I am happy that we are on the same page now. OCC-based haircuts dictate a minimum reqirement. Each broker applies its own additional safeguards that must be approved by regulators. There is nothing to argue about.
IB vs, THINKORSWIM..........PORTFOLIO MARGIN ....UPDATE PLEASE....WHO HAS THE BETTER PROGRAM FOR TRADER WITH $400K SPREAD ACROSS 20 POSITIONS?????
ids 05-16-07 02:37 AM: "It does not work like that. It is not easy to jump off PM account." How difficult is it to jump off? I have read http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/p.php?f=margin. I see where it says It should be noted that "if your account drops below USD 100,000 you will be restricted from doing any margin-increasing trades. Therefore if you do not intend to maintain at least USD 100,000 in your account, you should not apply for a Portfolio Margin account." Let's say I intend to maintain USD 100,000 (or more) in my account, but then someday there is an emergency and I need to withdraw a big chunk of money. How difficult would it be to revert back to Reg T margin?
what positions do you have? do you want more leverage or do you want the safety of a broker who won't let you over-lever yourself? i have portfolio margin accounts with both brokers. for certain options positions, TOS's margin req calculations can be very volatile; i.e., it changes significantly by the second. IB's is more stable but their PM allows less leverage. TOS now uses risk endpoints of (-12%, +10%) on SPX/OEX, so they don't allow as much leverage as before. IB removes your expired options positions early on the friday of expiration; TOS doesn't until about 1pm EST that day. bare in mind, these brokers have changed their PM calculations before, so what you find preferrable now may not be so later. i've had PM at IB since inception and they've changed it at least 5 times.
just go into your account management settings, then trading access. then select reg-t. there's not much to it.
correct... Ive heard that under portfolio margin you may end up with less margin then reg t if not hedged properly. This type of account is perfect for pairs traders and people who are hedged.