The way the option rule is written, its an average of 390 option orders, not trades in a day for the month. For me I am cutting it close every day, just with point and click, no algos.
Worse, Schwab doesn’t negotiate lower margin rates for those with large balances the way most other brokers do. Well, I suppose they might offer something better than 7-8%, but nothing competitive with IB at 1% or the like.
FWIW, that table is incorrect for IB. Currently blended USD margin loan rates: < 100,000 250,000 500,000 1,000,000 5,000,000 10,000,000 1.6% 1.3% 1.2% 1.15% .835 .79%
Based on the comments on that article about the rates...The article is at least 136 weeks old. So that's at least 2.5 years old. Of COURSE their numbers will be off. Def, sick Peterffy on their ass, he'll make it right.
Ya I think the Schwab rates are also a bit off. Still much higher than IB though. Schwab is not shy about their loan rates. Debit Balance Margin Rate Effective Rate $0-$24,999.99 Base Rate + 1.825% 8.325% $25,000-$49,999.99 Base Rate + 1.325% 7.825% $50,000-$99,999.99 Base Rate + 0.375% 6.875% $100,000-$249,999.99 Base Rate + 0.325% 6.825% $250,000-$499,999.99* Base Rate + 0.075% 6.575% https://www.schwab.com/margin/rates
I just did. Spoke with two different reps. Neither of them had heard of this rule for either options or stocks. They searched their internal resources for a "390" rule and came up with nothing. The second rep said the closest thing he could find was the SEC's large-trader rule, which is a person or entity that trades 2,000,000 shares or $20,000,000 in NAV in a day...They had to report that to the SEC. It is not that they would not tell me, unlike your experience. They flat out told me they never heard of the 390 rule. If the rule did exist, their searches would have been blaring with hits and alerts about it. So you go ahead and keep following those Reddit forums, babe, and stop lying about speaking with people on the phone, when you truly do not. You'll get farther than you have so far. So the conclusion is... A) Yes, your money is safe with Schwab. B) Yes, you can place more than 390 stock orders per day with Schwab and still be considered a non-professional. Yer welcome.
Not saying that they didn't tell you this, but I can guarantee that if you average more then 390 option orders per day in a month, you will be considered a "professional" for the next quarter. This is not a broker rule. Who ever you spoke to was simply wrong. Although the following link is from IB and a bit dated, it describes the rule well Priority of Professional Customer Orders | IB Knowledge Base (ibkr.info) You can also Google "professional options trader 390 orders" and you will get a plethora of information and links to the rule.
Well, it does not apply to stocks, which is what the OP was concerned about. So the thread is now moot.