Custom margin limits / margin offsets? Does any broker provide?

[d0rian]

I want higher margin allowances than the default settings offered by retail brokerages I've used (IB, TD). My understanding is that some margin limits are required by law, but others are broker-specific and go beyond what is legally required if a brokerage determines that it's protective of their firm.

I want to know if there are any brokerages that will provide either higher margin limits, or more flexible margin offsets -- either for a fee, or perhaps for accounts of a certain size? There was a post in another thread that I may have misinterpreted, but seemed to indicate that a feature of prime brokerage accounts was that they offered bespoke analyses of a portfolio and would calculate custom margin limits:

They are bespoke omnibus accounts, and they will offer custom margin offsets which is amazing. For example, you could buy 500K share blocks of equities out of a dark pool and hedge them against ES and NQ futures, that type of thing.

That's essentially what I'm looking for: a brokerage or service that will look at my portfolio, do their own risk analysis, and offer preferred margin limits or offsets. When I've talked to IB and asked if they'd do something like that, I got the expected "sorry, the limits are the limits, nothing we can do."

Does this sort of thing exist, or have I misunderstood something?

 

[bone]

When I worked at a Hedge Fund, we used a prime broker and that is precisely what they did.
In my case, they calculated an offset margin in order for me to trade OTC Electricity Options versus OTC Natural Gas Options as an inter market spread.

Prime brokerage is offered by all the major Investment Banks, and from what I know an individual would have to be a very high net worth person to get that level of service. Prime Brokers typically clear hedge funds, institutions like pension funds, private equity groups... that type of clientele.

...that a feature of prime brokerage accounts was that they offered bespoke analyses of a portfolio and would calculate custom margin limits:

That's essentially what I'm looking for: a brokerage or service that will look at my portfolio, do their own risk analysis, and offer preferred margin limits or offsets. When I've talked to IB and asked if they'd do something like that, I got the expected "sorry, the limits are the limits, nothing we can do."

Does this sort of thing exist, or have I misunderstood something?

 

[Sig]

I want higher margin allowances than the default settings offered by retail brokerages I've used (IB, TD). My understanding is that some margin limits are required by law, but others are broker-specific and go beyond what is legally required if a brokerage determines that it's protective of their firm.

I want to know if there are any brokerages that will provide either higher margin limits, or more flexible margin offsets -- either for a fee, or perhaps for accounts of a certain size? There was a post in another thread that I may have misinterpreted, but seemed to indicate that a feature of prime brokerage accounts was that they offered bespoke analyses of a portfolio and would calculate custom margin limits:


That's essentially what I'm looking for: a brokerage or service that will look at my portfolio, do their own risk analysis, and offer preferred margin limits or offsets. When I've talked to IB and asked if they'd do something like that, I got the expected "sorry, the limits are the limits, nothing we can do."

Does this sort of thing exist, or have I misunderstood something?

What is the size of your account? That exists, but it's kind of like one of those "if you have to ask the price you can't afford it" things. Not that it's expensive, but you'd need to have the experience and account size that would mean you'd already know the answer to your question in order to access those services.