...so, while I'm sympathetic to all the bitching w.r.t. the higher margin requirement, I still have to register shock at all these ET names I recognize, who apparently were not online on U.S.' Election Night 2016, when the futures market took a nose-dive into full-on nuclear-war missile-exchange ranges, and then recovered three-quarters of that by the open, and then actually went positive by that day's close. I know you all lived through it. I just wonder why you think IB didn't live through it, too.
My total bad: when I read the word "option" in your (well-written) response, my brain (still working through the first cup of coffee) imputed FOPs, and a conflation of (cash-settled) weekly(s) and (futures-settled) quarterlies. Again, my total bad. Your post: totally good.
You can see how the full effect changes your margin thru Risk Navigator-Settings-Margin Mode. Just one ES fly went from $2,000 to $9,000. It's around twice the worst-case expiration PnL. I think I will take a few months off.
Disregard. That was the Margin sensitivity figures without hedges. Aggregate shows about 11% increase on FOP positions.
Thanks. When I re-read my reply as well, I noticed that the word (option) might be a bit confusing, while I meant a "Choice", in the context, it can easily be understood as the FOP instrument. I guess grace period for edit has already passed, lol