Optos Share Discussion Threads

[harvester] 24/7/2014 08:43

crontab: pretty adventurous trading then . US stock not often discussed here but still of interest.
Would be of interest to hear some specifics from time to time as you can read on this thread .

I had planned to exercise my long SSE sep 1600puts after the divi payment of 60.7 . Changed my mind . In the end STC 3x SSE Sep 1600puts @ 112 well above the buy premium . It was part of a long 1600/1500 put spread.
Have rolled 1x 1500puts to March 1400puts @ -5 . Misunderstanding since should have been 3x . Mistake worked out to my advantage since SSE ex-divi drop less than the divi and still trading close to 1500 .

[crontab] 24/7/2014 00:25

Ok harv, thanks for the hint. I will look into it, cheers.

Were you asking what types of trade I do?
Futures trades - metals, energies, bonds, currencies, indexes
Futures options on all the above
Stock options (all U.S. stocks)
Spot currency (but usually stick to the futures)

[harvester] 23/7/2014 16:28

ALP: Agree. I had the same problem for a while until they managed to correct the gross data error listed in "my account" .

[alphorn] 23/7/2014 13:20

Well 5th call to FXCM this morning - my account on Pheonix is still showing the mistrade although their monitor is not. Also my open positions are shown correctly.
You would have thought that there would be one account system and also that there would be some sort of 'double entry' in that open positions are linked to money accounts. They are still the same friendly people to deal with.

(Harv - no special deal; but I have not asked - still much cheaper than a private bank in CH).

[harvester] 22/7/2014 10:59

ALP :
I hope that you negotiated better 'phone trade terms than the ones on the rate card !

[alphorn] 22/7/2014 10:17

Harv - these were phone trades. I called this morning and they think that it was posted to the wrong account. I shall try later to locate the daily trade info.

[harvester] 22/7/2014 09:43

crontab: no skullduggery .Legit . Think of British islands.
P.S. I don't want to spell it out. I am also keen to protect my privacy .
BTW, why don't you share some of your trading news with us. It's a very friendly bunch on this thread and we all try to help each other. Need not mention confidential finances . Just the type of trade you do .

ALP: you mean your own trades ? Were you trying to close a position on expiry and it was not done ?

Still no feedback on charges from FXCM. Hence I have placed no trades with them since the systems change .

[alphorn] 21/7/2014 20:48

crontab - not spending half you day in traffic and the beautiful weather most of the time are two quite attractive benefits. ;-))

I have been trying to find and print out today's trades - nothing to be found on FXCM and in fact the AZN close out was not done. :(

[crontab] 21/7/2014 19:51

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean harv, do you mean the dark arts of tax avoidance skullduggery? Or something else?

[harvester] 21/7/2014 15:42

crontab: you can find Swiss facilities closer to home !

[crontab] 21/7/2014 13:25

harv, thanks but it's taken me a long time to get to where I am. Not an easy game this but once you get there, it can be pretty good to you. Luckily (or not) I had a massive loss some years ago that I've been able to write off against profits above my allowance over the last 3 years but that's gone now. I don't want to talk amounts but I just checked the difference between CGT on "good" profits in 2008/9 tax year and 2014/15 tax year and found 2014/15 CGT liability to be 50% more than 2008/9. That shows how much they are targetting CGT. Bar stewards.

Switzerland, not really an option, I heard from a friend some years ago who worked there for a time that it's as dull as dishwater. Then again I'm pretty much as dull as dishwater these days.
I think Singapore has no CGT, but realistically leaving the country seems to me like cutting my nose off to spite my face - for me, mind; it's different for everybody of course.

Re comments on spreads: I know the spreads are higher; that's just the price you pay. But if I'm selling weekly ES puts at 10.00 on IB and I can only sell them for 9.70 on IG (or elsewhere), but they expire OTM, who cares really except for a G Osborne Esq of SW1A 2AB. 9.70 of tax free cash vs 10.00 taxed at 28%? Hmm, let me think ;-)

Re comments on trading futures and stops being hit: thanks for the heads-up. I tend to trade without stops (held stops) anyway but I plan to continue with IB for some of my business; easy to check whether the market traded a (or through a) stop price and I'd be on the blower letting them know I know, and I'm not a schmuck, and they can bloody well cancel the trade or I'll be closing my account. At that point it's up to them.

Seems there's not much experience here with trading options on SB then? I guess I'm going to have to just suck it and see. It's always a pain opening new accounts, juggling them with your existing account(s), and discovering the foibles of different providers, but nothing comes for free and that includes tax free profits.

Best of luck to you all.

[zastas] 21/7/2014 12:29

Interesting that, Alphorn.

No charging for delayed prices? I'll have to look again on my other computer's email, but I am quite sure that on the sent rate card FXCM quotes £25 per month as a platform charge; I thought that the default is delayed prices anyhow. However, I could be wrong of course and have squinted too much.

I certainly intend to write to them soon, to clarify the position about charging as related to minimum monthly trades and cash balances.

