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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Phil Tran who wrote (13851)	7/31/2000 8:48:51 AM
From: BWAC	Respond to of 13953

Thank you Phil. Uhhhh I mean for the option trading stuff. A potential option investor that may not qualify asset wise or who may not meet certain other defined requirements could potentially bypass such requirements by demonstrating an understanding of options and their inherent risks. Often a letter stating such, written to the brokerage will suffice. This has been my personal experience. If Scott could demonstrate in that letter that he understood the basic risks, the basic mechanics of trading options, and the potential for losses, I am almost sure that any brokerage would allow him to conduct option trading at a certain risk level. After all it is his money, and he should be able to invest it any such way he likes. Covered Calls definitely. Buying Options definitely. Get started there. Then rewrite the brokerage at a leter date and ask them to move you up to a higher level. Creating Spreads. Writing Uncovered Options. Sidenote: It is funny that most brokerages allow you to sell covered calls, but not sell Puts. Its the same equivalent transaction often, with the same amount of underlying capital at risk.

To: Phil Tran who wrote (13851)	8/1/2000 11:52:43 AM
From: Scott	Respond to of 13953

Thanks for the response Phil, My question was really more along the lines of "what level" do you need at ETrade in order to trade credit/debit spreads. I've been trading options for a while with limited success, but spreads intrigue me a bit. I wrote to ETrade asking what their requirements were for trading spreads, and believe it or not you only have be approved for level 2 trading. They consider the combination as a buy-write type trade (where you use an initial call purchase to cover the sale of another call on the same issue). The only problem is that you have to leg in, because they can't handle an advanced trade automatically. This simply means that you must purchase the call prior to writing it whereas other brokers will allow a single execution to buy and sell at the same time. I hope this isn't too confusing! Scott.