Guardian Trading Review

Warrior Trading

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Broker Summary

Pros:

Direct access broker with 30+ routes
Access to DAS and Sterling
Extensive borrow list
4 AM – 8 PM EST trading hours
Competitive commissions
Software fees waived by spending commission minimum
Great customer service

Cons:

$30,000 minimum deposit required
No cash accounts–margin and options accounts only
Expensive software fees
No per-trade commission structure

Overview

Guardian Trading is a direct access broker located in Hazlet, New Jersey. They state on their website that they are a division of Velocity Clearing, LLC. That allows them to offer trade clearing, custodial services, and locate services directly to their clients rather than through a 3rd-party. This is one of the great advantages of Guardian Trading, as it helps to cut out the middleman. As with other reputable brokers, they state on their website that they are SIPC insured for up to $500,000 and up to $250,000 for cash claims.

Guardian Trading strives to provide competitive locate programs, low commissions, and multiple routing options to help their clients execute their day trading, swing trading, and/or investing strategies. Their goal is to offer traders the benefit of having an account with a clearing broker-dealer, which offers various benefits in the form of cheaper commissions, short locates, and more.

Guardian Trading’s hours are 4 AM – 8 PM EST, which means clients have access to the entire premarket, live market, and after-hours session. They accept both US and International clients. However, residents of certain countries are not eligible to sign up. Please refer to their website for the most updated list of countries that are not permitted.

Guardian state’s on it’s website that it’s parent company, Velocity Clearing LLC, is a self-clearing FINRA member. They also state that they have a clearing house membership at NSCC and DTC. Guardian Trading prides itself on being a leading provider of locate services to active traders. This could make Guardian an option for traders who want to be able to short a larger basket of stocks, as they offer an extensive borrow list. Their team works to secure new inventory for hot tickers as soon as possible. The locate service can be accessed directly from the trading software. Guardian clients also have access to an easy-to-borrow list that helps them save on the cost of shorting securities.

Guardian states that their focus is to offer clients low borrow fees. They also place emphasis on securing short borrows for as long as needed so that clients don’t have to worry about losing their locates. They offer competitive lending rates for margin trading, as well as the option to earn income from lending your own stocks.

At this time, they only offer margin and options accounts — there are no cash accounts. Furthermore, they also require a $30,000 minimum deposit to open an account. Accounts that fall below $25,000 are subject to restrictions and would need to deposit additional funds.

Guardian Trading accepts wire transfers only for deposits. They allow ACH for withdrawals. You can also download an ACAT form on their website if you want to transfer stocks from an existing brokerage account into a Guardian Trading account. Once the application is completed and the account is approved, Guardian Trading will send the client an email informing them how to access the trading software.

Pricing

Guardian Trading charges commissions on a per-share basis, and they don’t offer per-trade commissions at this time. You can learn more about their commissions and fees here.

There are also regulatory and routing fees when placing trades, along with account fees for things like ACAT and wire transfers. If you are a high-volume trader, you can reach out to their sales team for a discount.

Guardian Trading offers multiple packages for its trading software and market data. The cost of the package depends on which software and data feeds you prefer. However, the cost can be waived if clients generate the minimum amount of commissions per month.

Trading Software

Guardian Trading provides access to both DAS Trader Pro as well as Sterling Trader Pro. You can always switch software or data plans by reaching out to the Guardian Trading support team. Guardian does not provide any additional research tools or software outside of what is offered through DAS and Sterling.

It is possible to trade through a mobile device for clients who are using DAS. However, it is not possible to trade through a mobile device for those using Sterling. Guardian Trading offers a simulator trading account to help its clients become more familiar with the tools and services they offer. The simulator is offered through DAS as a 14-day free trial. There is no simulator available for Sterling at Guardian Trading.

Features and Support

Guardian Trading offers direct market access routing through either DAS Trader or Sterling Trader, with the ability to trade on all US exchanges. Orders are routed directly to the exchange, which means there is no middleman.

Guardian Trading offers access to over 30 of the most popular routes, including ARCA, EDGX, NASQ, and more. They also provide their clients with 4:1 intraday margin and 2:1 overnight margin. Maintenance margin requirements do vary between 25% to 100%, depending on the stock.

Guardian Trading offers an in-house stock borrow desk, which is one of the great advantages of the broker. Traders who are interested in being able to short a wider range of hard-to-borrow stocks will find Guardian to be very resourceful, as they offer a large library of locates to choose from.

If you ever need assistance with your account, Guardian Trading staffs a well-experienced team, which helps them shine across all aspects of their business operations. Their customer support team is a phone call or email away for any questions and concerns. They also offer a live support chat on their website. To get a better idea of the team behind Guardian Trading, check out their welcome video on YouTube here.

Conclusion

For traders who like to trade short, it can be hard to access short shares due to a lack of availability. One of the benefits of Guardian Trading is access to a wide selection of locates. Their borrow feature helps clients locate borrows on hard-to-borrow small-cap stocks as well as large-cap stocks. Clients should find that Guardian offers a competitive locate program with great short availability.

Since their trading hours are 4 AM – 8 PM EST, clients have access to the entire premarket, live market, and after-hours trading session. This is one of the other great advantages of Guardian Trading, as other reputable brokers like TD don’t offer as much access.

On the other hand, Guardian Trading clients have a higher minimum deposit compared to other reputable brokers. A $30,000 account minimum may not be practical for many beginner traders, so this makes Guardian Trading more suitable for experienced traders and large account traders. Furthermore, they don’t offer cash accounts at this time. Guardian Trading may be best suited for active traders who focus on shorting or prefer to have short availability on hand.