Find an Online Options Broker, Planning Your Options Trading Strategy

By William Davies

If you want to trade forex options on world markets you may consider an online options broker and will want to look at various factors to help you decide which firm offers the best service. Among the considerations will be what, if any, is their exposure to credit default swaps, mortgage derivatives and other such leveraged instruments. Is the online broker a specialist in options or do they cover other areas such as bonds, stocks and futures?

When you ask what sort of trade volumes they handle on a daily basis, this will give you a good picture of the size of the operation. Does the broker do a half a million, a million or more contracts daily? Then a prospective trader needs to check out the margin system used by the online options broker. Do they operate in real time, including the use of automatic limits, or does the broker contact the trader at the end of the trading day? And given that options are highly leveraged, what are the minimum balances you have to maintain?

Make sure you find out exactly what type of option contracts the broker provides on their online trading platforms. With some contracts you can exit the option at any time within the expiry period, while others are set up so that you hold them to expiry or settlement. Look to see if the online options broker can offer discounts which would help you to reduce your trading costs, and find out when they would do this. It may be that a trader would have to open a special or premier account or have a higher maintenance margin to get this benefit.

It is possible for the options trader to gain exposure to different markets in the global options universe. You could approach a plain vanilla options broker who will enable you to enter markets with deeper liquidity and the contract is broadly a standard, uncomplicated vehicle most likely traded through the main clearinghouse system. If you are more adventurous you could use an exotic options broker and trade the niche sector of smaller, less liquid traded currencies.

When you are deciding which online options broker to select, it is worth checking out the quality and effectiveness of the educational program and support available to clients. As a trader starting out you will find things easier if the firm offers a range of seminar and videos covering the basics of options trading. Find out if the videos offered are designed to let you see the effect of decisions you take in the mock scenario on your trading capital. As well as the educational angle, does the broker give you a report service, newsletters and trade alerts?

An important area of the package will be the type and ease of use of the trading software. See if you can understand how it works and that it has a version suitable for new traders as well as professionals. You will want to see how straightforward it is to follow your trades on the platform and take decisive action if necessary. Find out if the online options broker can get a better price per contract than its competitors.

In managing your options trading you will want access to technology which lets you analyse price and risk in real time. Also look to see if the broker platform provides statistics on interest rates, volatility and other key variables to help you decide which options to trade at a given moment. After doing all your due diligence on choosing an online options broker, remember that when you trade in options and other derivatives, there is a chance of significant loss of capital. - 23217

About the Author:

The author, William Davies, contributes articles for a website on Commodities Trading, offering an informational resource for those wishing to learn more about commodities, futures and options. Find an appropriate online options broker for your trading style.