customer service representative, you can do that via phone (201-499-7397). Response time is about a minute. You can email the support team for less urgent inquiries at acctsupport@velocityclearingllc.com

Guardian Trading is a division of Velocity Clearing, a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). FINRA ensures investor protection by overseeing brokerage firms and enforcing rules. SIPC provides insurance coverage up to $500,000 for each customer's securities and cash held by a brokerage firm in case of firm insolvency. Both champion transparency and ensure investor protection in the financial markets.

Guardian Trading offers a transparent fee structure. To open an account, you need a minimum of $30,000, and you must maintain at least $25,000 in your account afterward in the form of cash or securities. If your account falls below $25,000 at the beginning of the day, you'll be limited to closing transactions. The trading commission for equities can be as low as 0.0005 per share, depending on your daily trading volume. High-volume traders benefit from significant discounts on commissions. You can negotiate a lower commission with customer service if you trade a substantial volume daily.

The commissions for different daily trading volumes are shown in the table below. Remember, specific regulatory and account-related fees might be applicable.

Guardian's commission structure for options caters to active traders and provides discounts to high-volume traders. The options contracts for different daily trading volumes are shown in the table below.

Software fees vary by platform, but they are waived if you generate a certain number of commissions. The DAS level 2 (Guardian Trader) all-in package costs $150 per month, but this fee is waived if your monthly commissions total $599 or more. Guardian will waive $100 in additional add-ons. This feature can benefit professional traders who trade daily, as their commission fees will likely exceed $599 per month. Add-ons may include Pink Sheet Level 2 ($50), Newsbody ($30) and NASDAQ Total View ($20), depending on your individual preferences.

You can add as many add-ons as you need if you're willing to pay for them. The Sterling Trader (Guardian Trading ) package (including NASDAQ Total View) costs $275 monthly. Guardian waives this fee if your monthly commissions total $799 or more. An additional add-on fee waiver is applicable.

When short-selling, it's essential to consider borrowing charges, which vary based on asset demand, and overnight holding fees, which tend to fluctuate. When you short a stock on a Wednesday and keep the position overnight, you'll be subject to weekend holding charges for Saturday and Sunday.

Guardian accepts wires for account funding, which can take about one business day. The Firm will process ACH (free) transfers and wire ($25) transfers for withdrawals from your Guardian account. You can use phone, email or live chat to initiate a withdrawal.

If you're a Benzinga user, you can take advantage of Guardian's special promo, which offers a 0.0012 locates rate with no minimum, a 50% discount on locates for equities and access to options commissions starting at just 0.35 cents per contract.

Guardian Trading offers a tailored experience to satisfy the needs of diverse active traders. Most traders will either go for the award-winning DAS Trader Pro or Sterling Trader® Pro, considered one of the best online trading platforms in the financial market. Either way, they'll benefit from a user-friendly interface with customizable charts, watchlists, daily market gainers and losers, advanced order routing, real-time analytics, account summaries and hotkey customizations. Hotkey customizations enable you to assign specific keyboard keys to execute particular trades, streamlining the process for faster and more efficient trading, especially when you need to enter or exit a stock position quickly.

Account opening or registration is hassle-free; for individual accounts, it takes about one to two business days, while corporations or foreign accounts can take two to three days.

Guardian's tiered pricing structure enables high-volume traders to negotiate lower commissions and a range of add-on features are available for a fee. Customer support is accessible through live chat, phone and email, providing timely assistance and access to a knowledge base of frequently asked questions. Guardian Trading offers a 14-day free trial with a paper-trading account, allowing you to explore its tools and services before committing, which is excellent for finding the right broker for your needs.

Guardian Trading vs. Competitors

Guardian Trading has a few similar competitors, including TradeStation and  CenterPoint. Like Guardian, these direct access brokers offer robust trading tools and short-selling opportunities. Guardian and CenterPoint grant traders access only to stocks, ETFs and options, compared to TradeStation, which includes futures and cryptocurrencies. Guardian Trading offers a more competitive $0.0000051 per share and $0.15 per contract options compared to CenterPoint at 0.001 per share and  $0.2-$0.65 per options contract.

TradeStation offers commission-free trades for equities and a 0.6 per option contract. Compared to TradeStation, CenterPoint and Guardian Trading offer better short locate tools with impressive shorting inventories, more advanced routing options, lightning-fast execution thanks to the DAS Trader Pro and better tools with different features. CenterPoint and Guardian Trading are similar in many aspects. However, Guardian Trading offers more competitive pricing, making it a better choice in terms of cost.

Guardian Trading is a direct access broker with excellent tools and cutting-edge trading infrastructure required for fast trade execution by active and professional traders. The platform offers competitive commissions, especially for high-volume traders, providing access to various exchanges and routes. Traders can benefit from customization options, real-time data, hotkey customizations and advanced trading tools.

Guardian’s short locate tools, impressive short inventories and competitive borrow fees make it an excellent choice for short-selling strategies, and the customer service is responsive and helpful. Suppose you're looking to capitalize on stock movements and want access to a comprehensive trading platform and high-quality routing capabilities. In that case, Guardian Trading is a solid option. However, it is not an ideal option if you're a beginner.