Actually the quote is not based on each stocks open. It is the SOQ for the stocks and the basket in the index.
https://www.cmegroup.com/education/files/understanding-the-soq.pdf
Look at the work of Neil Chriss relative to the skew or "volatility smile"
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Scholes-Beyond-Option-Pricing-Models/dp/0786310251
http://bfi.cl/papers/Derman Kani Chriss 1996 - Implied trinomial trees of the volatility smile.pdf...
The best advice that I can offer is to go through the SEC rules and see how they apply to your specific situation. It may take a little time, but I think it might be worth the investment of effort.
Here is a reply that I sent when they tried this twice on me.
I do not believe that my account is anywhere near the requirement for Large Trader
Classification.
The requirement of 2 million shares a day or 20 million shares a month translates into
20,000 contracts a day of 200,000 contracts...
Sage primarily clears through Merrill all of their clearing firms use this same stress scenario, 20 to 25 percent down and a 50% spike in Implied Volatility.
The problem with IB is their auto-liquidation algorithm that can be triggered by a wide quote at almost a moments notice for short SPX option positions.
I don't know anything about Wedbush. Do you deal directly with them or through an introducing broker?
APEX clearing is the primary cause of the dry up of PM, with 25 and 50 % stress tests.
Think or Swim only allows net 200 contracts short per $100.k in equity.
With the demise of portfolio margin due to increased requirements of clearing firms, I am interested in finding a Prop Firm with equivalent allowed leverage for swing trades (15 to 90 days). I almost exclusively trade SPX options.
Any ideas?
https://www.google.com/#q=interactive+brokers+auto+liquidation
Cushion can change significantly and you have no knowledge until they liquidate your account.
I am looking for a portfolio margin broker that has reasonable stress tests for OTM short options and credit spreads.
Apex Clearing appears to have ramped up their margin requirements for Portfolio Margin again.
The Interactive Brokers Auto Liquidation process can be deadly in
downdrafts...