Search results

If the 30 put has more total TV than the 35 put then the TV decay would also be higher. Certainly if the underlying is below $30 that would be the situation (i.e., 30 put decaying faster). Yes you need to sell the 35 Put if it is ITM and you don't want to exercise (You are scaring me with...

re: "As far as margin requirement, lower than what?" In other words, is buying Index futures cheaper than buying the Index itself (e.g. SPY)? Obviously you have to put up more cash to buy SPY, but I assume Index futures include a carrying cost which makes holding the SPY comparable in cost...

I never looked at futures so this may be a stupid question: Are index futures essentially the same as buying the Index? If so, the only advantage I can think of is maybe lower margin requirements. Do I have it right? Don

That is one of the drawbacks of spreads. You usually have to wait until expiration to realize a significant profit. Yes, if you think it will stay below 30 hold on until expiration then unwind it if you don't want to be assigned. Don

Think about doing a bull put spread it is the synthetic equivalent of a collar with fewer positions (2 instead of 3). When comparing the cost of each be sure to consider the interest you get on the un-invested cash of the bull put spread. If your broker pays decent interest on cash you should...

Waf, So they do pay interest on the cash, right? I know OE does not let the money reside in their sweep account, but they still pay some minimal interest on the cash securing a put. However, I assume IB is better in that regard because I think they pay their normal good rates of about 4%...

I might be able to live with the "no spread" limitation of IB and the other disadvantages. However, if "funds equal to the aggregate exercise value of long calls are restricted" is true that would be the straw that breaks my back. Anybody know if that statement (restated below from IB'S web...

Can anybody comment on IB's IRA accounts? I am a happy IB customer with my margin account and I think it makes sense to transfer my IRA to them. Especially if they allow a level of option trading similar to TOS, then for me they sound like a better deal. Their high interest rates paid on...

FYI - The combo problem seems to be fixed today and everything is working well. BTW - One of the real advantages of IB is that you not only get continuous real time quotes for individual stocks, but you also get them for aggregate prices on combo orders. Furthermore you can set alarms on...

For several weeks the IB combo order does not seem to work when a stock is part of the order. For example, a buy/write order for CC's. Combo orders containing only options seem to work okay. The problem is the order does not display combo B/A prices. You get an error message saying you must...

One clarification, they only pay those rates in their sweep accounts. No problem there except in an IRA if you have "margin requirements". In that case, they take the cash security out of the sweep and make it pure cash which pays a very low rate. So if you sell say NP's all the cash-security...

Funny I never encountered that limitation in many years of trading in an IRA. Although I can't honestly remember that I ever needed cash from a prior trade to execute another trade, I gotta believe it must have occurred in the last say 10 years. Are you sure that you need settled cash to...

What is the practical benefit of "settling the same night"? I have been trading in my IRA's for years with several different brokers and never encountered any practical implications to their 3 day settlement policy. Don

I assume you are talking about an IRA or a non-margin account of some kind. In that case, IB's web site says that NP's margin requirement is "100% of the aggregate put strike price", which as you say is $2250. I would call them back and recite their web site to them. Don

I have used Microsoft Money for years with many brokers and it also has some problems, but it is usable. For the last 4 months I have used Money to download IB transactions with decent success. Actually the biggest problem is IB since they do not identify stock short sales properly. Because IB...

Maybe you do not realize that a naked Put is the synthetic equivalent of a Covered Call. Therefore you can accomplish the same thing by simply selling a NP. Using a NP is generally better because it's simpler (fewer commissions, etc). One major caveat, if your broker does not pay a decent...

The definition of Risk includes the magnitude of the event AND the probability of it actually occurring. You seem to dwell only on the magnitude aspect. Don

Most times when a stock rises the IV goes down and when it falls the IV goes up. This gives the naked call an advantage. Not really taking sides just adding some information. Don

To all, I assume that TOS has an options analysis tool that lets you graph the outcome of multiple contracts (calendar spreads, condors, etc). My question is. do you have to manually input the various parameters or is there a faster way to get them? I am hoping that you can somehow...

Hard to believe that Thinkorswim would allow beginners to trade naked calls. So I suspect it might be hard for a newbie to get approved there. Don