Click here to fill out the online account application.
We require basic personal information including the following:
In order to open an account, you must be at least 18 years of age.
Once your application is completed, we will review the information provided and verify your identity. At this point, you will receive an email within 1 business day with one of two of the following responses:
Options trading and options strategies have various degrees of risks. In order to evaluate whether a specific investor understands the risks associated with each level of options trading, the experience, risk tolerance and financial objectives of the investor must be evaluated.
Yes! If any of the information on your options application changes, you are welcome to submit an updated application for review.
Certain option strategies are only appropriate for more aggressive investment objectives. Therefore the investment objectives and risk tolerance will be taken into account when approving accounts for different option trading levels.
Yes, to write uncovered puts, there is a $25,000 minimum. To write uncovered calls, there is a $100,000 minimum.
If you do not have the buying power or cash available in your account to hold the exercise or assignment on the last trading day, your position maybe closed out prior to the close of business. We may also elect to not exercise your long option position. Please remember that your short option can also be assigned on a random basis even though it is out of the money.
You have 4 options to fund your new Tradier Account:
Once logged into your account, click the tab at the top labeled “fund”. This will bring you to the ACH deposits page. From this page you will be able to set up your ACH profile online which will link your bank account to your Tradier Brokerage account.
ACH transfers made before 3:00 EST will be posted in about 2-3 hours. Once posted, funds from ACH transfers can be held for up to 4 business days. This 4 day hold can be reduced for accounts with existing balances. ACH transfers are limited to 1 transfer per day with a daily maximum of $10,000.00.
Both personal and cashier’s checks must be made payable to Apex Clearing Inc. We do not accept 3rd party checks, money orders or credit card checks. For cashier’s checks, please make sure to put your name down as remitter. Please also include your Tradier Brokerage account number on your check.
Checks should be mailed to:
Tradier Brokerage
PO BOX 49056
Charlotte, NC 28277
Deposits made via check will typically post within 1 business day. Once posted, funds from personal check can be held for up to 4 business days. This 4 day hold can be reduced for accounts with existing balances. Cashier's checks will be cleared funds and immediately available for trading.
ACAT stands for Automated Customer Account Transfer. It is the system through which brokerage accounts are moved from one broker to another. Customers will submit ACAT paperwork with the firm that they would like their account moved to.
You will need to fill out the ACAT form and return this to Tradier Brokerage with the most recent statement from your existing brokerage account. To access the ACAT form, log into your Tradier Brokerage account and click the fund tab at the top of the page. On the funding page, select the Transfers tab for instructions and the PDF form.
If there are no issues with the transfer, the typical time for ACAT transfers is 5-7 business days.
The sending (delivering) firm will typically charge an outgoing ACAT fee. This fee is usually in the range of $50-$100. Please check with your financial institution for their specific fee.
You will need to fill out the Wire Transfer form and return this to Tradier Brokerage. To access the Wire Transfer form, click the fund tab at the top of the page. On the funding page, select the Wires tab for instructions and the PDF form.
Deposits made via wire transfer will be booked into accounts as soon they are received. This is typically 2-5 hours from when they are sent from the originating bank. These are cleared funds and will be available for trading immediately.
There is no minimum to open a cash account at Tradier Brokerage. For margin trading the minimum is $2,000. (For accounts requesting the ability to sell naked puts, the account must have $25,000. For account requesting the ability to sell naked calls, the account must have $100,000.)
*Some ongoing agreements with different platform providers may require different account funding minimums. Please reference the corresponding agreements to any promotion or connection agreement.
Initial deposits made via ACH will need to be held for 10 business days before they can be sent back out. ACH deposits into accounts with existing balances must be held for 5 business days before they can be sent back out.
Withdrawals can be done by ACH, check request or wire request.
Once logged into your account, click the tab at the top labeled “fund”. This will bring you to the ACH funding page. From this funding page, select withdrawals on the left menu. This will load the ACH withdrawal request. ACH withdrawals are limited to $10,000.00 per day.
