Commodity account trading limits

IB policies regarding commodity account trading limits take into account the account holder's financial qualifications, along with other possible factors.  Accordingly, certain account holders may find that their maximum trade size is capped at a number less than that which is preferred.  The "Change Trading Limits" page displays your current limits, as well as the maximum allowed limit for your account. Regardless of the user's financial situation, IB will not allow users who have not accepted the Arbitration Agreement to have a trading limit of more than one contract.

Overview of Accumulate / Distribute Algorithm

Overview: 

Accumulate/Distribute is a sophisticated trading algorithm which allows one to buy or sell large orders by splitting the trade into multiple orders with the goal of reducing visibility and market impact.

When to Use
This order type is geared towards traders of large position blocks as well as high frequency traders and is intended to run unattended while logged into the TWS.
 
How to Locate
The Accumulate/Distribute algorithm can be accessed from the TraderWorkstation by selecting the Trading and then Accumulate/Distribute menu options at the top of the page or it can be added to the trading tool bar menu by clicking on the Add More Buttons icon.
 
Order Set Up
Once the trader has defined the instrument and action (buy or sell), the following parameters are to be specified:
 
  1. Total Quantity – defines the aggregate order size (e.g., shares, contracts);
  2. Trade Increment – defines the unit (e.g., shares, contracts) size for each component order;
  3. Time Increment – defines the period of time (seconds, minutes or hours) between the execution of a component order and the submission of the following order;
  4. Order Type – may select from market, limit or relative. A market order will be executed at the ask price and should only be used where, for example, a stock is highly liquid with significant bid-ask sizes. Limit and Relative order types require that the trader specify additional order relationships and the choices are numerous. The execution price, for example, may be specified as being relative to a fixed value, bid, ask or last price, VWAP, moving average or last trade. These choices may be increased or decreased by an offset factor and multiple conditions may be established. For example, one may wish to create a relative order type to match the bid price plus an offset factor of $0.01 and to ensure that they don’t lift the ask if the spread is $0.01, add a condition that the bid be no less that $0.02 beneath the ask price.
  5. How to Operate – if the trader does not check the box titled “Wait for current order to fill before submitting next order” then orders which do not meet the price conditions will continue to accumulate in accordance with the established time increment, the unexecuted orders will be aggregated into one or more potentially sizable orders at the exchange. If this box is checked, then the more restrictive the buying conditions, the greater the likelihood that the algorithm will fall behind its schedule of buying or selling at every ‘X’ interval.  If this box is checked the trader may then check the box titled “Catch up in time”. When that box has been checked and should the algorithm fall behind, the next orders will be placed immediately after their predecessor fills until such time the algorithm has caught up.
  6. Randomization – check boxes are provided to allow for a +/- 20% randomization in the time increment and a +/- 55% randomization in the trade increment. Accordingly, in the case of a 30 second time increment, this would allow for randomization of between 24 and 36 seconds between orders and in the case of a 500 share trade increment, this would allow for randomization of between 200 and 800 shares (rounded to the nearest round lot) per order. Randomization serves to minimize the likelihood of others detecting your order.
  7. RTH – a check box is provided which will allow the order to be filled outside of regular trading hours.
  8. Take up Offer Size – if a limit or relative order type is selected, the trader may input an order size which if bid (in the case of a sell order) or offered (in the case of a buy order) the trader would be willing to take in its entirety, up to the remaining portion of the total order quantity (satisfies the price conditions).
Managing the Trade
The Accumulate/Distribute algorithm also allows for conditions to be established which, if not met, will cause the algorithm to either stop permanently or resume when the conditions are again satisfied. These include the following:
 
  1. Price Range - traders may specify a price range outside of which they do not want to buy the stock;
  2. News – the trader may stop the algorithm for some period of time if there is news on the stock, for example;
  3. Position - traders may stop the algorithm based upon their position in the stock; For example, a trader running multiple algorithms one to buy the stock and another to sell in an attempt to trade the stock back and forth for a profit may decide to suspend one side if the position becomes substantially imbalanced;
  4. Stock Path – a trader, for example, may wish to suspend the algorithm if a given moving average, say the 10-minute VWAP is not at least as high as another average, say the 50-day moving average. This feature enables you to set up algorithms to trade chart points even when you are not looking at the chart at that moment;
  5. Stock Path for Multiple Symbols – this condition is similar to the last except that it calls for two symbols. Here you can put in any symbol and compare some data point regarding that symbol (e.g., 10-minute VWAP, etc.) to the same or a different data point regarding the second symbol. These comparative conditions can apply to different symbols or to the same symbol.   For example, you could specify that you want to buy a certain stock only if it has been in a continuous uptrend. So in addition to the 10-minute VWAP being higher than the 50-day moving average, you would also like the 10-day moving average to be higher than the 30-day moving average on this stock.
Other Considerations
Acceptable inputs for this algorithm include:
  1. Products – any product offered by IB (stocks, options, ETFs, bonds, futures, Forex) other than mutual funds;
  2. Order Type – market, limit or relative.

