ThinkOrSwim limits their Natural Gas options to the first three months, due to 'liquidity issue risk' in further out months. This isn't a problem for IB, who offer every contract month under the sun, but their margin rates are practically double. Can someone suggest a broker who offers the amount of options as IB, but doesn't have their exorbitant margin requirements for selling options. I appreciate any advice, and thanks.
TOS limited Nat Gas Options to first 3 months: Need Recommendation
- Thread starter bluehills
- Start date
I'm recalling somebody here on ET (during Calendar 2017?!?) noting that IB (I THINK) had some ferocious, way-out-of-regulatory-norms margin on NG or CL or something similar... (Copper?!?)
They inquired of IB as to why, and the answer was along the lines of "No liquidity; big-fat margin."
So rather than bust your chops with margin, maybe ToS is busting your chops with a fore-shortened window? Don't know.
But I'll offer this reflection: as a energy/regulatory economist, I don't know why 6 months wouldn't be the norm, and that maybe at 13 months, you'd want to protect yourself beyond what the trading venues 'required'... (We had rig counts, demand projections, transport capacity, local storage... going out that long.) That just seems whacky to me.
They inquired of IB as to why, and the answer was along the lines of "No liquidity; big-fat margin."
So rather than bust your chops with margin, maybe ToS is busting your chops with a fore-shortened window? Don't know.
But I'll offer this reflection: as a energy/regulatory economist, I don't know why 6 months wouldn't be the norm, and that maybe at 13 months, you'd want to protect yourself beyond what the trading venues 'required'... (We had rig counts, demand projections, transport capacity, local storage... going out that long.) That just seems whacky to me.
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