Once logged into your account, click the tab at the top labeled “fund”. This will bring you to the ACH funding page. From this funding page, select withdrawals on the left menu and then click the checks tab on the withdrawal page.
Once logged into your account, click the tab at the top labeled “fund”. This will bring you to the ACH funding page. From this funding page, select withdrawals on the left menu and then click the wires tab on the withdrawal page. This will provide you access to the wire transfer PDF that must be completed. Please complete the form, sign it and return it to us via email, service@tradierbrokerage.com or fax, 980-229-4715. Wire transfers must be received by 1:00 PM EST to be processed the same day.
Exchange and NMS listed stocks, ETFs and listed options (equity, index and ETF) are all available at Tradier Brokerage. Mutual funds and bonds are available (except for municipal securities), but these must be manually placed via a phone call to a broker on our trade desk. We will not be accepting orders for pink sheet or OTCBB securities at this time.
Yes, both cash and margin accounts have some trading restrictions based on the amount of funds in the account and the frequency with which these funds are used. These rules are set by the Federal Reserve, the SEC and FINRA. These rules apply to all customers at all industry firms. Regulation T governs the use of funds in a cash account and the Pattern Day Trading rules dictate the frequency of trading in a margin account.
When shares of stock or option contracts are sold in a cash account, there is a settlement period during which time the cash and the stock or options are exchanged. For stocks, this settlement period is 3 business days. For options it is 1 business day. When a stock or option is sold, these unsettled funds are available to use for purchase. However, if the newly purchased stock or option is sold prior to the settlement of the previous sale, this transaction violates Regulation T. Violations of Regulation T could result in restrictions being placed on the account. Please click here to see the Regulation T section on the SEC Website (http://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/cashaccounts.pdf).
A day trade is defined as opening and closing the same position on the same day. Margin accounts are allowed to have 3 day trades take place in a rolling 5 day period. A 4th day trade during this period would flag the investor as a Pattern Day Trader. Pattern Day Traders must start each day with at least $25,000 equity. If a Pattern Day Trader account drops below $25,000 no purchases can be made until the account value is brought back up to $25,000. Once exception to reset at PDT is permitted each 90 days. Please click here to see the Day Trader section on the FINRA Website (http://www.finra.org/investors/smartinvesting/advancedinvesting/daytrading/p005906).
There are four major order types when trading stocks and options. You also have the choice to mark your order as good for the day or good until canceled. These terms are defined below:
Market order
An order to buy or sell securities at the current market price. It will be filled immediately during the regular market hours as long as there is a market for the security.
Limit order
An order to buy or sell securities at a specified price. The order will only be filled if the limit price is reached before the order expires.
Stop order
An order either to buy a stock at the market price when the price rises to a certain level, or to sell a stock at the market price when the price falls to a certain level. Stop orders are typically used for protection in the event that a stock drops and the investor wants to cut their losses at a specific price level.
Stop-limit order
A stop-limit order is similar to a stop order however, when the stop price is reached, a limit order is triggered instead of the stock being bought or sold at the current market price. A stop limit or does not guarantee execution when the stop price is reached.
Day order:
An order that expires at the end of the trading day. All orders default to day orders unless they are changed by the customer.
Good-till-canceled (GTC) or open order:
Remains in effect until the order is either filled or canceled.
Selling stock short is an investment strategy in which the investor is anticipating a decline in the price of a security. The investor borrows shares from another investor or institution and immediately sells the shares in the market. The investor will then have the obligation to return the shares at some point in the future. Should the price of the stock decline, the investor will have an unrealized profit at which point they can buy the shares back in the market to realize this profit and return these shares to where they were borrowed. If the stock price increases, the investor will have an unrealized loss and will realize this loss by purchasing the stock back in the market and returning these shares. Please note, short selling can only be done in a margin account. Click here for our margin FAQs.
There is not a set time limit on the amount of time short shares can be borrowed. However, the shares that are sold short must remain available to borrow. If the shares become unavailable to borrow, the investor can be forced to buy the shares back in the market regardless of the current market price. This can happen at any time after the initial short sale has settled (3 business days after the short sale).
