I am thinking of registering with Tastytrade. I am based in Europe and so therefore my choice of option brokers is somewhat limited. Interactive Brokers, to me at least, has far too many complicated trading restrictions and margin requirements that simply make zero sense. The IB platform is appalling. So I would rather trade with another broker full stop. Many of my options strategies require scaling, so I am wondering if I was to join Tastytrade, what is their limit on options contracts? Overall, their platform looks very tight and similar to TD Ameritrade, which is a very good thing. Also I believe the customer service is excellent, which is also very important. Thank you.
Hi Con1991. I'm with another broker, not TastyTrade. May I ask your account size and what max order limits you are looking for? If you prefer to not post publicly, email me directly. My email is below. Maybe we are a good fit.
Hello Robert, thank you for your reply. Any position limit up to the equity option limits applied by exchanges would be ideal. So 200/250k option contracts therefore. I couldn't envision trading beyond that limit. However, I do believe the index options such as SPX have no position limits in effect.
Regulators require each broker set "reason" limits when it comes to max order size, max positions size, Dollar amount per order, etc.... This is to protect against excess errors and risk. Expecting any broker to set limits based on exchange limits is never going to happen. Not even close. Not even if your account has $500mm in AUM. In addition to limits set for each account, every broker has credit limits with the exchanges that apply not to the one customer, but to the firm sending the orders on their MPID or Company identifier. MPID stands for Market Participant ID. We have suitability rules set by equity. I will not post them here.
Ah I see. I did not realise that prior to now. Certainly with TD Ameritrade, one can send an order with a max number of 99,000 contracts, and eight orders can be sent in one go. So quite a lot. In the case of other brokers, I have found them to indeed be quite restrictive in this regard. Frustrating when it comes to scaling, as I mentioned before.
Yes, I have actually traded as many as 200k option contracts with TD in simulation mode. I will attach trades I did today (using position of 200k each) again in Sim. I am aware fills etc are very different with fake money. However if I was able to trade this number of contracts in a live account using real money, the potential for serious profit still exists. Even 10k option contracts would suit me perfectly.