Several of the low cost option brokers that I use, E-Option and Optionshouse have efeectively increased their margin requirements for uncovered options by 50% over the last several months. They both indicated this was imposed on them by Pension Financial, who they use to clear. What other brokers that don't clear through Penson are available at low per contract charges? I am aware of Interactive brokers but I feel their order cancellation fee is out of line.
Interesting. My firm is an introducing Broker to Penson. I've seen no change in margin or risk requirements in portfolio margin accounts at Penson. Bob
Do you trade in uncovered option securities? Also, these accounts are covered by Reg-T margin not portfolio margin.
I don't trade anymore. 25 years was enough. Our clients sell naked options. Much better in a PM account. Very hard with reg-t, which looks at max loss. PM looks at risk up/down 15% in equities and risk up 6%|down 8% to calculate margin.
There is also some form of concnetrated position kicker. Since I typically deal in large numbes of contract in a relatively small number of issues, perhaps a dozen or so, it seems like the concentration rules of portfolio margin would kick in.
If you'd like, e-mail me your contact information and we can discuss it in the morning. For the most part risk is monitored by us during the day and them at night. They have been very liberal because the Intoducing Broker relationship puts us in the next loss position of your account. if you can fund a porfolio margin account, understand leverage, and your an active trader, I'm sure we can help. Bob
Rmorse , don't you think you you should be doing prospecting , or this is the new way to do it. Things have changed)