Brokers/ Platforms with Accurate Real Time Margin Display

C

comintel

I am trying out CTS T4 and while it has a very good variety of futures and options spreads, one thing I notice is that it does not have accurate margin displayed intra-day.

Instead, for options positions they just use round numbers such as $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 etc. for the futures options positions, presumably based on some rough rule of thumb.

Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, does have up-to-the second margin display, and I am used to having it at IB, although I was looking for alternatives to IB that had more energy and other spreads etc. available.

Do TT, Rithmic, or CQG have accurate real-time margin display?
 
Quote from comintel:

I am trying out CTS T4 and while it has a very good variety of futures and options spreads, one thing I notice is that it does not have accurate margin displayed intra-day.

Instead, for options positions they just use round numbers such as $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 etc. for the futures options positions, presumably based on some rough rule of thumb.

Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, does have up-to-the second margin display, and I am used to having it at IB, although I was looking for alternatives to IB that had more energy and other spreads etc. available.

Do TT, Rithmic, or CQG have accurate real-time margin display?
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As far as I know, only retail platforms do those calculations. The professional platforms don't want the responsibility to make the calculations, because margin can change.
 
Quote from moarla:

interactive brokers
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Not if he's trading futures spreads. IB does not correctly calculate intraday SPAN margin offsets for inter and intra-market spreads according to my clients.

You don't get that with T4 or with X-Trader - but the risk managers at the FCM do (it is a different platform).

The FCMs almost always give my clients 4:1 buying power intraday to account for the eventual SPAN margin credit they would get if they carried the position overnight in terms of performance bond margin - it is roughly similar.
 
I found that PFG Best is another one with real time margining.

In fact, I am very impressed so far with the demo of their BestDirect 8.0 platform. It has both all of the exchange implied spreads and user defined spreads (you can even request a new spread from the exchange dynamically) for both futures and options. All of the Crush, Crack spreads, condors, butterflies, etc. At least it looks that way so far.

I also found out that although they may be thought of by many as a retail broker, they actually also have significant professional customers. I think that must have in order to have had a need to add the features mentioned above.
 
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