IMPORTANT NOTE

This algo will only operate when the trader is logged into the TWS.  If the trader has been logged out prior to the algo completing (either by user action or by the automated nightly restart), a message will appear upon the next log in which will allow for re-activation of the algo.

Overview of the Scale Trader Algorithm

Overview: 

The ScaleTrader is a sophisticated trading algorithm which allows one to enter a large quantity order that is executed in a series of increments or components, with each component being executed at a progressively better price.

When to Use
The use of this algorithm is well suited to situations where a stock is trading at or near the bottom of a trading range and the trader is looking to average down, buying into a declining market. Alternatively, it may be used on the opposite side when the trader is looking to sell into the top of the trading range, perhaps scaling out of a long position. In either situation, the Scale Trader algorithm also allows the trader to scalp the market, submitting opposite profit taking orders against the original order.
 
How to Locate
The Scale Trader can be accessed from the TraderWorkstation by selecting the Trading and then Scale Trader menu options at the top of the page or it can be added to the trading toolbar menu by clicking on the Add More Buttons icon.
 
Order Set Up
Once the trader has defined the instrument and action (buy or sell), five parameters will need to be specified. Traders will also need to define the order type and time in force. These five parameters for a stock purchase (sale) would be as follows:
 
  1. Total Order Size (TOS) – the total number of shares the trader is willing to purchase (sell) as the price falls (increases);
  2. Initial Component Size (ICS) – the number of shares to be purchased (sold) at the Starting Price;
  3. Subsequent Component Size (SCS) – the additional number of shares to be purchased (sold) at each Price Increment (at successively lower prices in the case of a purchase and higher in the case of a sale). If a SCS is not entered, the ICS will be used for all component orders.
  4. Starting Price (SP) – the price at which you are willing to purchase (sell) the Initial Component Size
  5. Price Increment (PI) – in the case of a purchase (sale), this is the decrease (increase) in price at which each successive component order is to be executed.
Based upon the inputs provided to those parameters, the Scale Trader application will calculate a Top Price (TP) and a Bottom Price (BP) which, depending upon the buy or sell action selected, will either determine the price at which the last order will be executed (BP for purchases and TP for sales) or be relevant only if the same scale is used to close or restore the size of the position (TP for purchases and BP for sales). Adjustments made to either of these two factors will be reflected in the PI and their calculations are as follows:
 
  1. TP = (((ICS/SCS) -1) * PI) + SP
  2. BP = SP – (((TOS - ICS)/SCS) * PI
Note that once a product symbol has been entered a price chart will be displayed to assist in specifying the parameters. The algorithm will not be activated until the Transmit button has been clicked and once transmitted will run indefinitely until stopped or changed or it encounters conditions where it stops. It's important to note that this particular algo will continue to run even if the trader is not logged in to the TWS.
 
Example
Assume a GTC limit order is entered into the Scale Trader to buy 1,000 shares of hypothetical stock ABC having a NBBO of $19.95 - $20.00 at a starting price of $20.00 with 500 more shares purchased at every $0.05 down, resulting in a maximum position of 4,000 shares. The five parameters for this order would be as follows:
 
  1. TOS = 4,000;
  2. ICS = 1,000;
  3. SCS = 500;
  4. SP = $20.00
  5. PI = $0.05
This order would be then be scaled into 7 components consisting of one at 1,000 and 6 at 500 each. The first component is submitted at $20.00 and after it fills the next component (500) would be submitted at $0.05 lower. That order would wait until marketable and once it has been filled the next component will be submitted. This pattern continues until all components have been filled or the order has been cancelled.
 
