I have gotten my position liquidated by IB once. It cost me $300 ($150 loss on the liquidation and the $150 I would have made ten minutes later.) When I checked the website for a VERY careful reading of what their rules were, they were within their rights to do so.Quote from Glenn_Dude:
Anyone else get their positions liquidated @ IB because of MSFT split today ? .... My positions in msft s.s.Futures got liquidated , as well as my cousins account ... IB screwed up big time , I guess their system couldn't figure out the split & figured each position lost $25 /share .... my cousins account value went from approximatly $23.000.00 on Friday to less than $7.000.00 after the liquidations this A.M. . I've called them twice about it , it's been more that an hour and half & they haven't called me back yet to fix the situation . Meanwhile I'm watching the market go by .
Quote from FX-Trader:
In my IB account they correctly adjusted
the number of my MSFT option positions.
No liquidations.
You´re talking about MSFT SSF, don´t you ?
Guess that something went wrong (as usual with this SSF stuff ...).
Quote from Glenn_Dude:
Yes , S.S.Futures....Since MSFT split , TWS figured I was losing (+)(-)$25 a share X100 share per S.S.Future & we're talking lots of dough
Quote from FX-Trader:
Number of SSF contracts must be adjusted, but SSF exchanges still are not very well organized. Guess that something went wrong between exchange (OneChicago or NQLX) and IB clearing facilities. I also have some SSF in my account, but fortunately not MSFT.
Corporate Event Circular #03-002
DATE: January 28, 2003
RE: Microsoft Corporation ("MSFT/MSFT1C")
2-for-1 Stock Split
Ex-Distribution Date: February 18, 2003
Microsoft Corp. ("MSFT/MSFT1C") has announced a 2-for-1 common stock split. The exdistribution
date for the stock split is Tuesday, February 18, 2003. Because Monday, February
17, 2003, is a trading holiday (President?s Day), opening positions and start of day prices for
February 18 will be based on final positions and settlement prices from Friday, February 14
(the immediately preceding trading day).
Contract Adjustment
Pursuant to The Options Clearing Corp. rules, all outstanding MSFT1C future contracts will be
adjusted to reflect the 2-for-1 stock split on February 18. The OCC and CME clearinghouses will
adjust the "start of day" position for February 18 by multiplying each open contract?s position
by the split ratio (i.e. multiply by 2). Additionally, the OCC and CME will adjust the "start of
day price" for the adjusted contracts by dividing the February 14 settlement price by the split
ratio (i.e. divide by 2) and rounding to the nearest penny. The variation margin will be
calculated using February 18 start of day prices and February 18 end of day settlement prices.
None of the symbols for OneChicago MSFT contract months will change. The contract unit of
each adjusted Microsoft Corp. futures contract will remain at 100 shares. The contract
multiplier will remain at 100, i.e., 1.00 will equal $100.
GTC Order Conversion
On February 14, 2003, immediately after the close of business, the OneChicago match engine
will convert all resting orders in the MSFT1C order books. Resting GTC orders will be adjusted
for the start of the next trading session by multiplying the order quantity by the split ratio (2)
and dividing the order price by the split ratio (2). Member firms must determine if the
new GTC order terms meet their clients' objectives and cancel or cancel/replace
orders as appropriate.
Questions regarding this memo can be addressed to The Options Clearing Corporation at 800-
621-6072. This and all other OneChicago corporate event circulars can be accessed from the
OneChicago Web site at www.OneChicago.com
Quote from Quah:
Why would the number of SSF contracts be adjusted? The only thing that should have changed is the actual margin required to hold the position - that margin should have dropped by 50%.
The cash value of the contract dropped by 50%, but since you don't pay cash for them I don't think the number of contracts held in an open position should change at all.
Any explanation so far ?Quote from Sanjuro:
Doesn't seem like anyone held MSFT overnight.
Please try calling their Customer Support and see if
they can figure out what the problem was.
1 (877) 442-2757
Please keep us posted. Hopefully, they resolve the issue
in your favor if it was a problem with their system.