What broker to use for US options trading?

[thisisnotme1212]

Looking at IG.com.
Anyone tried?
Looks confusing
Is there a legit place to learn how to trade options professionally with IG or better platforms?

 

[BBCWatcher]

Is there any reason why Interactive Brokers isn't on your short list for consideration?

 

[Daytona123]

Looking at IG.com.
Anyone tried?
Looks confusing
Is there a legit place to learn how to trade options professionally with IG or better platforms?

If it is confusing, then you are not ready to trade options. BTW, IG.com doesnt allow options trading.

Your choices are:
Interactive Brokers
Saxo
TD Ameritrade

IB is the cheapest and allows SGD funding, however you are not allowed to buy SGD assets, so you have to either keep your margin in cash or in non SGD assets.

Saxo is slightly more expensive but allows SGD funding as well as allows you to hold SGD assets like ETFs and gives you portfolio margin against SGD assets to trade options.

TD Ameritrade doesnt allow SGD funding and doesnt allow holding SGD assets, you have to wire USD. Also TD Ameritrade is quite expensive at $10 per leg of option trade. However they allow some 100 free trades or something, so while that promo is there you could use it.

I personally chose Saxo.

 

[ashethen]

Interactive brokers have some educational tools or online courses for trading. There's no SG options anyway, so use ib

Sent from Samsung SM-N960F using GAGT

 

[Newbyib]

If it is confusing, then you are not ready to trade options. BTW, IG.com doesnt allow options trading.

Your choices are:
Interactive Brokers
Saxo
TD Ameritrade

IB is the cheapest and allows SGD funding, however you are not allowed to buy SGD assets, so you have to either keep your margin in cash or in non SGD assets.

Saxo is slightly more expensive but allows SGD funding as well as allows you to hold SGD assets like ETFs and gives you portfolio margin against SGD assets to trade options.

TD Ameritrade doesnt allow SGD funding and doesnt allow holding SGD assets, you have to wire USD. Also TD Ameritrade is quite expensive at $10 per leg of option trade. However they allow some 100 free trades or something, so while that promo is there you could use it.

I personally chose Saxo.

How does Saxo compare to IB with respect to margin and interest rates on cash in the account?
For estate purposes, I am intending to open another account in Saxo.
I think Saxo provides live prices free whereas you need to pay in IB which I am on right now.

 

[revhappy]

How does Saxo compare to IB with respect to margin and interest rates on cash in the account?
For estate purposes, I am intending to open another account in Saxo.
I think Saxo provides live prices free whereas you need to pay in IB which I am on right now.

Saxo doesn't provide free market data. It is TD Ameritrade which provides market data for free, if you just deposit the minimum 1k USD in the account.

Saxo offers portfolio margin but not to buy stocks. Stocks can only be bought with full cash. But you can use those stocks/ETFs as collateral to trade in margin products like options, futures, FX, cfds etc

If your account has 50k SGD, then the margin rate is benchmark+0.5%

I like to treat short put options as a yield enhancer and not really for trading. So I sell long term puts on margin. While I buy ES3 and MBH ETFs as the collateral.

 

[thisisnotme1212]

Interactive brokers have some educational tools or online courses for trading. There's no SG options anyway, so use ib

Sent from Samsung SM-N960F using GAGT

thats the confusing part.
they have. not direct but via CFDs.
seems like everything there is via CFDs.
never traded with CFDs before so not sure how they works.

i like their platform though.
pretty fast and clean.

have used ib long ago.
think need 5k usd to open acct?
also need to hit a certain amt of trade every month to avoid some extra charge?
is it still the same?

 

[Newbyib]

Saxo doesn't provide free market data. It is TD Ameritrade which provides market data for free, if you just deposit the minimum 1k USD in the account.

Saxo offers portfolio margin but not to buy stocks. Stocks can only be bought with full cash. But you can use those stocks/ETFs as collateral to trade in margin products like options, futures, FX, cfds etc

If your account has 50k SGD, then the margin rate is benchmark+0.5%

I like to treat short put options as a yield enhancer and not really for trading. So I sell long term puts on margin. While I buy ES3 and MBH ETFs as the collateral.

Looks like Saxo not so good for margin play and credit spreads. Credit spreads is an essential trading tool for me.

 

[revhappy]

Looks like Saxo not so good for margin play and credit spreads. Credit spreads is an essential trading tool for me.

True. Saxo is only good for SG stocks.

 

[joshua182]

so u wanna be an autist i see!