I am sure this question has been asked and answered, but in celebration of the redundancies in life... What is the best brokerage for "real" options trading? (I'm currently in robin hood and merrill , so the bar for improvement is low.)
Are you indicating that robinhood is great for options? They may have zero commissions but good luck trying to get filled on something moving fast or wide spread. Guess it depends on what type of trader you are.
No RH pretty much sucks for options. Same with Merrill. It would be a start to see my positions and their greeks in one view. And to visualize greeks and volatility curves/surfaces
I currently trade options at Merrill, Schwab and Tasty. Depending on your strategy and needs these could work. I really like the Merrill platform but I am a dinasour and use ML for my core premium selling and they are low cost. Schwab is much better with tax deferred accounts and they do a good job. Tasty has the best visual look at options trades and I set up all of my trades using their visuals. I recommend multiple brokers. I have traded at others over the years but this is where I find myself now. Optionshouse was my fav but they are gone. Been through many so you gotta find the mix that works for you. Find the best of each broker and trade.
You mean exchange traded options- real options are based on, for example, factory machinery. That's a whole other world. I used to like: https://www.optionsxpress.com
Yeah, I now realize that I'm far from a "real" options trader. ;-) I went ahead and opened an Interactive Brokers account and threw a couple grand in there. I can see that it's powerful, but it'll take me a while to figure it out.
I just started using Tastyworks, OK commission rate, but some surprisingly innovative features to learn.
I was with Optionsxpress until they merged with Schwab back in 2017 already. I liked their platform too! Schwab was supposed to have made it available but I don't think they did. I use their StreetSmart platform downloaded on my computer. The pricing is comparable to everyone else at .65 each with no base. I have heard if you trade enough options and bitch enough, they'll lower the price to like .40-.50 per contract. I do like the choose your options strategy feature and then it pre populates the options, you just have to choose month and strikes you like.