How the Hell do I get approved for options?

Fidelity rejected me because I was under 21 ... just turned 21 and the day after my birthday opened up an account with IB
 
pathus,

i'm curious about this/these trades that would have netted u 10k. what kind of size would u be talking about here? what would ur risk have been? would u have had to risk ur entire 19k to get this 10k? and how about execution risk, would u have been able to put these on at the same time as ur mentor?
 
Quote from VictorS:

optionsxpress won't reject you.

I had no problem getting approved for buying calls and puts. No experience and limited capital.

If you're confident about what you're doing, then just keep looking. You may end up with a broker you don't like a lot just to get in the game. Then you can switch to a better broker as you gain experience and make money.
 
Hi Pathus,

Would you be interested in sharing any of your very privileged info? I know I for one would be very interested in hearing from, never mind being mentored by a successful professional on this subject! All my life I've wanted a mentor, and now, especially, a wealthy and savvy one for trading but such is hard to find.

How is your trading going by the way? Mine sucks - money out of my acc't that is.
 
I got approved for options when I turned 19, but Ive been trading stocks and options in my family account for over 5 years previous. I had no problems when I was 19, however back then I use the old td securities greenline in those days. It was when your local brokerage had more discretion and if you were on good terms with them, your local rep could easily approve you. You might also try having a simple long put/call account. thats much easier to approve, and when you get more experience apply for the full package.
Quote from torontoman:

I don't know. My friend was rejected, but that's it. Nothing else. But I don't know.

20 years old? My God that's young. I bet you THAT is the reason. And that's why they won't tell you. They don't want to say that it's because of your age, but I bet you that's it.

Because they told my friend the reason for HIS rejection. I am almost sure it's your age.
 
I dont know if its diffrent regulations, since we have like 10 diffrent regulatory securities organizatins in Canada. 1 for each province and territory, but in British Columbia and in Canada its pretty easy to open any type of account. I have never had a problem opening an account. When I first open my own account, it was throught TD, my rep wrote down all of my things,she made a glowing recommendation, and i got approved 2 week later, and I started trading on my 19th birthday. I was approved for margin and option trading. Also when i opened my futures account throught Refco canada, RBC securities, Harris Nesbitt, and Cibc I never had a problem. My suggestion if your canadian, and lol your discount options are limited to now only banks and few directs, use your bank,and your rep can give you a recommendation. You will be approved more easily.

Quote from NKNY:

repercussions are jail or $100,000 fine or both.


Just kidding...

They simply will not approve you. You have to understand, they want to cover their butts in case you lose all your money and sue them for letting a novice like you trade options which is considered an unsuitable investment for your profile.

If you claim you are an expert options trader with a nice net worth ( Not advising this but you could) they can protect themselves in court.

If you tell them what they want to hear you should be prepared to lose your money because it can and probably will happen.

And remember, you can't blame anyone but yourself even if their systems are down, stock gets halted and opens at 0... your mentor has a string of bad luck....These are all risks you should be prepared to deal with as an experienced trader.

Good luck...

Nick
 
Replying to your original issue Pathus, I opened my first acc't this last Feb. with IB and had to tell them I had made at least 100 previous trades, something the recommending seminar I attended warned me I'd have to do. At the time I was fully intending to trade (and did) under the recommendations of an online trading advisor - Daytrade Team, who of course would qualify in the experience department. Otherwise I couldn't tell if my being older than you and self-employed affected my acceptance or not.
 
Back
Top