This is how bad the IB Margin calculator and Support are
- Thread starter Chubbly
- Start date
I'm sorry but your answer is totally inadequate... ES options are one of the most liquid in the world and 6 months out is not far at all. So liquidity is not an issue.
And besides that... There's no way he can even lose close to that margin amount.... I get you might want to discourage people from trading naked options... but in a spread is just non-sense.
This is not a liquidity issue (and its after hours......)
Last edited:
This is the complete opposite of how people should approach these products.
SPY, SPX <= SEC regulated, equity-exchange-run non-SPAN products trading non 24/5.
ES <= CTFC regulated, future-exchange-run SPAN products trading pretty much 24/5.
Why someone would want to trade the equity products is beyond me (other than the 2x larger size of SPX). Also, if you trade options on SPY - they're not 1256 contracts; ES and SPX are.
Your 1256 observation is right on. But the net of your post is that ES FOPs are traded over a greater clock than SPX options. It is an illusory benefit.
** The SPX now trades from (I think) 3am to 9:15am ET.
** For both the ES and SPX, the volumes traded outside of major market hours are teensy.
The conclusion you should draw is that there is no constructive difference between the two -- if you learn this by experience, it will be a costly lesson.
Your statement that "This is the complete opposite of how people should approach these products." is wholly wrong, because it dismisses the costs of taking a given amount of capital and placing it at risk in the market, in seeking a given amount of return.
Take $5000 of capital, put it into equivalent-risk ES or SPX trades, and let reality change your mind.
Just as a tactical sidelight, when trading the SPX, you can *attempt* to hedge outside RTHs with ES futures or FOP positions. ("Attempt" being the key word.) Not so easy, though, to go in the other direction.
I am new to this. I have a question.
MY options sell order executed at market open. However, 50 minutes later broker called to tell my order cancelled due to IB rules and they are putting those options back in my account, which have lost >30% value since I sold. I am looking up a few thousands loss here. Any help, advice on how to deal with this? Thank you.
MY options sell order executed at market open. However, 50 minutes later broker called to tell my order cancelled due to IB rules and they are putting those options back in my account, which have lost >30% value since I sold. I am looking up a few thousands loss here. Any help, advice on how to deal with this? Thank you.
For anyone to competently address your question, they'd need to know, at a minimum,
the thing being traded, the effect on your inventory, and the type of account.
Just for grins, I'm going to opine that, while holding longs and shorts of a vertical spread in your IRA, you set up a sale of your insurance strikes that went unrecognized, and when trading opened, your order was hit, your longs were sold, and a fault was registered with IB. IB responds by putting the longs back into your account, at a 1/3rd-off rate, and we all go out for dinner.
the thing being traded, the effect on your inventory, and the type of account.
Just for grins, I'm going to opine that, while holding longs and shorts of a vertical spread in your IRA, you set up a sale of your insurance strikes that went unrecognized, and when trading opened, your order was hit, your longs were sold, and a fault was registered with IB. IB responds by putting the longs back into your account, at a 1/3rd-off rate, and we all go out for dinner.