Ib again.

[raf_bcn]

Hi

there is no way to exercise only a fraction of your option position

I didn't know that. So if you have a lot of 20 options you are not able to early exercise only 10.

the whole position was auto liquidated before I could even trade against it because I didn't have the margin to take delivery (

I think IB can start autoliquidation 90 minutes before the market close if they think the option will end itm and you don't have buyin power to take delivery.

One thing I don't understand about IB early exercise system is that They assign you the underlying at the exact moment that you request i . And you must have the margin to take delivery at that time.
But What happen if I only want to early exercise at the end of the day ? For example, if I am short itm calls that for sure are going to be early assigned because of the ex dividend date.
I could buy some itm calls and say _only exercise at the end of the day, because I don't have margin to exercise in this moment, but I know that at the end of the day they are going to offset the short calls.
But it is not possible.

 

[raf_bcn]

Hi
@gkishot
What happened it was not a pattern day trader issue. It was because of a new regulation for european retail traders. We are not allowed to trade USA ETF.
bye bye Spy.

 

[raf_bcn]

Hi
@spindr0
Oh, you don't belive it. I am not going to explain the exact position, it would be very boring.
My net liquidation value after the autoliquidation was aprox. 10 % less than 10 minutes before.
And that is because of 2 things. 1) the prices they liquidate are not good. And they do it in the first 10 minutes of the day. Please look at the bid ask for itm options in those minutes.
I was trying to win a few cents per lot and I end losing some more cents per lot.
2)The new payoff diagram resulting from the liquidation of the options can be very different from your initial one. Then you have to be fast understanding your new position because the market is running.
Usually when this happens the moviment of the underlying goes againts my new position, of course. The market allways knows where have to go in that moments.

But don't worry, this account is to practice and learn. I am used to see autoliquidations. I almost thouhgt I had seen all the possible causes and issues about IB autoliquidations. But not, this times is due to a norm that forbid european traders to trade US etfs, and IB has implemented it from one day to another and without notification to their clients. Great.

thanks.

 

[Sig]

Can you explain how auto liquidation "created" a 10% loss in your account?

What position did you have that was at break even, but when liquidated, incurred a 10% loss due to IB?

With the bid/ask spread on options it's more than reasonable to expect a 10% loss when The Algorithm at IB dumps your stock at the bid/ask with a market order.

 

[d08]

Can you explain how auto liquidation "created" a 10% loss in your account?

What position did you have that was at break even, but when liquidated, incurred a 10% loss due to IB?

This is easily possible with hedged positions. IB autoliquidation does not consider your positions strategy wise, it will liquidate positions as it sees fit.
Imagine a pair trade with high leverage, removing one side can destroy the trade.
The OP should've liquidated everything at once, possibly minimizing the pain but IB didn't exactly give a warning about the mess that hit.