How much of your liquid net worth would you feel safe in having in your Interactive Brokers account? Some option strategies tke quite a bit of capital. Would you be comfortable with 100% of your cash in an IB account?
I would keep less than $500,000 SPIC insurance max. If you have less than $500,000 and are still worried, you are even more paranoid than me and i thought i worried about everything. I think in this business its better to question everything, you make fewer mistakes and hopeful avoid big loses.
From IB website: ============ Securities Account Protection Your total securities account equity protection is $10 million, of which $1 million is for cash protection. The first $500,000 of protection is provided by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), of which up to $100,000 protects cash. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America (Travelers) provides the remaining $9.5 million protection, of which $900,000 protects cash. SIPC and Travelers provide protection against losses of securities, equity options and cash due to the financial failure of a broker-dealer. They do not protect against market depreciation, the fluctuation in market value of your securities or trading losses. Only the securities portion of a Universal Account is protected. Each evening, IB's margining system seeks to transfer as much cash as possible to the securities portion of the Universal Account. SIPC protection SIPC provides protection to customers of United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") registered broker-dealers, who are members of SIPC, against losses that arise from the financial failure of such broker-dealers. SIPC is a non-profit, membership corporation funded by broker-dealers which are members of SIPC. SIPC protection extends to securities such as notes, stocks, bonds and certificates of deposits (known as "protected securities"). Equities will be protected that trade on US exchanges as well as non-US exchanges. SIPC protection also extends to warrants and rights to purchase or sell the protected securities (equity options) or to subscribe to the protected securities. SIPC protection does not extend to commodity futures contracts, commodity options contracts, or foreign currency exchange transactions. SIPC does not provide protection against changes in market conditions. For more information about SIPC and answers to frequently asked questions (such as how SIPC works, what is protected, how to file a claim, etc.), please refer to the following websites: http://www.SIPC.org http://www.nasdr.com/sipc_protection.htm or contact SIPC at: Securities Investor Protection Corporation 805 15th Street, N.W. - Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20005-2215 Telephone: (202) 371-8300 Facsimile: (202) 371-6728 Travelers' protection applies to the same customers and securities as SIPC's protection in the event the customers' net equity is not satisfied by SIPC's $500,000. ======== nitro
That's great!.. I went through the crash of '87, with Lind-Waldock. They had a company cash reserve of about $20MM at the time, and said they lost probably about $300K on uncollectable debits... chicken feed. Always a consideration!!!!!!!