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Strategies & Market Trends : Options for Newbies -(Help Me Obi-Wan-Kenobe) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bogumil who wrote (1753)	12/28/1999 9:20:00 PM
From: RoseCampion	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 2241

Are there other brokers that allow at least long calls and puts without holding the underlying stock? Fidelity, and most "mainstream" brokers, allow Level II options trading (long calls, long puts, short covered calls) on equities in a retirement account, once you get standard approval and sign an options agreement. A few smaller ones (eg, Wit Capital) allow only Level I (covered call writing). In my experience, very few permit Level IV trading in retirement accounts (which allows everything except the two things you've listed, naked short calls and short index options). It's stupid, really, because a short put has exactly the same risk/reward profile as a covered call - there's no logical reason not to allow it if it's secured by cash or what would be marginable securities. But I'm not holding my breath for this to change anytime soon... Thanks for the tip on Benjamin and Jerold, though. -Rose-

To: bogumil who wrote (1753)	12/28/1999 10:07:00 PM
From: KFE	Respond to of 2241

Manu, As Rose said most brokers will allow buying of calls and puts and covered calls in an IRA. I don't see any problem with short puts vs. 100% collateral either. Spreads are another story. The following link is from a post I made on another options thread but might be of interest to you because it involves a similar question. Message 11691578 I have heard good things about Benjamin & Jerold but if they are allowing spreads in IRA's and cannot answer the question posed in the above link then I wouldn't go near them. Regards, Ken