getting my IRA to trade options and forex??

[jasonjm]

sigh, I want to set up an IRA somehow to trade at either
oanda.com or interactive brokers

problems are 2 fold, oanda doesnt have IRA accounts

IB does have IRA accounts but they are sticky about these accounts trading anything that uses margin (like FX or selling options)

is there any way where some custodian type company can open a self directed IRA type plan for me and then put my money in one of these broker's "normal" account for me to trade?

or am i dreaming? ideas please..... thanks very much

 

[nkhoi]

not sure about forex tho, if jessie still around I'm sure he knowns

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3525

 

[sim03]

Don't know about selling options, but I know for a fact that you can trade both currency futures and forex in an IB IRA or Roth IRA.

 

[jasonjm]

sim, thats typical of IB

Great platform and not good support

I phoned them yesterday and they said no to FX - now people are saying yes?

 

[jessie]

Don't know about forex (wouldn't go near that with a ten foot pole myself...), but you can trade futures & options on futures in an IRA that is held in an appropriate IRA trust account. Millennium Trust is one that some of my CTA clients used, there are others as well, each has its own rules about what they will allow relative to your equity, etc. Whether a particular broker will allow it is, I suppose, up to them (I don't use a retail broker, so really can't recommend one to you, but I know that there are a number of them that will allow a trust/IRA futures acct.) You might want to look at www.mtrustcompany.com and see if that would work for you.
Good luck!
Jessie

 

[GTS]

Quote from sim03:

Don't know about selling options, but I know for a fact that you can trade both currency futures and forex in an IB IRA or Roth IRA.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/tradingPermissions.php

Forex
Purchase and sale of currencies. Borrowing in one currency to purchase another currencies is allowed, but margin haircuts will be applied on a real-time basis. Margin accounts automatically get Forex trading permissions in order to effect trading of products denominated in multiple currencies. US IRA accounts are never allowed to borrow currencies.

 

[uptik2000]

You can trade defined risk options in an IRA at www.thinkorswim.com

And they just got rid of the annual fees too.

 

[sim03]

My mistake. Looking over trade histories for my IB accounts, currency futures are OK, while all my spot forex trades have been outside my Roth IRA. Sorry for the earlier misinformation, delivered with such typical trader's (over-) confidence.