Level 2 Providers

15th Nov '20 by Wayneskie

23 comments 2029 reads

HI Folks,

So I obviously subscribe to Stockopedia, and I have had a months free trial of ADVFN Level 2 which I am enjoying(if that's the right term?).

I am investing my SIPP with AJ Bell.

I've just had a brief look at Sharescope Level 2 at £16 pm.

Are there any other Level 2 providers worth considering that provide a similar service to ADVFN?

I have read Robbie Burns book twice and he recommends the above subscriptions (Stocko and ADVFN), I suppose I'm looking for any other suggestions.

Thanks

Wayneskie

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Wayneskie

Premium Member

23 comments

nicobos

16th Nov '20

Never used level 2 before.

I’d be very interested to hear the thoughts of regular users, especially for small caps.

How do you use it? Does it provide better entries? Are you using it more for trading than investing?

All thoughts welcome!

Wayneskie

16th Nov '20

I called them and they offered!

Barry5

16th Nov '20

I've just signed up to LSE Level 2 for a month at £23.99 and currently playing about with the layout and the grids. It's interesting to see the trades being shown as they go through and to see the weight of buys and sells which would influence as to when to time an entry or a sell. I was tempted by ADVFN but it is more than double the cost - I don't really want to take a free trial there in case I like it lol!

unwise2

16th Nov '20

I use quotestream, Interactive Investor charge £24 a month. If you also wanted L2 for Nasdaq you could subscribe directly with Quotestream.

The Phoenix

16th Nov '20

Hi does the LSE level 2 cover all UK markets exchanges ?, agree Advfn is expensive as you also have vat on top but I had a feeling it covered all the UK exchanges where as the LSE offering only covers LSE trades not the other more obscure offerings.

jwebster

16th Nov '20

I use ADVFN level 2 and with IG as well. IG I get level 2 for free with the ISA account, ADVFN is too expensive IMO although it has wider level 2 than IG, with more exchange quotes.

Level 2 is useful for small caps to check if buy/sell orders are stacked in favour of one or the other. Gives you an idea of momentum. However, it's not much use if you then buy your stocks with a broker like HL which just runs it through the quote system. You get quoted the edges of the spread at best (if enter type in any meaningful volume the quotes tend to be even worse). However, with IG you can place a bid/ask directly on the order book with Direct Market Access (DMA) at the price you want, thus enabling better prices to be picked up within the spread during the day or in the auction.

If you are a long term investor - level 2 probably access matters less, as you are accumulating positions to hold for the long term.

If you are buying UK mid/large caps level 2 is of no use, as the bid/ask spread is very tight and transactions are constantly moving the price. Also, in my view the trading bots are good enough at breaking up trades to prevent much edge there. I suspect the trading bots will move down the food chain into small caps eventually and remove any edge level 2 has to offer, although the market makers do muddy the waters. I think DMA is worth having regardless.

HollandSmith

17th Nov '20

Never properly shopped around for level 2 and just ended up with LSE. It's the only website that I pay for that it is littered with adverts which are pretty annoying - so i advise using an adblocker here.

The Phoenix

17th Nov '20

Question folks am I right in thinking the full quote icon on the stock report on the new site shows the current best bid and offer price and the amount of stock the current top price participant will trade in on the bid and offer ?

Essentially a half way house between full level 2 and just being able to see the current best bid and offer price only without the volume level that could be dealt behind it.

chodgson

17th Nov '20

Hi Clarea,

Yes, the 'Bid Size' and 'Ask Size' show the amount of stock available at the price above, however it's important to remember our prices are on a 15min delay. And that will include these as well so they are in effect 15 min behind.

The Phoenix

17th Nov '20

Thanks but at least they give a rough idea if the top price maker is more keen on accumulating or getting rid of stock

doug2500

17th Nov '20

Unfortunately it wouldn't and worse could give you a false impression. The top bid could be for 5 shares at 120p and the second top (which you can't see) could be 10000 shares at 121p, or even 120p if its an older order.

I would really just treat it as a quote, or guide, and no more.

The Phoenix

17th Nov '20

Thanks for the steer Doug

Wayneskie

19th Nov '20

HI,

A little update on my Level 2 adventures.

I firstly had a free trial of ADVFN which I enjoyed. I did not follow on with a subscription because it felt a little expensive and I wanted to try out alternatives. (Maybe I'll end up back with ADVFN??

I then signed on for a monthly subscription to LSE (£23.99pm). This I tried for a few hours, but I found the layout a little bit clunky. Plus I had no access to US Stocks. As good as there word, they refunded me for this first months subscription. It's a pity you can't see what you are getting without a subscription. Even a day for free would be useful.

I have now signed on with Quotestream and so far I am delighted. A little over £32 pm ( at least for the first month), I have full level 2 for LSE and NYSE etc. They do a months free trial but with no level 2 and 15 minutes delay. I tried this for an hour and I was convinced.

The downloaded Quotestream Desktop terminal is fab. Also the mobile app is great as well. I think I may have found my home!

If I continue into my second month I'll let you know. After a day I'm pretty happy!

However the bigger question...Do you need Level 2 still looms.....

Wayneskie

The Phoenix

19th Nov '20

Hi do they offer a UK only level 2 service ?

Wayneskie

19th Nov '20

Yes, you opt into the market and services you want / need?

The Phoenix

19th Nov '20

Thanks is it only through Interactive Investor ?

Wayneskie

19th Nov '20

I subscribed straight from their website

https://secure.quotestream.com...

pobby

19th Nov '20

Thanks for this thread - many years ago there was some hope this site would offer a L2 service but that never came to fruition sadly.

I used Quotestream via ii until 12 months ago. It was a positive experience though sadly the live news releases service was only available for US stocks. Has this been upgraded to include LSE stocks now? If so, I would sign up on the dot!

Wayneskie

19th Nov '20

I just checked - managed to subscribe to a free news service and I found some news on Ocado (LON:OCDO) I could not find any news for Cmc Markets (LON:CMCX) though.

pobby

19th Nov '20

Thanks for that investigative work.

As you suggest PR Newswire only offers information on an incomplete dataset of listed companies. It appears it offers "current news releases distributed by PR Newswire includes multimedia press releases, investor relations and disclosure, and company news." so whilst it could be useful it isn't a complete offering if a company choses not to use that channel.

Oh well, the quest for a live and automatic streaming news service is still well alive....

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Wayneskie

23 comments

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