Sorry I fail to see a calculator inside. Where is it? The page just explains briefly the fee (but no disclosure of the exact formula they use) and list Primary Risk Factor for some instruments. The instrument I trade is not in the list. BAX 3 Month Canadian Bankers' Acceptance Futures -0.40% 0.40% I see IB is realistic when they assess the risk of BAX and set it as +/-0.40% only. The instrument of the expiring month that I'm trading has even lower volatility than BAX. It looks like they wrongly set the risk factor as +/- 50%.
OP you are using a service provider with rules. Follow their rules or else vote with your feet. or make your own rules but provide your own service. I remember thinking what I did was not risky….
You are trading margin from a foreign country...And Trump is president!! He LOVES all foreign countries...Nothing could go wrong. Walk with your feet...Be sure to enjoy the "exit fee"...
You may not believe this, but it's a potential liquidity issue. Around once a decade or so...often less... the market dislocates and moves violently. Could be some crisis or sometimes just a computer glitch and suddenly the Dow is 1,000 points different in a matter of seconds. IB knows that your stop may not trigger, of even if it does there may not be anything on the other side to execute the trade - or one side of the spread trades and the other doesn't. I know that's an IB screwup, but it can happen and you will get the same response after the fact...it was in the fine print in our agreement. I have literally seen this on ES and other highly liquid contracts some years ago.
Things can happen; a flash crash, your computer goes down, your broker's computer goes down, the exchange's computer goes down, 1,000 to 10,000 orders jump in front of you, problems between the US and the other country, fraud on say a mini ETF, you were trading crypto/cartel money, you die (or are incapacitated) and are unable to close positions... I say put it all into USO!! Oil can NEVER go negative...
if there is any consolation, ib charged me fees too. yesterday 10yr yield shot up and march zn positions marked down, by a lot. i am nowhere near the liquidation line but still.
Do you think it is fair they charged you exposure fee in your case? Do you know whether other US brokerage firms charge exposure fees too? I searched on the web. It seems Interactive Brokers is the only firm which charges exposure fees. So far I haven't found other US firms which have such fees, but I don't know much about US brokerage firms and their standards.