Max, I used to get margin e-mails the evening after a close, and you had a little time (if you had a large account, maybe 2-more business days) to get those in order. If you had to sell something, I think SEC rules say you have to do it the next day.
If you haven't sold anything by noon the day a call is due, you'll get contacted, if not before. Some places will call as early as 9:30AM, others will give you time if you are a good client. A reminder will go out at 1:00 or so if you haven't done anything, and you really need to move by 2:30PM. If you haven't done anything by then, they start selling you out at about 3:15PM, depending on what you are holding.
If the stock has a small float, a big margin call on a large position could cause financial ruin. I really don't think margin calls are as much as a problem as they were one or 1-1/2 years ago when net stocks and day-trading were the rage. Maybe some big houses, however, have calls on their S&P positions though.
By the way, Max, I noticed APW trading at $5.00 today. If I'd have made my order for $4.00 instead of $3.50 on the 17-1/2 puts, I'd be sitting on a 3-bagger at least.
Hindsight is always 20-20.
Got our retirement fund out of the S&P this AM. I'll wait until resistance at 1000 becomes support that is firm before we get back in. Took a 5% bath on that move, but still looking nice for the YTD. |
