Options trading is not suitable for all investors. Your account application to trade options will be considered and approved or disapproved based on all relevant factors, including your trading experience. Automated trading, as it relates to direct-access electronic placement and execution of equity options trades, requires manual one-click verification before order is sent. Please click here to view the document titled Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.
In addition to automated options execution, TradeStation also offers you the ability to enter trades for single contracts or multi-leg spreads manually using three different windows.
We offer direct connection to five major options exchanges (AMEX, CBOE, ISE, PHLX and PCX). Clients who meet suitability requirements are able to execute a number of complex strategies, including:
Automatically roll your options position
Roll your option position to the next expiration date by legging out and then back into your position. Choosing to roll your option position will close your existing position and create a new position in the next expiration all in one order.
Using OptionStation Search, which includes more than 40 of the most widely-used options strategies, you can easily locate the top option positions based on your own market assumptions. Then, by simply selecting ‘Place Order’ from the right mouse button menu, you can send a single order to enter that option position.
From the OptionStation Analysis window, you can analyze an option chain and easily create a theoretical position. After fully analyzing the position using the OptionStation Analysis Indicators and Position Charts, you can quickly place an order to enter that position by clicking on ‘Place Order’ from the right mouse button menu in the Position section. Or you can click on a cell in the options section and the symbol and price will be populated in the option tab on the Order Bar.
TradeStation’s new Matrix window combines the benefits of the market depth window, a highly-advanced order entry tool, and an order tracking system, all in one window.
The Matrix window supports the full functionality of TradeStation’s order execution capabilities. With just a single click on any row in the Bid or Ask column, you're able to immediately place an order. Your order then appears in the Order column. To cancel an order, simply click on that order in the Order column. To cancel/replace an order, simply drag and drop it to a different price. Once your order is filled, you’re able to view your open position profit/loss in the P&L column and place an order to close the position at the desired level with just a click of your mouse.
Auto Order Types and Shortcut Menu
New logic now allows you to place a limit or stop order depending on where you click on the Bid Size and Ask Size columns without having to change the Order Type. For example, clicking on the Bid Size column above the inside ask will place a stop order, while clicking any row below that will place a limit order. A new shortcut menu allows you to change your order route and/or cancel or replace your order with a single click.
The design of TradeStation's Order Bar emphasizes simplicity and speed. With a click of your mouse you can select the routing of your order to any of the six options exchanges, or simply select "Intelligent" and have the order automatically routed for you. You can even manage multiple accounts from the convenient drop-down list. Naturally, default settings for most choices can easily be set, or changed, at any time.
Once you've placed an order, TradeStation's unique PositionGraphs™ Bar allows you to track your positions at a glance. PositionGraphs graphically display each position's drawdown, current profit/loss, and run-up in percentage or dollar amounts. Advanced color coding allows you to easily identify profitable positions displayed in green and losing positions displayed in red. PositionGraphs also enable you to quickly close out a current position by simply right-clicking your mouse on the appropriate PositionGraph and selecting "close position." And you'll even be able to compare your positions with the last and net change values for the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500. These indexes are displayed on a real-time basis on the order bar as well. Plus,you can customize the positions and quotes displayed in the PositionGraph Bar.
Designed to increase the speed of entering manual orders, TradeStation allows you to place options orders with only the touch of a key or click of a toolbar button, based on virtually any custom order specifications. For instance, you can choose to designate a specific key which, when pressed, places an order for the symbol on the active window (ex: Chart Analysis window) based on the price level (join, improve, split, shave) you’ve assigned to that specific hot key. Includes support for Advanced Order functionality (ex: Activation Rule, Trailing Stop, etc.).
In addition, TradeStation's macro language allows users to easily create order entry macros that can be used to send orders to the market (without entering information into the Order Bar), or to automatically fill the Order Bar with the appropriate order information. These macros can be assigned to a toolbar button and/or Hot Key, or can be run from the new Command Line, Macros Dialog or EasyLanguage. Macros can include any options available on the Order Bar, including Advanced Orders.
Leader in Rule-Based Trading tagline based on industry awards and reviews.
Once you've placed an order, TradeStation's unique PositionGraphs™ Bar allows you to track your positions at a glance. PositionGraphs graphically display each position's drawdown, current profit/loss, and run-up in percentage or dollar amounts. Advanced color coding allows you to easily identify profitable positions displayed in green and losing positions displayed in red. PositionGraphs also enable you to quickly close out a current position by simply right-clicking your mouse on the appropriate PositionGraph and selecting "close position." And you'll even be able to compare your positions with the last and net change values for the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500. These indexes are displayed on a real-time basis on the order bar as well. Plus, you can customize the positions and quotes displayed in the PositionGraph Bar.
