Thread,
I'm not sure whether this thread is about the stock or our experiences as clients... sorry if it's only the former.
I'm shopping for a brokerage that will let me open a small account to write naked puts (say, against $10,000 cash as equity).
My question: What are ETrade's requirements for writing naked puts?
Most brokerages require either $10,000 or $20,000 in "base" equity, and then let you write against any additional equity (e.g., if I have $25,000 cash at Dreyfus, which has a $20K base requirement, I can write puts against only $5,000 of it).
I called up ETrade today and had trouble getting the person I spoke to to understand the difference between base equity and the minimum margin requirements for an account (ETrade is 40% cash or marginable securities against the premium plus the full value of the put stock). I kept rephrasing the question, she kept putting me on hold to speak to her manager, and she kept giving me the 40% answer, which has nothing to do with the base equity requirement. So either their base equity requirement is zero, the person on the phone was a dunce, or I was especially vague.
Help (or recommendations for other brokerages) would be appreciated. Thanks. |