[alphorn] 21/7/2014 11:26

Closed out my AZN August naked call and some IAG naked Sept calls; banked a little and not being too greedy.

btw FXCM said that they wouldn't be charging for delayed pricing on the platform and the comments on the open option positions versus the old sytem had been noted.

[harvester] 21/7/2014 10:03

crontab: well done if you worry about the capital gains tax bill above your free annual allowance.
I also found that IG trade against you . When you buy they want you to pay the max of the spread and when you sell they offer the least of the spread . To trade inside the spread requires hard bargaining . That means: what you would save on capital gains you would lose by their creaming off .
Just join Alphorn in Switzerland and enjoy the wonderful scenery there .
Alternatively , try to offset the capital gain by creating a capital loss by a B&B deal on shares you hold .

One of the great things with options writing is that you can end up on the share price losing side with respect to the underlying share and still end up with option trade profit. If you directly buy the underlying share and the share price goes down you are either locked in until price recovery or sell at a loss if you have to close . Also , relatively little money is tied up in the call option buy premium , giving you the choice later to exercise the option if the share price goes up or walk away from a possible deal .

[alphorn] 21/7/2014 09:15

Options of course have no stamp duty and in Switzerland all gains are tax free.

[zastas] 21/7/2014 08:58

Be very,very careful with any artificial financial instruments. And too much leverage of course. The Gold Fix is not the only suspicious area.

Indeed the brokers or issuing/creating banks can simply run up or down the order book on a particular expiry date and time, to ensure that your money is gone. I was once seduced by the Societe Generale Listed CFDs invention ( mainly allowing you to use leverage like CFDs though ordinary brokers then ). I saw them running the BP shareprice down by a few pence, just ( and no more) hitting my strike price on expiry date and time, after which it just ran back up a few pence. I have forgotten the precise technical details, but it essentially meant I lost all or most of my premium paid. No wonder the Listed CFDs never cottoned on; many more must have been once bitten twice shy too there.

Only real and ongoing ownership of the security can protect you. Options are fine though, provided you realise what they are: just options.

[profitaker] 21/7/2014 07:29

3. Being the root of all evil

[mail2] 20/7/2014 21:12

was using cmc at one time. had 3 contracts running on ym (dow futures) large spread. on news futures where showing +40 on my trade. couldnt close. they left it hanging till dow was +60 then i got my 40. closed account straight away.

[praipus] 20/7/2014 20:53

I've used IG and CityIndex to trade futures using spreadbets.

The problems were:

1. STOPs being hit when all other market data showed the bid/offer going nowhere near.

2. One of their brokers admitted to me that they will trade against you.

3. The small print made it clear that they have no obligation to match the underlying markets moves.

[crontab] 20/7/2014 12:56

Guys,
I apologise if this has been asked before, but can those of you who trade options using a spreadbet account recommend an SB provider?
I've been trading options through IB for a while now, and I am very, very happy with IB, BUT, CGT rates are monstrously high, I have had a very good year, and I did a CGT calculation at hxxp://www.uktaxcalculators.co.uk/capital-gains-tax-calculator.php and was shocked, so when you consider you can do near enough the exact same thing (unfortunately not the exact same thing but hopefully close enough) through an SB company and pay zero tax, it seems slightly insane to continue to do this stuff through IB (sadly). So I need to start slowly transitioning away from IB towards SB. Or at least try.
IG seems to be top dog, but it seems the minimum bet sizes are high after the introductory period.
Does anybody have anything to say on other providers?
From a quick search I see
a) gftuk
b) cityindex (seems to be limited array of options products)
c) spreadex (seems to be limited array of options products)
d) etx capital (can't find any information on their site on what options products they provide)
seem to facilitate options trading via spreadbets.
Can anybody make any comments on these providers, or IG, and I have I missed any?

Thanks.

[mail2] 20/7/2014 01:26

i have a account with interactive brokers, i think theres lots of advice on there wil start there, thxs

[mail2] 20/7/2014 01:23

harvester. thank you for your insights and advice

[harvester] 19/7/2014 23:26

mail2:
start by reading about options and option strategies. There is plenty of option info on the internet . You could also attend a course teaching how to trade options .
Then place a small options buy order for lowly priced shares like RSA or Lloyds which has limited risk, i.e. you can't lose more than the option premium you pay up-front .
Alternatively you can write a covered call option which is equally safe . Say if you hold 5000 shares of BT currently trading below 400 but are happy to sell them at 420 (say) , then sell five 420 calls , bearing in mind the ex-dividend dates . Carefully chosen that will generate a bit of extra income while not exposing you to too much risk if you feel confident to hold the shares to cover the sold calls .
Bear in mind that time works against you when you buy near term options and works for option writers.
During periods of low volatility like we have now it is usually a good time to buy options . If you sell uncovered options for smallish premiums during periods of low volatility , you take a greater risk since the cost of closing a position can explode when a market crisis develops and shoots up volatility.

[mail2] 19/7/2014 20:55

would like to try options but would not no where to start.

[mail2] 19/7/2014 20:39

y i have been using iweb couple of months commision unbeatable 2 pound for stops etc but if not cancelled and filled get it back off commission