IB Initial Margin on ES is 22,000

eastern_warrior said:
Strange times indeed. What if the US and the rest of the global powers decide to shut everything down. What is a major bank or banks fail. Is it possible for limit down day 1, maybe day 2, maybe day 3? What if exchanges shut down? When they reopen you think it will be an orderly limit down but plenty of time to liquidate on a bounce?
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Let's work with what we know. The day I posted (3/16/2020) already was a record day. There has never been an overnight gap larger than that in TradeStation's data: 9.78 percent in the Dow Jones. This does include all exchange shutdowns as well. To find #2 on that list, we have to go back to 2/16/1932 when it was 8.60 percent overnight gap.

So to answer your question: Yes, I think just observing the CME margins will be fine going forward. I don't believe what's ahead will be multiple times worse for the stock market than anything that actually happened in the last 100 years.
 
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I am just posting it here as a record of this insanity
 
DarthSidious said:
View attachment 223195

I am just posting it here as a record of this insanity
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I favor it.

$34.665.25 / $50 a point = 693.305 pts.

The average True Range for the S&P has been >150 pts for the last 10 days.

The average True Range for the S&P was <25 just two months ago.

The ES margin represents about 4.5 days of movement, currently. A little back-calculating would have January's ES margin ~ (4.5 * 25 = 112.5) * 50 = $5625

% of notional value is how we generally think of margin bond/requirements, and that has grown from 2.5% to 5.0% to (34.665.25/(50*2500)) = ~28% :wtf: But "$34,665.25" is a *very* curious number. (Isn't anybody besides me wanting to know how that 25¢ got in there?!?)

At any rate, I think a days-movement volatility view is a lot more elucidating than just wondering why %-notional-value seems so out-of-whack.
 
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Here's what I don't understand...
If I buy an ES put...for say 40 pts...
and then want to sell a put of a lower strike from the same month for 20..
creating a bull put spread for 20 pts debit...
WHY are they asking me to put up an IM of $18,000????
This makes no sense for a limited risk debit spread...
 
DarthSidious said:
View attachment 223195

I am just posting it here as a record of this insanity
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IB (and any FCM) has the right to charge whatever they wish, so long as they meet exchange minimums. They could zoom that overnight margin to 1,000,000 bux if they wish, it is perfectly legal. Outrageous? Sure. Can't blame them though for playing it safe. Free monies for them.
 
NewTraderAdventure said:
no idea, not my area of expertise

execution risk ? wide spreads risk ?

lets see if we can get a decent answer here
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It’s a debit put spread. yes there is a short option element but it’s balanced by the long. The risk is limited to the debit unless I leg out of the long put in which case I would be naked short the WOOM Put in which case I could understand the margin requirement.
otherwise this is plain stupid.
 
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