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Friday, October 9, 2009

Select an Online Options Broker, Learn More Option Trading Tips

By William Davies

There are a number of issues you need to consider when you are looking for an online options broker to provide you with effective access to forex options on the global markets. Firstly, ask what, if any, is their financial exposure to risky instruments like mortgage derivatives and credit default swaps (CDS). Does the online broker deal with other trade and investment instruments like futures, bonds and stocks, or is it focused solely on forex options?

You will want to have some idea about the size of the company and its operations, and asking about its daily trading volumes, whether it is a million or much more for example, will give you a good idea. A trader considering which online options broker to choose will want to know about how the margin requirements work, whether it operates in real time with the use of automatic limits or with the broker contacting traders at the end of the trading day with a margin call. As options are highly leveraged, what is the required minimum balance?

Some option contracts allow you to exit at any time up to the expiry date while other types of contract must be held to expiry or settlement. So you would need to know what type of options your broker can offer in their online trading platform. There is also the question of cost and whether the online options broker can offer a discount and so lower your trading costs. Under what circumstances would they do this? Do you have to have a premier type account or hold a higher maintenance margin to benefit from a discount?

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.

An important consideration when looking the choice of an online options broker is the availability to clients of a quality educational support system and training program. The new trader will benefit greatly from a range of quality seminars and videos which explain the basics of options trading in a clear and concise way. See if these videos are interactive so that they let you see the results of decisions you take in the trial run as they affect your trading capital. Check out to see if they also offer trading tips via a newsletter as well as 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.

If you can see your trade risk and option price in real time this offers you a great advantage, so try to find software that achieves these capabilities and help you improve your trade performance. It may also pay to see whether the firm offers data covering volatility and other trading measures as well as macroeconomic data like interest rates. Finally, after taking all the above into account you may be in a much better position to choose an online options trader that is right for you. And remember that trading these derivative products means there is a risk of losing your capital. - 23218

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