i am curious as to what other traders do to insure their funds in trading accounts. i have multiple accounts with 300k to 600k in each, any thoughts or suggestions. most days i end the day flat.
I was thinking this earlier as well. The best thing and only thing i can think of is just take a screen shot of your account each day. SO if you ever log on and find your account empty or they claim you have no account yu have your screenshots to prove it.
Put all the money in your accounts into Treasury Notes and deposit them into your account. They get a 95% margin haircut. This way the money is in your name and not in the streets name of the BD.
Counts as 95% cash. Instead of having $100,000 to trade with (in cash), you'd have $95,000 available to trade with while earning interest on the T-bills worth $100k.
Should you buy the T-Notes yourself? Or you can also ask your broker to buy them for you from your funds at the account already? Would they then buy it in your name or will it be in the broker's name?
Do any of your firms limit the amount that you can put into a t-bill? I've heard $100,000 limits at some firms.
The one problem I heard with this is when you go debit against the physical cash the liquidate your T bond? A broker told me this. I would like to know if true or not? Also as I asked in a thread what happens if you bank holding your supposed segregated account goes under? I looked into this last year and Canadian futures accounts are backed under CIPF by the government, not so with US based accounts as we know. At the time I checked the RT cost was significantly higher with Canadian so I passed at the time. Now looking like a better idea.
Whatever the T-bills current interest rate is that you have. From the looks of it, not too great! At last check, 3 month T-Bills going for a 0.35% yield and 6 month bills going for 1.21% yield.