If what the Ameritrade person tells me is correct, then if i do an intraday buy and sell with 100% of my capital, it will then be 2 business days later before i can place another trade. Does that sound correct?
do u have margin account? Do u qualify as the daytrader? Also did u check the buying power of your account before placing the orders, did it show sufficient finds?
It is not margin enabled. I meet the 25K minimum for daytrading many times over. I did not visibly check the buying power showing in dashboard, since available funds were over 4xs the cost of the shares. They are probably right and i shouldn't be complaining. Live and learn. I just wanted a second opinion
Turns out ... In a cash account, buying power (BP) does not recycle after you exit a trade you opened that day. You have to wait 2 days for the stock to settle. If you apply for a margin account, your BP will return back to beginning of day after you execute a day trade. In a margin account, once you do 3 days trades in any rolling 5 days, your account is tagged as a pattern day trading account (PDT). In a cash account, there is no PDT rule. Many thanks to Robert for the second opinion!