Managing the Trade
  1. Profit taking orders – the Scale Trader may be set to send an offsetting order to take advantage of periodic price surges or if the trader has reached a specified profit objective. This feature may be enabled by checking the box titled “Create profit taking order” and specifying the Profit Offset. Using the example above and a Profit Offset of $1.00, once the ICS was filled at $20.00 and an SCS submitted at $19.95, two profit orders would also be submitted, one for 500 shares at $21.00 and another for 500 shares at $21.05. It should be noted that profit orders are scaled to the SCS regardless of the size of the ICS and that if the ICS > SCS then the profit order price is determined using the PI along with the Profit Offset. 
  2. Restore size after taking profit – if using the profit taking orders feature, the trader can enable the repurchase of shares sold at a profit at the price they were originally bought at by checking the box titled “Restore size after taking profit”. This feature remains active whenever the price is within the range of TP + Profit Offset and BP. Using the example above, if order to sell 500 shares at $21.00 was executed this fill quantity would be put back into the original order at $20.00 and the order submitted at $19.95 would be cancelled.
  3. Restart Scale Trader & Restart Scale Trader with Filled Component Size – these features allow traders using the profit taking order and restore size features to restart the algorithm if stopped, helping to resume the order starting from the point at which the scaled sequence left off.
  4. Auto Price Adjustment – selecting this check box allows for an increase or decrease in the starting price automatically at stated time intervals (e.g., increase $0.01 every hour)
  5. Scale Trader Page – provides a view of the real-time status of scale orders, including filled and total quantity, filled, remaining, and total value, and the percent filled for each scale. Accessible via the Page and then Create Scale Trader Page menu options.
  6. View Scale Progress - right-click on the scale order line and select View Scale Progress. This will open a window displaying the complete scale price ladder, the Open/Filled component list for the parent scale order, and the Open/Filled component list for the child profit orders.
Other Considerations
Acceptable inputs for this algorithm include:
  1. Products – any product offered by IB other than mutual funds (e.g., stocks, options, ETFs, bonds, futures, Forex);
  2. Order Type - limit or relative (relative not offered for combination orders)
  3. Time in Force – Day, Good-til-Cancel or Day-til-Cancel. May also specify if order is allowed to be filled outside of regular trading hours, if executions may be routed and executed during pre-open session and whether to ignore opening auction.

 

Mutual Offset System

A special arrangement between CME Group and the Singapore Exchange (SGX), referred to as the Mutual Offset System (MOS), allows traders of both the Yen and USD denominated Nikkei 225 futures to take positions in the products at one exchange and offset them at the other one.  The effect of this arrangement is to create one marketplace crossing different time zones as well as fungibility of contracts between the exchanges.

IB account holders may avail themselves of the MOS functionality by specifying at the point of trade entry both the proper underlying symbol and exchange.  In the case of the Yen Denominated Nikkei 225 Index contract the IB underlying symbol is 'NIY' and the exchange either 'Globex' (for contracts listed at and trading during CME hours) or 'SGXCME' (for contracts listed at and trading during SGX hours).  In the case of the USD Denominated Nikkei 225 Index contract the IB underlying symbol is 'NKD' and the exchange either 'Globex' (for contracts listed at the CME) or 'SGXCME' (for contracts listed at the SGX).

To illustrate the concept of fungibility, were an account holder to enter into a long futures position on the CME exchange and thereafter enter into a short futures position having the same underlying symbol and expiration date but listed on the SGXCME exchange, the effect would be the same as if that short position was executed on the CME exchange and that is to close the long position. 

MOS also provides margin offset for positions entered into on either of the two exchanges in the manner noted above.  Here, for example, a long futures position entered into from the CME exchange would be afforded spread margin treatment against a short position having the same underlying but a different expiration month which was entered into from the the SGXCME exchange. This effect is intended to be similar to that which would take place if both the long and short position were entered into from the same exchange.

IMPORTANT NOTE

IB also offers trading in the identical SGX-listed futures contracts but without the MOS features of fungibility and margin offset as outlined above. In the case of the Yen Denominated Nikkei 225 Index, the contract having the underlying symbol 'SGXNK' and exchange of SGX is the functional equivalent of the 'NIY' contract having the exchange of SGXCME.  Similarly, in the case of the USD Denominated Nikkei 225 Index, the contract having the underlying symbol 'N225U' and exchange of SGX is the functional equivalent of the 'NKD' contract having the exchange of SGXCME. It should be noted, however, that a long (short) position of a given expiration entered into on SGX exchange will not close out a short (long) position entered into on the SGXCME, or the CME for that matter.  In addition, there is no margin offset provided between SGX-listed and SGXCME or CME contracts.

A table of trading hours for the MOS eligible products is provided below:

Symbol Description Exchange Trading Hours (ET)*
NIY Yen Denominated Nikkei 225 Index Globex Mon-Fri 06:00 - 16:15; 16:30 - 17:30
NIY Yen Denominated Nikkei 225 Index SGXCME Mon - Fri 18:30 - 01:30
NKD USD Denominated Nikkei 225 Index Globex Mon-Fri 03:00 - 16:15; 16:30 - 17:30 & 18:00 - 19:00
NKD USD Denominated Nikkei 225 Index SGXCME  Mon - Fri 02:15 - 09:55 & 18:30 - 01:30

 *Please refer to the respective websites of each exchange for adjustments which take place during periods when US Daylight Savings Time is in effect.

