Mark59 

Hey Any thoughts on using Tradestation for Selling Options? I understand they deal in Canada. I phoned them and the chap said they use Span Margin. He said they clear through R J O'Brien Thanks.

Maybe it has changed, but in 2008 or 2009 Tradestation closed accounts of Canadians. I have friends in Canada who still believe this, so this would be good news for them.

To answer your question, I use Tradestation for futures trading but not options on futures. You'd have to look at commissions, but in general their service, etc. is pretty good.

kevinkdog 

Maybe it has changed, but in 2008 or 2009 Tradestation closed accounts of Canadians. I have friends in Canada who still believe this, so this would be good news for them. To answer your question, I use Tradestation for futures trading but not options on futures. You'd have to look at commissions, but in general their service, etc. is pretty good.

Kevin

He said Ontario only due to the fact that the clearing agent is in Ontario. Just looking for lower Margin , as IB is so high.

Mark59 

Kevin He said Ontario only due to the fact that the clearing agent is in Ontario. Just looking for lower Margin , as IB is so high.

Ahh thanks. If TS uses SPAN, their margin would be much lower than IB, and even lower than OptionsXpress. Good be a very good thing.

I just made a KC trade at OX and the 75 cent transaction fee was gone.

Anybody else see that?

Because of the volume I do there, they have me at 2.99 commission. So the new total cost to sell a KC option for me was 4.76. It used to be 5.51.

ron99 

I just made a KC trade at OX and the 75 cent transaction fee was gone. Anybody else see that?

Yes, I sold a SB today, and noticed it too. It looks like their price is flat $3.50 plus exchange fees. No volume minimums or discounts listed anymore.

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kevinkdog 

Maybe it has changed, but in 2008 or 2009 Tradestation closed accounts of Canadians. I have friends in Canada who still believe this, so this would be good news for them. To answer your question, I use Tradestation for futures trading but not options on futures. You'd have to look at commissions, but in general their service, etc. is pretty good.

Kevin, Isn't there something that if you are doing futures at Tradestation that you are on a different platform?

ron99 

Kevin, Isn't there something that if you are doing futures at Tradestation that you are on a different platform?

Yes. I don't know if you can do options on Tradestation's main platform. But, there is another platform (Futures 4.0), which I'm pretty sure can do it. BUT, you have to have a separate account setup for it. I use the Futures 4.0 platform for manual trades, and spread trades, which TS main platform does not support.

I sold some CL puts today on OX. It was just $3.50 commission and $1.47 Fees. Sweet!

kevinkdog 

Yes. I don't know if you can do options on Tradestation's main platform. But, there is another platform (Futures 4.0), which I'm pretty sure can do it. BUT, you have to have a separate account setup for it. I use the Futures 4.0 platform for manual trades, and spread trades, which TS main platform does not support.

What are the commissions and fees at TS and do they charge you the overnight fee? Platform cost?

ron99 

I just made a KC trade at OX and the 75 cent transaction fee was gone. Anybody else see that? Because of the volume I do there, they have me at 2.99 commission. So the new total cost to sell a KC option for me was 4.76. It used to be 5.51.

Yes, I noticed it too. That's great that OX finally realized that their commission for options on futures were way too high at $12.99 per. This works out great for me too since they started me at $3.99 per so this new rate is even better for my bottom line.