Pricing
Features
Customer Service
Ease of Use
OptionsHouse Review
OptionsHouse® is an online brokerage that stands out from the rest by having an incredible $3.95 stock commission, as well as very low options commissions of up to 5 contracts for $5, or $8.50 + $0.15/contract! This is essentially the most inexpensive online brokerage out there at this time for most traders. We say most because there is an additional fee for stock priced under $2 that do not have options available, as well as a maximum 50,000 share limit per order. Basically any trader/investor that isn’t trading penny stocks is getting a dirt cheap trade commission, four different sign-up promotions to choose from, and some nice features and customer service to go with it. The stock commission did just increase from $2.95 to $3.95, effective 1/13/2011. This new rate is for new customers only, a grandfathering policy change that you will rarely see a stock broker enact.
OptionsHouse went live in 2007, and since then has had a 4 star ranking from Barron’s in the “Best for Options Traders” category in 2009 and 2010. The brokerage is backed by PEAK6 Investments, L.P., one of the largest options trading firms in the U.S.. Usually “big” means “expensive”, but with OptionsHouse this certainly isn’t the case.
The stock trading interface at OptionsHouse works very well, and even includes order the types: “on Open” and “on Close”, both in market and limit variety. Opening new orders, modifying existing orders, and closing out existing positions from the positions panel, is simple and efficient. Unfortunately, you are unable to modify existing orders when the market is closed. You are forced to cancel the order and input another one in this circumstance. The options interface is clean, fast and customizable, giving you an edge over other traders using less optimized platforms. Putting a symbol in and you quickly get the chain, chart, and research information. Using toggles you can customize the strike prices you see, see strikes around the current trading price, see at the money strikes, see bid/ask sizes, or the greeks.
The order entry ticket does not include preset options strategy order types, but allows quick addition of legs to make your own custom options trade. This aspect might make OptionsHouse less suitable to beginners, but experienced traders shouldn’t have an issue. OptionsHouse just launched a brand new trading platform in March that offers clients a fast, easy to use, fully customizable trading experience that is up there with the best brokers. The platform was developed by the options trading pro’s at PEAK6 Investments, L.P.. Streaming data loads quickly and comes in without lag, and you will have a trade ticket for order entry at your fingertips no matter what window or layout you have configured. The new platform includes a new tool called Trade GeneratorTM— “an incredibly powerful new tool that uses proprietary algorithms to take your sentiment and help you find new strategies and identify new trade opportunities.” We are very impressed with the new platform, it, along with the new iPhone app show that OptionsHouse is committed to improving their service and features.
OptionsHouse offers professional trading tools including a risk viewer, streaming charts and news, probability calculator, stock screener, volatility charts, and investigators for different options strategies such as call spreads, covered calls and put spreads – these tools scans all of the options out there and finds the ones with the highest theoretical returns under the specific strategy. Mobile trading is available via an app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, as well as a dedicated mobile website, accessible with most web-enabled devices.
With the app, you’ll be able to:
- Access streaming quotes
- Trade stock and options
- Trade spreads
- Monitor your orders and positions
- Search for either companies or tickers
- Trade options from the chain
- View quote charts going back as far as five years
- Utilize virtual trading The mobile site allows you to make trades, modify or cancel orders, view your portfolio, check account balances, get real-time quotes, and view research, options chains, and watchlists. Virtual trading is readily available once you complete the online application and get your username and password for the site. Customer support is friendly and knowledgeable, available via phone, email, and live web chat.
Opening an OptionsHouse Account:
Currently the process starts with a normal online form application that will take about 10 minutes to complete. Upon the completion of this step you will gain instant access to the OptionsHouse site, allowing you to try out the trading platform using virtual money (Note: Quotes are delayed by 20 minutes until account is funded). To fully complete the account application you will have to complete and sign a paper form that you print at the end of the online application. You can also have the form FedEx’d to your home. This form can be faxed or mailed back to OptionsHouse. Once the account is approved you can log in to set up an ACH relationship with your bank. The process requires a micro-deposit verification that typically takes 2-4 days. Once verified you can easily transfer money into your account. The minimum initial funding level for a cash account is $1,000.
Available Equities and Commissions:
- Stocks/ETFs – $3.95 (For stocks $2+ or with options available, Up to 50,000 shares per order, Broker Assisted – No extra fee!)
- Options – Up to 5 contracts for $5, or $5 + $1/contract, or $8.50 + $0.15/contract
- Mutual Funds – $9.95
- Bonds – Call OptionsHouse for details or to place an order
Other OptionsHouse Details:
Annual/Maintenance Fees: None
Direct Access Trading: No
After Hours Trading: Yes, no extra fee
Penson Cleared: Yes
Software Platform Based Data/Trading: Yes, with new OptionsHouse trading platform
Web Based Streaming Data: Available
Level 2 Quotes: Individual exchange bid/ask only
Online Trading Community: No
Live Online Chat Support: Yes
Virtual/Paper Trading: Yes, available upon online application completion
Mobile Trading: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad App and fully featured dedicated mobile website
Penny Stock Surcharge: For stocks priced $2.00 or less that are not options eligible, add $0.005 per share for the entire order. 50,000 share maximum per order.
OptionsHouse Account Pros:
-Lowest stock and options commissions in the industry (excluding penny stocks)
-No account inactivity/maintenance fees
-Valuable sign-up offers
-Low mutual fund fees
-Good stock and options trading interfaces
-Excellent options research tools
-No fee IRAs
-Virtual trading
-Dedicated mobile trading website
OptionsHouse Account Cons:
-Stock commission structure is not favorable for trading penny stocks, or stocks less than $2 without options availabe
-No Level 2 Quotes
-No online trading community
-No mobile trading “apps” for Android, or BlackBerry
-Account setup process is slow at this time but will be revamped shortly, check back for updates
The Verdict:
OptionsHouse is a great brokerage for active stock and options traders. With the lowest commissions of any broker we can recommend, sometimes charging a small fraction of the competition’s rates, this brokerage will save you some serious cash. If you’re into trading penny stocks at all, however, this is not the brokerage for you. The trading tools are quite plentiful, and easy to use, but not as fully featured as some other brokers. The options order entry could be more complete if it included various preset strategies. This isn’t something that should deter experienced traders, and being a relatively young broker, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this functionality added to OptionsHouse in the future. Overall we feel that the service offered by OptionsHouse is an excellent value, given the combination of features and pricing.
- OptionsHouse Sign-up Promotion -
-Get 100 commission-free trades when you click one of our links and sign up for an account using the promo code: FREE100. New customers are eligible for this special offer after opening a new OptionsHouse account with a minimum of $3,000. New accounts receive 100 commission-free trades for stock or option trades executed within 60 days of funding the new account. For complete details visit the OptionsHouse website.
-Get a free Kindle Fire!
Or check out one of these other great sign-up deals:
-Refer-A-Friend to Trade at OptionsHouse.com and get $50 or 10 Free Trades! Learn More.
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| Overall Rating |
January 17th, 2011 at 4:18 PM
[...] need to do many broker assisted trades we suggest looking at another brokerage, such as OptionsHouse, optionsXpress, or TradeKing, which include these trades at no extra cost. Also, while E*TRADE [...]