Guys, Does any of you known of an options broker that charges a commission per contract with no minimum like Interactivebrokers or anyone that charges a very low minimum fee ? Regards, Sabena.
Sabena, Putting execution aside, Investrade is pretty low. They have a $14.95 minimum but the per-contract commission is $1.50 (e.g. 50 = 75 bucks). If you do a bunch at a whack, probably hard to beat as far as mainstream discounters go.
Sabena - OptionsXpress.com also has a $1.50/contract commission with $14.95 minimum. So if you're trading 10+ contracts at a time, it's pretty good. If you trade less than 10 contracts usually, IB is probably the lowest rate you'll find.
Anybody at all: Does this exist? Options broker with comparable commissions to IB. (i.e. less than $2 per contract and NO MINIMUM) AND Direct Access Trading from an options montage. (i.e. like Cybertrader or Realtick's Turbo Options) Cyber = $9.95 + $2/contract w/ $19.95 minimum. Realtick Turbo Options = $2.50/contract w/ $25 minimum Opening any option position at the BID/ASK immediately puts you in the RED. These commissions + spread > $40-$60 for a round trip option trade. Not condusive to short -term option trading. If there is any broker offering this can someone please let me know!! or IB incorporate a reliable options montage that you can directly trade off of and I will
sabena I believe EchoTrade has the same rates as IB. Not 100% sure though. Of course, they're a pro firm.
not sure what you are talking about when stating "reliable options montage". With IB's best quote it shows the best quote of all 5 options exchagnes. I haven't heard of any complaints about the data feeds or executions.
if you try to find an options broker cheaper and better than IB: i do not know one and i bet you will have a hard time finding one.
If you are looking for an economy of scale, perhaps you might wish to look at ERegal. They are at www.eregal.com. They charge a $29 flat fee for option orders (unlimited contracts). You even have order routing capability. I can't testify as to the quality or speed of their executions, as I use Mr. Stock for my trades. Hope this helps. hardrock
Regal appears to be tough to beat if you do size. However, the $29 unlimited rate only applies to equity options. Index options are $1.25 per contract with a $29 minimum. FWIW
Need to clarify a little more: (Options trading only/not equity trading) Example: Watching NVDA last few sessions for breakdown below 60. Wanting to buy INM or slightly OTM puts if and only if it breaks below 60. Always seemed to find support even as NAZ was cracking. Finally FRI 1/8/02 there she blows: NVDA starts cratering early morning. At around $59 I'm watching my data feed and option chain for NVDA and immediately want to enter an order to buy the Feb 55 puts for $1. The fastest way to do this would be by clicking on the ask on the option chain on your integrated order entry platform and hit send and BAM you own the 55 puts @ $1. (Possible through Realtick turbo options or Cybertrader option chain: Downfall you just paid $20-$25 bucks for one side of the trade and the same amount to close it out) With IB: 1. Enter NVDA 2. choose 'option' 3. choose 'expiration month' 4. choose 'strike price Call/Put' 5. click the 'ask' price 6. enter order 7. Finally filled at 1.20 because it took so long to enter order. Anyway I did get in the trade @ $1 but I used an online brokerage account that I have because it is faster to enter the order than through IB. In this case using IB would have cost me more than paying 'up' in commissions through an alternate broker. The only way around this in IB is to already have the particular option you want to trade 'loaded' in your tws. I'm not psychic so for a breakdown trade like this I didn't know which particular option I wanted until it actually happened. Another example is when the NAZ rallied in the final 40 minutes of trading Friday. How do you quickly enter an option order with IB's tws before the trade gets away from you. Through an integrated order entry option chain is the fastest way but with IB you have to go through the steps I outlined above. Answer: Can IB make it possible to just enter the option symbol in the tws so it comes up immediately just like you would an equity symbol. In the case of NVDA when I saw the breakdown occuring, all I would have to do is this then: 1. Enter RVUNK (the symbol for Feb 55 put) 2. Click the ask price 3. Enter order 4. Filled at $1 because I saved so much damn time this way!