Trading Access to the Indian Financial Markets

Per Indian regulations, trading access to the Indian financila markets for individuals residing outside India is currently restricted to "Non-Resident Indians" ("NRIs") only.

NRIs are defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 and the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.

In short, to qualify for NRI status you must:

a. Reside outside of India for more than 182 days per year, and;

b. Hold Indian citizenship, or;

c. Be a Person of Indian Origin as defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.

 

Please note that applicants must satisfy criteria (a) and criteria (b) or (c) and will be prompted to review the aforementioned legislation and confirm their atatus at the point of application.  To trade Indian products as a NRI, new or existing customers may apply for an account through the IB website.  

What happens if I trade a product denominated in a currency which I do not hold in my account?

The particular currency which is necessary to purchase and settle any given product is determined by the listing exchange not IB. If, for example, you enter into a transaction to purchase a security which is denominated in a currency that you do not hold and assuming that you have sufficient margin excess, IB will create a loan for those funds. Note that this is necessary as IB is obligated to settle that trade with the clearinghouse solely in the designated currency of denomination. If you do not wish to have such a loan created and incur its associated interest costs, you would need to either first deposit funds into your account in the required currency form and amount or convert existing funds in your account using either our Ideal (for amounts under USD 25,000 or equivalent) or IdealPro (for amounts in excess of USD 25,000 or equivalent) venues, both available through the TWS. You should also note that once you close out a security position which is denominated in a non-Base Currency, the proceeds will remain in that non-Base Currency and subject to exchange rate risk until such time you either perform a currency conversion or use those proceeds for another similarly denominated product.

Glossary terms: 

Can I take delivery on my futures contract?

Overview: 

With the exception of certain currency futures contracts carried in an account eligible to hold foreign currency cash balances, IB does not allow customers to make or receive delivery of the commodity underlying a futures contract.

Background: 

IB does not have the facilities necessary to accommodate physical delivery.  For futures contracts that are settled by actual physical delivery of the underlying commodity (physical delivery futures), account holders may not make or receive delivery of the underlying commodity.

 

It is the responsibility of the account holder to make themselves aware of the close-out deadline of each product.  If an account holder has not closed out a position in a physical delivery futures contract by the close-out deadline, IB may, without additional prior notification, liquidate the account holder’s position in the expiring contract.  Please note that liquidations will not otherwise impact working orders; account holders must ensure that open orders to close positions are adjusted for the actual real-time position.

 

To avoid deliveries in expiring futures contracts, account holders must roll forward or close out positions prior to the Close-Out Deadline indicated on www.interactivebrokers.com.  From the home page, choose the Trading menu, and then select Delivery, Exercise & Actions.  From the Delivery, Exercise and Corporate Actions page, read the information governing Futures and Future Options Physical Delivery Liquidation Rules.  Also listed are the few futures in which delivery can be taken, such as currency futures.

Will open futures contracts roll over automatically at expiration?

Please note that futures contracts, by default, do not roll over at expiration.  The TWS trading platform, however, does provide a feature referred to as the 'Automatic Futures Rollover Message' which, when activated, automatically displays a message on login eight days prior to expiration which allows one to select contracts for which the market data lines can be updated with the new front-month contracts.  Note that this will only serve to update the market data line and will not execute a trade unless the accountholder acts to transmit an order.  Any orders transmitted for roll over purposes are subject to the standard commission and fee schedule. 

 

The following steps are to be performed in order to activate this feature:

1. Click the Configure wrench icon in the trading window

2. In the left pane of Global Configuration, select General;

3. In the right pane, check Auto future rollover;

To view eligible futures rollovers within TWS, select Futures Rollover from the Ticker menu and then check all contracts that you want automatically updated to the new front month.

 

Also note that with the exception of certain currency futures contracts, IB does not allow for the actual physical delivery of underlying commodities.  Contracts which settle by physical delivery must be rolled over or closed out prior to a close-out deadline or face forced liquidation by IB.   Please refer to the website under the Trading and then Delivery, Exercise & Actions menu options for additional details as this deadline will vary by product.

Overview of the SPAN margining system

 

The Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk (SPAN) is a methodology developed by the CME and used by many clearinghouses and exchanges around the world to calculate the Performance Bond (i.e., margin requirement) on futures and options on futures which the clearinghouse collects from the carrying FCM and the FCM, in turn, from the customer. 

