Weird question... How much money do you need to open an e micro account?

Discussion in 'Retail Brokers' started by IronFist, Apr 23, 2021.

  1. I just got rejected from a big discount firm but they didn't give me a reason. Maybe it's cuz I'm unemployed?

    I don't think I'm poor. How much money does one need?

    With like $500 account minimums I'm kinda surprised I wouldn't make the cut. I was going to fund the account with lots more than that.
     
  2. Millionaire

    Millionaire

    AMP account minimum is $100 i think.

    But you might want to find a job before applying ;)
     
  3. danielc1

    danielc1

    You could ask for the reason
     
  4. wrbtrader

    wrbtrader

    Only tell them what they need to know.

    Thus, say "self-employed" and never say "unemployed" especially if you're self-employed (trade for a living) or say retired especially if you say in an earlier question that you're an "experience trader". :)

    wrbtrader
     
  5. Well, you would want to have enough margin for at least one contract. Last time I checked with IB, for MNQ the required margin levels per contract were:

    INTRADAY INITIAL 1552.14
    INTRADAY MAINTENANCE 1411.03
    OVERNIGHT INITIAL 2217.34
    OVERNIGHT MAINTENANCE 2015.76
    SHORT OVERNIGHT INITIAL 2217.34
    SHORT OVERNIGHT MAINTENANCE 2015.76

    So you really should start with a balance of about $3k to trade one contract. Using MNQ as an example, each point is $2 so a 100 point move would be a $200 gain or loss. 100 points is a pretty normal day's action Some days you only get 30 or 40 point movement. It is not unheard of to see a 500 point day. Up or DOWN.

    Different brokers will have different margin requirements. Different contracts will have different margin requirements, and they will change as notional price and volatility change. In the case of IB, the intraday margin rates are in effect from 0830 to 1500 in the time zone of the exchange, and for GLOBEX that would be Central Time Zone because the exchange is located in Chicago. So at 3:00 PM Chicago time, the overnight rates kick in and if you are not funded enough to cover the overnight margin, you will get a pop-up warning and then the broker will liquidate your position until you are in compliance. Any position at all that is opened or held after that time is subject to the overnight margin requirement even if you only hold it for just a quick scalp. Different brokers will handle this differently, but you need to be aware, with a small account, how margin requirements at your own broker will affect you. And you have to start out with enough funds to give you margin for at least one contract of whichever micro you want to trade, along with a comfortable cushion.

    There are a few other things to be aware of, such as the two trading halts every day. Trading is stopped from 1515 to 1530 and again from 1600 to 1700, and the week runs from 1700 Sunday to 1600 Friday. There may also be server reset times for your brokerage when you can't trade. Other than that, trading is around the clock, and sometimes there is some pretty good action early in the morning, or nice easy moves that are easy to trade late in the evenings. This makes trading the micros pretty convenient for day workers who can't manage their stonks during the regular day session.

    That's actually quite a lot of leverage, when you think about it. If the NASDAQ gains half a percent, that's around 139 points right now, so approximately $280 profit or loss on your hypothetical $3k account, That's over 9% gain OR LOSS on a very small account for a half percent move of the NASDAQ. Pretty powerful stuff. A good way to increase or lose a small account. But in the case of IB and MNQ, $500 wouldn't be a small account. It wouldn't be anything. Also, for your data subscription there may be a minimum account balance to start getting current data or to keep getting it. Depends on your broker.

    IF you are wondering, I don't think anybody offers fractional trading on the micros. However, you can short them.

    Anyway you probably need to come up with a list of questions for your broker, and get a human on the phone who can answer them. But I am pretty sure that the immediate difficulty is your initial deposit size. You can't trade the micros with just $500.
     
  6. I don't remember what I said. Oec let me open an account with them when I was unemployed. With 10,000. I decided e minis were too big (this was back when there were no micros) and didn't use the account much.

    Now if I go back and change my answers they're gonna think I'm lying lol. But if it's 300 minimum to open an account, why would they say no to me when I put a lot more in?

    Moreover, I waited a month to hear back from them, and only got a reply when I bugged them again. Terrible service. From probably the most highly recommended broker here.
     
  7. FTDK

    FTDK

    Yes you can. It might not be a good idea, but it is definitely possible.

    My guess is he tried to open an account with AMP and their margin requirements are a lot lower.
     
  8. Overnight

    Overnight

    That's why you never over-lever, and why you trade every futures product like you have no day-trading discount. You do that, you live longer!
     
    #10     Apr 23, 2021
    GrowleyMonster likes this.