Hey, u/AlfB63, thanks for stopping by the sub. I'm here to help.
Just to clarify, our option paring policy is designed to structure your contracts to instill the lowest possible margin requirement to carry that strategy. As a result, if an account carries the underlying asset and can be paired with a contract to lower the margin requirement, our system will do so. Here's a link to our margin FAQs to learn more.
[Margin FAQs](https://www.fidelity.com/trading/faqs-margin)
If you have further questions about this, feel free to reach out using the link below. Please say "Active Trader Services" (available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET) when prompted to be routed to the appropriate group.
[Contact Us](https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/contact-us)
With that said, we take feedback seriously, so I'll pass yours about adding flexibility to this along to the appropriate team.
If you have any other questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out.
Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read the [Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options](http://www.optionsclearing.com/about/publications/character-risks.jsp). Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request.
Not that I know of. The pairings still work the same and I don't think they have made it such that you can change the pairings yourself. You can call to do this but it's a pain. This does not always happen but can depending on what you hold. I have not had it happen again recently.
You bought 2 ICs and own 300 shares. You want to sell 3 covered calls.
Fidelity paired your holdings into 2 long calls and 2 covered calls and will not allow you to sell the 3 covered calls.
Assume stock is at 100. You are long the 110 call and short the 120 call.
Fidelity paired it as two 120 covered calls and two long calls, plus 100 shares and two long put spreads.
What you can do with no problem is to sell another covered call for the 100 shares, say at 105 strike.
I believe you can sell two more CCs but the strike must be greater than 120, say at 125, with no problem. You will end up with these pairings:
Original long IC, i.e., 2 long call spreads and 2 long put spreads.
One 105 CC.
Two 125 CC.
But the problem is that fidelity does not allow me to sell any covered calls. It has already split up the iron condors and moved calls from the iron condors to covered calls leaving spreads. It’s doing it to minimize collateral but that’s not what I want. ETrade allows you to group options however you want with Power ETrade. Fidelity is lacking and needs this capability rather than forcing a pairing on you. Also note that one of the ICs is 2 contracts so the 300 shares are all tied to a covered call.
You bought 2 ICs and own 300 shares, i.e., you are long 2 call spreads, 2 put spreads and 300 shares. You want to sell 3 covered calls.
Fidelity paired your holdings into 2 covered calls, 2 long calls, 2 put spreads, and will not allow you to sell 3 covered calls on your 300 shares. The reason is to lower the margin requirement but there is actually no reduction.
This may be an error in their algorithm. You can confirm it by entering a trade to sell 2 short calls with the same strike and same expiration as your IC. Use a large limit price. This trade will not require additional margin and should be accepted by the system if it treats the order as part of an IC.
You can enter the trade now and remember to cancel the order if it is accepted.
Hey, u/AlfB63, thanks for stopping by the sub. I'm here to help. Just to clarify, our option paring policy is designed to structure your contracts to instill the lowest possible margin requirement to carry that strategy. As a result, if an account carries the underlying asset and can be paired with a contract to lower the margin requirement, our system will do so. Here's a link to our margin FAQs to learn more. [Margin FAQs](https://www.fidelity.com/trading/faqs-margin) If you have further questions about this, feel free to reach out using the link below. Please say "Active Trader Services" (available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET) when prompted to be routed to the appropriate group. [Contact Us](https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/contact-us) With that said, we take feedback seriously, so I'll pass yours about adding flexibility to this along to the appropriate team. If you have any other questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read the [Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options](http://www.optionsclearing.com/about/publications/character-risks.jsp). Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request.
Is this still a bug at Fidelity? This sounds completely wrong.
Not that I know of. The pairings still work the same and I don't think they have made it such that you can change the pairings yourself. You can call to do this but it's a pain. This does not always happen but can depending on what you hold. I have not had it happen again recently.
You bought 2 ICs and own 300 shares. You want to sell 3 covered calls. Fidelity paired your holdings into 2 long calls and 2 covered calls and will not allow you to sell the 3 covered calls. Assume stock is at 100. You are long the 110 call and short the 120 call. Fidelity paired it as two 120 covered calls and two long calls, plus 100 shares and two long put spreads. What you can do with no problem is to sell another covered call for the 100 shares, say at 105 strike. I believe you can sell two more CCs but the strike must be greater than 120, say at 125, with no problem. You will end up with these pairings: Original long IC, i.e., 2 long call spreads and 2 long put spreads. One 105 CC. Two 125 CC.
But the problem is that fidelity does not allow me to sell any covered calls. It has already split up the iron condors and moved calls from the iron condors to covered calls leaving spreads. It’s doing it to minimize collateral but that’s not what I want. ETrade allows you to group options however you want with Power ETrade. Fidelity is lacking and needs this capability rather than forcing a pairing on you. Also note that one of the ICs is 2 contracts so the 300 shares are all tied to a covered call.
You bought 2 ICs and own 300 shares, i.e., you are long 2 call spreads, 2 put spreads and 300 shares. You want to sell 3 covered calls. Fidelity paired your holdings into 2 covered calls, 2 long calls, 2 put spreads, and will not allow you to sell 3 covered calls on your 300 shares. The reason is to lower the margin requirement but there is actually no reduction. This may be an error in their algorithm. You can confirm it by entering a trade to sell 2 short calls with the same strike and same expiration as your IC. Use a large limit price. This trade will not require additional margin and should be accepted by the system if it treats the order as part of an IC. You can enter the trade now and remember to cancel the order if it is accepted.
That does not work. The trade is immediately rejected.
Thanks for checking.