What about if you buy a calendar spread, i.e. buy Sep vs sell Dec, how would the risk system work (when working the order and once filled)?
I know for a fact that at least two of the FCMs I mentioned previously have Risk Managers and Client Support Staff that give known spread trading customers extra intraday margin buying power for " known" spread trades that are not "recognized" in a timely enough fashion. If as a client you fill out a product allowance sheet with your FCM's Risk Manager - and you are still getting bumped out on intraday flat price margins for agreed-upon spread positions recognized by the exchange - then change FCMs. You should not abide lazy, unaccomodating risk management. Likewise, if you are leaving open and unhedged legs for unreasonable periods of time - then of course your FCM will treat tat position as outright risk. But if you are a responsible spread trader then as I said there are some reasonable Risk Managers and FCMs out there.
The best solution is to trade exchange supported spreads. But a responsible inter market spread trader who manually opens and closes legs fast can get extra intraday buying power from some of those firms I mentioned.
I would personally be very interested to know specifically what futures clearing firms out there who do not apply SPAN margin credits specifically for exchange supported spreads - even intraday. PM me if you want. I am building a list and I have lots of clients.
That's a synthetic inter-spread with exchange margin relief and is exceptional rather than the norm. The actual spreads most people care about are not those, but INTRA-spreads like calendars, flies, condors, etc. There's no way CQG, TT, etc combine the initial margin of both contracts and then reduce the margin later for a position that is put on at the *same* time via an exchange provided spread instrument with published spread specific intra and maintenance margins. Even IB does it this way.
Any changes with AMP and inter-delivery spread margins? Exchange-traded spreads have been around for decades now ...
AMP is, and will always be, fuzzy on the issue. I don't know about exchange-traded spreads because either Ninja software or the broker or the CQG datafeed does not have them, but they (AMP with CQG) DO NOT support intra spreads on manual legs, as defined by the exchange. Even though their broker statements say otherwise. I believe this, because someone at AMP on the phone told me this, and their CS reps must know how their operation works. It has been that single issue that has been stifling my trading all these years...Knowledge of that one single issue. In that the relief provided by the exchange simply does not exist in their SPAN calculations, and all open legs are counted as full margin in the last 5 minutes of trading, whether you fit the definition of an intra-spread or not. Tough cookies. Makes me mad, but I try to deal with it.