Options Brokers

dragonman · Oct 16, 2011

Hello, I am searching for an equity option broker that offers low commission per contract (preferably $1.5 or less), without any additional "ticket charge" and preferably without any constant monthly charges (such as software fees, data fees, activity fee, etc.). Also, I would prefer a broker that does not have margin or liquidation policies which are stricter than what is required by law (such as GPV limitations or auto-liquidation at IB).

I posted a similar question in this regard in the past but now my question is more focused -- I am aware of IB, TOS, MBT, Lightspeed, but for one reason or another I am looking for other brokers who may better fit to my needs. Anyone has any ideas? Thanks.

UddaMan · Oct 16, 2011

I'm looking for an options broker where I don't have to put up any money, pay no commision, get the platform for free and everytime a make a good trade, some says "good boy", and send me a check. When I lose money, they say...oops, try again.

FrankSlaughtery · Oct 17, 2011

Quote from UddaMan:

I'm looking for an options broker where I don't have to put up any money, pay no commision, get the platform for free and everytime a make a good trade, some says "good boy", and send me a check. When I lose money, they say...oops, try again.

Bump. If anyone knows about a firm like this I'll wire in all of my virtual dollars in a new york minute.

moonmist · Oct 17, 2011

Quote from dragonman:

Hello, I am searching for an equity option broker that offers low commission per contract (preferably $1.5 or less), without any additional "ticket charge" and preferably without any constant monthly charges (such as software fees, data fees, activity fee, etc.). Also, I would prefer a broker that does not have margin or liquidation policies which are stricter than what is required by law (such as GPV limitations or auto-liquidation at IB).

I posted a similar question in this regard in the past but now my question is more focused -- I am aware of IB, TOS, MBT, Lightspeed, but for one reason or another I am looking for other brokers who may better fit to my needs. Anyone has any ideas? Thanks.

There is no perfect broker. If there is one, all the other will go out of business within a short period of time. We have to compromise.

The hard reality is:

I have been searching for the unicorn for nine years. Currently, I have accounts at Interactive Brokers, OptionsXpress, and Thinkorswim. :mad:

dragonman · Oct 17, 2011

Quote from moonmist:

There is no perfect broker. If there is one, all the other will go out of business within a short period of time. We have to compromise.

The hard reality is:

I have been searching for the unicorn for nine years. Currently, I have accounts at Interactive Brokers, OptionsXpress, and Thinkorswim.

Thanks for the response. Regarding OptionsXpress -- do you think they can give better rates than what is published on the website ($12.95 flat rate per order plus $1.25 per contract after the 11th contract per order)? I understood that in some brokers (such as thinkorswim) the published rates are negotiable but I do not know about OptionsXpress.

It is true that there is not a perfect broker, but I really think that the current competitive environment among brokers is much better than what is was a few years ago and therefore the traders can require and get much better terms that what is used to be in the past.

spd · Oct 17, 2011

Have you looked at Options House? They are decent, not perfect, but decent.

dragonman · Oct 17, 2011

Quote from spd:

Have you looked at Options House? They are decent, not perfect, but decent.

Yes I looked at them, but again, my main problem is with the rates that are published on the website (especially the $5 minimum) and I do not know if it is negotiable. If you have any information in this regard please let me know, thanks.

spd · Oct 17, 2011

Quote from dragonman:

Yes I looked at them, but again, my main problem is with the rates that are published on the website (especially the $5 minimum) and I do not know if it is negotiable. If you have any information in this regard please let me know, thanks.

I haven't tried to negotiate with them. The (lack of) size I trade probably wont give me much leverage with them. Equities and options are a small part of my trading activities so the commissions really aren't a burden for me.

Give them a call and see what they say, the one person I spoke with there was a pretty nice guy.

FrankSlaughtery · Oct 18, 2011

just to save the op and everyone else a lot of time and energy afaik, no broker offers a lower per contract commission (0.60) w/ NO ticket charge than lightspeed. e option is 0.10 per contract however there is a 3 ticket charge. pls correct me if i'm wrong.

i'm not trying to single handedly end the thread - just point out like another poster did that there is no "perfect" broker. i have a feeling you (in general not the op) could spend hours researching the alternatives then come back to "i'll use tos (now tda) for analytics and ib for execution". again i'm not trying to tell anyone what to do (i couldn't care less).

dragonman · Oct 19, 2011

Quote from FrankSlaughtery:

just to save the op and everyone else a lot of time and energy afaik, no broker offers a lower per contract commission (0.60) w/ NO ticket charge than lightspeed. e option is 0.10 per contract however there is a 3 ticket charge. pls correct me if i'm wrong.

i'm not trying to single handedly end the thread - just point out like another poster did that there is no "perfect" broker. i have a feeling you (in general not the op) could spend hours researching the alternatives then come back to "i'll use tos (now tda) for analytics and ib for execution". again i'm not trying to tell anyone what to do (i couldn't care less).

Thanks for the information on eOption, I did not know about them; I will check it.

It's true that the pricing of most of the brokers differ only slightly, but still if check it seriously he may find better deals, which can substantially increase the bottom line over time. In addition, there are brokers that offer great price (such as Lightspeed) but their platform does not have basic spread functionality, which is a real minus; there are brokers which their published rates are very negotiable, etc.; so that although the searching process is time consuming, I think it is worthwhile.

Is anyone familiar with AOS? They charge $0.75 without minimum for large accounts.