mrstock.com does not have min. orders. 10 contracts is the norm to take an order "to the floor." What separates the folks at www.mrstock.com is that all of the principle owners were former options floor traders. That makes a big difference when dealing with seasoned pros. It shows in their online order system that can handle even butterfly spreads online. You can't get more complex than four contracts executed at once. They do it!
From my experience, and the recommendations from other lurkers that turned me on to them, often when I place a limit buy/sell they come in below that for an even better filled than I asked for. That seems to be the case 6 out of 10 trades with me so far. Now, the rest of the information below is more than you are asking about. But, it is interesting if you care to read on.
Equal access to the options markets is fast becoming the norm since the SEC voted in the last two months to make it manditory for ECN coverage of all issues. Gone are the days that allowed exclusive handling of options in one exchange or two and not the others. So, those companies that had the edge with that software that allowed "routing" are not unique anymore.
Now, there is still a difference with the brokerages you can select from. In other words, what is called the "market participants" or market makers. I believe there is some 500 plus in the US that have those privileges and qualify for a "seat." I wrote about this in my November newsletter about
ECNs and free Level-II quotes which has become the standard as part of the SEC opening up equal access, competitions, and standardization in the market place. Check out the November issue at leapspreadswins.com.
In summary, who you pick to trade through and how they handle your order has partly to do with where they fit in the spectrum of "major market participants." So, the notion that you are reaching the "trading floor" is a misnomer. For small fries like you and I, the best that we can do is work thru an ECN via a middleman anyway. The big money has that locked that up and that is their bread and butter.
If you have ever seen a Level-III screen or SOME Level-IIs, here are the symbols of those market makers.
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MAJOR MARKET PARTICIPANTS THAT TRADE
Market Makers: Are required to quote bid and ask at certain size to provide liquidity. Typical symbols are: MLCO, MADF, WARR, and GSCO.
Order Entry Brokers:
Just fill customer orders like most online brokerages like MLCO, DLJP, DEAN, LEGG.
Order Flow Market Makers:
Fill orders on behalf of a broker; they actually pay brokers for "order flow" and stick you with the spread. That is why I NEVER place market orders. Online Brokerages have a license to stick their hands into your pocket and smile while doing it! Hey, you wonder why they gave you 50 free trades for your trading account business. Guess what? You are playing for down the road with interest.
Retail ECN:
Retail customer orders for online firms like ISLD, BRUT, REDI, ARCA, STRK, MWSE.
Institutional ECN:
Institutional electronic market for large trade crossing and well-capitalized day traders.
Proprietary Traders:
Firms trading their own capital for profit like MLCO, GSCO, JPMS, DBKS, FLTT, and WARR.
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KNOW THE MARKET MAKERS?
The NASDAQ opened up their all electronic exchange in New York recently. They have a web site with some inside information. For example, do you know the market makers for the stock you hold? This is a new table I'm placing on my web site as a free tool.... For example, who is playing WAVX and what percentage of their funds? Answer is below. Now, once you see who is moving the stock or shorting it, you can note their MP symbol which shows up on some Level-II and all Level-III screens. You can see if they are bullish or bearish.
nasdaqtrader.com
In summary, Mucho.... you can leg into or do a complete spread with www.mrstock.com. It's up to you. They give you full control of that..... Good questions..
PS - Knowing your MMs and their MPID will sure put a new spin on their public announced recomendations as upgrades or downgrades. In short, you can document if they are trading one way while saying another on CNBC as hype! Remember, pump and dump?
Herm |
