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Option Trading Tips - Finding A Good Option Trading Broker
Using the services of a good option trading broker can greatly enhance your overall annual returns.
To trade options effectively your option trading broker will need to have as many or all of the following attributes:
• Courteous attitude & quality service.
• Ease and promptness of communications.
• Efficient execution of orders.
• Value (re: brokerage and other charges).
• Margin lending facility.
• Access to quality research & market info.
• Online trading enabled.
In this the information age, it is now possible for the average trader to have access to all the tools that the professionals do at the touch of a button.
If you are someone who is serious about taking charge of your own trading and investments it is vital that you have all the necessary tools at your disposal.
I use a broker that fulfills all of the above criteria and more and I am extremely happy with their service.
They are a 100% web-based stock and option trading broker called OptionsXpress.
Their system is extremely efficient and it is very easy to open and manage your account online.
Even though OptionsXpress are a web-based option trading broker they can still be contacted by phone to answer all technical questions to help your experience with them run smoothly.
They don’t give investment advice, they are a discount service but one that is extremely good value.
With daily access to professional newsletters and up to date market information along with a fully automated order execution system optionsxpress is in my opinion is the leading online option trading broker.
They even have a separate site dedicated to paper trading every kind of stock and options strategy you can think of so that you can both gain experience without risking your own capital and also get familiar with placing orders and navigating their site before you start trading for real.
What I like about Optionsxpress is the ability to place a variety of different orders that are conditionally filled according to a pre-selected criteria.
For example,
Order Cancels Order (OCO)
This order gives you the ability to enter your profit limit order and your stop loss order at the same time without having to worry about one of them being left active.
Contingent Orders
This order ties your option entry or exit to a specific stock price.
Trailing Stops
This order allows you to capture most of an options move without having to adjust your stops. Your stop exit magically follows the options price up until it turns around a certain dollar amount or a certain percent—which you choose.
Order Confirmation
Not only that but optionsXpress emails you immediately with your fills—it’s good to see what you got filled at and have a record of it right away and with email you can get that info from a handheld device or the properly equipped mobile phoneanywhere.
They can take orders via their state of the art trading platform, or you can talk to someone over the phone or you can use their “Live Help” instant messaging software right on your computer—I’ve used “Live Help” and it works great—there really is someone at the other end of the keyboard.
Plus they offer a…
Trade Calculator
Calculate necessary buying power for a hypothetical trade (great for spread margin hold) and show profit and loss at expiration for each trade.
Volatility View
Volatility view consists of powerful charts that reveal the price of a security as it relates to the historic volatility of the securitycritical for assessing whether a given option is “inflated” or “cheap.
Streaming Quotes
Unlimited tick-by-tick streaming real-time stock and option quotes—about a hundred bucks a month from the independent services – all free.
The Bottom Line…
OptionsXpress is by far the best choice if you do not have the ability or the inclination to watch the markets during market hoursperiod.
The great news is that they only charge $1.50 per contract with a minimum commission of $14.95 and no hidden fees!
If you want a good option trading broker (and stocks), OptionsXpress is the way to go.
This is the way that trading should be, you put in a conditional buy order at your price, you put in an order to sell at say 50% profit or at your target price, you also at the same time put in your stop loss price, along with a trailing stop to maximize your profit and voila!
You can get off the computer knowing that at either extreme you will be sold out at profit, sold out at your stop loss, or will still be in the trade, somewhere in the middle.
This now frees up your time for doing more pleasant activities and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?
You can open an account with them by clicking here.
Successful Option Trading!
About The Author
James Thomas is a successful private option trader and has created http://www.option-trading tips.com as an informative no-nonsense resource full of useful tips and information designed for option traders to improve their trading results.