Herm
Lombard, no wait, I mean Discover, no wait, I mean Morgan Stanley Online :-) also allows writing covered calls against LEAPs, which I have been using successfully for the past couple of years (note: I tend to use a buy DITM LEAP and then I can write CCs more aggressively at lower strike prices since there is much less time premium in the LEAP when it is deep in the money).
As for Discover (just changed today to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Online), I had been happy with them up to their change today. They charged $1.75/contract and minimum of $27.50, which meant that most of my options trades were between $27.50 and $35.00.
Today they've changed to a $35 minimum and percentage based on the value of the principal involved in the transaction, e.g. for $2,500 - $9,999 (e.g. selling 10 options at $4 each as I often do), I now will be charged $49 + 1.5% of the principal (e.g. $100)!
In other words, it looks like most of my options trade commissions have now increased by at least double!
I have fired off an angry email (we are grandfathered until March next year), but I am now looking for a new online discount broker who can handle LEAPs, covered calls and straddle/strangle trades.
Ameritrade is the one which I am most likely to go with, but I could not find anything listing their fee schedule for options on their "new user" page.
Does anyone have a summary of each broker's pricing and reliability/knowledge when it comes to options trading? |
