cheapest options contract brokerage

ds2 · Jan 25, 2007

Im looking for the cheapest price per options contract brokerage. i trade closer to expiration and dont buy contracts over .30. therefore my commissions are enormous! im using itrade.com right now, and am paying 5 plus .75 a contract and usually trade 50-150 contracts. whats your favs?

MTE · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from ds2:

Im looking for the cheapest price per options contract brokerage. i trade closer to expiration and dont buy contracts over .30. therefore my commissions are enormous! im using itrade.com right now, and am paying 5 plus .75 a contract and usually trade 50-150 contracts. whats your favs?

50-150 contracts per trade? Talk to Thinkorswim (you can negotiate a lower rate than the one posted) or Interactive Brokers, depending on what features you're looking for.

def · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from ds2:

Im looking for the cheapest price per options contract brokerage. i trade closer to expiration and dont buy contracts over .30. therefore my commissions are enormous! im using itrade.com right now, and am paying 5 plus .75 a contract and usually trade 50-150 contracts. whats your favs?

IB is a straight 75 cents per contract for premium over 30 cents.

For prem < 10 cents, the fee is 50 cents
for prem < 5 cents the fee is 25 cents

if you do over 10K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 50 cents and 25 cents.

if you do over 50K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 25 cents.

if you do over 100K contracts per month, the fee then slides down to 15 cents for all contracts.

We also do not charge for exercise/assignments.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/commissionStockIndexOptions.php?ib_entity=llc

loufah · Jan 25, 2007

IB also has the advantage of offering penny pricing (matched internally) - may be good if you trade low-priced options.

If you're doing dozens of contracts per trade, then maybe optionhouse.com would be worth looking at - $9.95 per trade (well, per leg) for an unlimited number of contracts. Some people here have mentioned it, but no first-hand reports yet.

I wonder how long these flat-rate commissions will last. Someone reported that Ameritrade's $9.99 "no catch" flat commission for equities was subject to .01 per share ECN fee if you route to ARCA a lot.

arizonadreamer · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from def:

IB is a straight 75 cents per contract for premium over 30 cents.

For prem < 10 cents, the fee is 50 cents
for prem < 5 cents the fee is 25 cents

if you do over 10K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 50 cents and 25 cents.

if you do over 50K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 25 cents.

if you do over 100K contracts per month, the fee then slides down to 15 cents for all contracts.

We also do not charge for exercise/assignments.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/commissionStockIndexOptions.php?ib_entity=llc

There is a new outfit "Optionshouse" that charges NO contract fees, and I think a flat fee of $9.95. I don't know anything else about them.

What do you think about them apples?

AZD

volatilitypimp · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from def:

IB is a straight 75 cents per contract for premium over 30 cents.

For prem < 10 cents, the fee is 50 cents
for prem < 5 cents the fee is 25 cents

if you do over 10K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 50 cents and 25 cents.

if you do over 50K contracts per month, the fees then slides down to 25 cents.

if you do over 100K contracts per month, the fee then slides down to 15 cents for all contracts.

We also do not charge for exercise/assignments.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/commissionStockIndexOptions.php?ib_entity=llc

You must send orders to the "smart route" to get this rate, correct? Otherwise to trade on an exchange of choice you pay $1.75 per contract,regardless of volume, correct?

El OchoCinco · Jan 25, 2007

ahh the deep OTM option premium buyer taking on small deltas close to expiration and huge thetas... or better known as the lottery ticket purchaser

Quote from ds2:

Im looking for the cheapest price per options contract brokerage. i trade closer to expiration and dont buy contracts over .30. therefore my commissions are enormous! im using itrade.com right now, and am paying 5 plus .75 a contract and usually trade 50-150 contracts. whats your favs?

yip1997 · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from arizonadreamer:

There is a new outfit "Optionshouse" that charges NO contract fees, and I think a flat fee of $9.95. I don't know anything else about them.

What do you think about them apples?

AZD

I heard it has advertised in cnbc, and it is under sipc protection. This outfit will definitely change the rule of the game. More FOTM sellers with bigger contracts!!!

arizonadreamer · Jan 25, 2007

Quote from yip1997:

I heard it has advertised in cnbc, and it is under sipc protection. This outfit will definitely change the rule of the game. More FOTM sellers with bigger contracts!!!

Combine this with the new penny increments in options that are forthcoming and you have scalpers' paradise.

I don't know what this outfit is like or if other outfits will follow suit. Right now, it just doesn't make sense to buy a couple of thousand contracts (or lottery tickets as someone calls them LOL) at .05 or .1 only to close them out at the same price (to break even) only to lose 3 or 4 thousand on the commissions!

(not that this is something I would recommend.)

AZD

ds2 · Jan 25, 2007

that optionshouse sounds like a dream come true, im going to look into it. THANKS! lottery ticket player, huh? I like that, you can call me what you want, but im finding its the only way to live, ive found the conduit to financial independence for me.

cheapest options contract brokerage

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