 

SPAN establishes margin by determining what the potential worst case loss a portfolio will sustain over a given time frame (typically set to one day), using a set of 16 hypothetical market scenarios which reflect changes to the underlying price of the future or option contract and, in the case of options, time decay and a change in implied volatility. 

 

The first step in calculating the SPAN requirement is to organize all positions which share the same ultimate underlying into grouping referred to as a Combined Commodity group. Next, SPAN calculates and aggregates, by like scenario, the risk of each position within a Combined Commodity, with that scenario generating the maximum theoretical loss being the Scan Risk. The 16 scenarios are determined based upon that Combined Commodity’s Price Scan Range (the maximum underlying price movement likely to occur for the given timeframe) and Volatility Scan Range (the maximum implied volatility change likely to occur for options). 

 

Assume a hypothetical portfolio having one long future and a one long put on stock index ABC having an underlying price of $1,000, a multiplier of 100 and a Price Scan Range of 6%.  For this given portfolio, the Scan Risk would be $1,125 scenario 14.

 

 

 

#

1 Long Future

1 Long Put

Sum

Scenario Description

1

$0

$20

$20

Price unchanged; Volatility up the Scan Range

2

$0

($18)

($18)

Price unchanged; Volatility down the Scan Range

3

$2,000

($1,290)

$710

Price up 1/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

4

$2,000

($1,155)

$845

Price up 1/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

5

($2,000)

$1,600

($400)

Price down 1/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

6

($2,000)

$1,375

($625)

Price down 1/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

7

$4,000

($2,100)

$1,900

Price up 2/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

8

$4,000

($2,330)

$1,670

Price up 2/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

9

($4,000)

$3,350

($650)

Price down 2/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

10

($4,000)

$3,100

($900)

Price down 2/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

11

$6,000

($3,100)

$2,900

Price up 3/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

12

$6,000

($3,375)

$2,625

Price up 3/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

13

($6,000)

$5,150

($850)

Price down 3/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility up the Scan Range

14

($6,000)

$4,875

($1,125)

Price down 3/3 Price Scan Range; Volatility down the Scan Range

15

$5,760

($3,680)

$2,080

Price up extreme (3 times the Price Scan Range) * 32%

16

($5,760)

$5,400

($360)

Price down extreme (3 times the Price Scan Range) * 32%

 .

 

The Scan Risk charge is then added to any Intra-Commodity Spread Charges (an amount that accounts for the basis risk of futures calendar spreads) and Spot Charges (A charge that covers the increased risk of positions in deliverable instruments near expiration) and is reduced by any offset from an Inter-Commodity Spread Credit (a margin credit for offsetting positions between correlated products).  This sum is then compared to the Short Option Minimum Requirement (ensures that a minimum margin is collected for portfolios containing deep-out-of-the-money options) with the greater of the two being the risk of the Combined Commodity.  .These calculations are performed for all Combined Commodities with the Total Margin Requirement for a portfolio equal to the sum of the risk of all Combined Commodities less any credit for risk offsets provided between the different Combined Commodities.

 

The software for computing SPAN margin requirements, known as PC-SPAN is made available by the CME via its website.

How do you calculate margin requirements on futures and futures options?

Overview: 

Futures options, as well as futures margins, are governed by the exchange through a calculation algorithm known as SPAN margining.  For information on SPAN and how it works, please research the exchange web site for the CME Group, www.cmegroup.com.  From their web site you can run a search for SPAN, which will take you to a wealth of information on the subject and how it works.  The Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk system is a highly sophisticated methodology that calculates performance bond requirements by analyzing the “what-ifs” of virtually any market scenario.

Background: 

 

In general, this is how SPAN works:

SPAN evaluates overall portfolio risk by calculating the worst possible loss that a portfolio of derivative and physical instruments might reasonably incur over a specified time period (typically one trading day.) This is done by computing the gains and losses that the portfolio would incur under different market conditions.  At the core of the methodology is the SPAN risk array, a set of numeric values that indicate how a particular contract will gain or lose value under various conditions. Each condition is called a risk scenario. The numeric value for each risk scenario represents the gain or loss that that particular contract will experience for a particular combination of price (or underlying price) change, volatility change, and decrease in time to expiration.

 

The SPAN margin files are sent to IB at specific intervals throughout the day by the exchange, and are plugged into a SPAN margin calculator.  All futures options will continue to be calculated as having risk until they are expired out of the account, or are closed.  The fact that they might be out-of-the-money does not matter.  All scenarios must take into account what could happen in extreme market volatility, and as such the margin impact of these futures options will be considered until the option position ceases to exist.  The SPAN margin requirements are compared against IB's pre-defined extreme market move scenarios and the greater of the two are utilized as margin requirement.

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