Shares must be available to borrow in order to be sold short. As well, short sale orders cannot be placed on shares currently trading below $5/share. However, if a stock is sold short when it is above $5/share, this position can be maintained even if the stock price drops below $5/share.
When selling stock short, there is the potential for a hard to borrow fee. This fee is charged by other firms when Tradier Brokerage borrows shares from these firms in order to fulfill a customer sell short order when the shares are not available internally. In some cases, shares can be available initially, but then become difficult to borrow at a later time. If Tradier Brokerage is forced to borrow the shares externally, the hard to borrow fee will be applied at the period during which the shares must be borrowed externally.
Because the investor who is selling the stock short has an obligation to return the shares, he/she is also obligated to pay any dividends that they are on record for during the time that the short position is open. If the short investor buys the shares back prior to the ex-dividend date, they will not have to pay out this dividend.
Equities and option orders are routed through our clearing firm, Apex Clearing. Tradier Brokerage does not internalize flow or trade against customer orders and all trades are executed on an agency basis.
Margin is the ability to trade with borrowed funds. In a margin account, after the available cash has been spent, customers have the ability to borrow up to a certain percentage amount based on their existing holdings to purchase additional securities.
Different securities have different margin requirements. The standard initial margin requirement for equities and ETFs trading above $3/share is 50%. This means that half of the money needed for the purchase of these stocks can be borrowed. Stocks trading at less than $3/share, options, certain levered ETFs and certain volatile securities can be held at 100% margin requirement. This means that no funds can be borrowed when purchasing these securities. Occasionally, certain securities will be held at between 50% and 100% requirement. Subtract this requirement from 100% to figure out how much of the purchase can be borrowed funds.
In cases of heightened volatility and other market conditions, Tradier Brokerage may determine that certain stocks carry additional risk due to these factors. To minimize risk to the firm and its customers, additional margin maintenance will be required on these stocks during times of increased volatility or other market related issues.
When selling stock short, there is a 150% or $5/share (whichever is greater) maintenance requirement for stocks trading for $5/share and higher. For the short investor, this means that he/she must have at least 50% or $5/share of the short sale proceeds available in the account before initiating the short sale. After the stock is sold short, 150% or $5/share of the current market price of the short position must be maintained and reserved in the account. This amount will be adjusted each night in a process referred to as “mark to market”. If the stock declines below $5/share after it is sold short, the requirement is the greater of $2.50/share or 100% of the current market value.
Yes, if you choose to use a margin account to borrow funds, you are invoking leverage in your account. Leverage can magnify both trading gains and losses. For example, in a cash account an investor who deposits $100 and fully invests these funds in a stock will make 10% if the stock goes up 10% and will lose 10% if the stock goes down 10%. However, if in a margin account, if an investor deposits $100 and borrows an additional $100 and fully invests this $200, his gain would be magnified to 20% if the stock rises 10% and his loss would be magnified to 20% if the stock drops 10%.
Yes, if you choose to use a margin account to borrow funds, interest will be charged during any days in which there is an outstanding debit balance. These interest charges will be accumulated throughout the month and charged on the last day of the month. Click here to view our current interest rates.
At the current time, this is not a service that Tradier Brokerage provides.
In general, option strategies can be broken down into the following four categories.
Debit Strategies:
In debit option strategies, the exposure of the trade is limited to the amount of the debit incurred. Therefore, the only requirement is the cash needed to place the trade.
Credit Strategies:
In most credit strategies, the exposure can be defined based on the differences between the various strike prices involved. These differences are used to calculate the maximum loss potential and the margin requirement is then based on this maximum.
Naked Put Strategies:
Naked put strategies have significant, but defined downside exposure. This potential exposure can be measured by the current stock price and the option premium. Using a formula that incorporates these two factors, a margin requirement is calculated. If the price of the underlying security falls, this margin maintenance requirement will generally increase.
Naked Call Strategies:
Naked call strategies have unlimited exposure as the price of the underlying security has no defined limit as to how high it can rise. Using a formula that incorporates the current price of the security and the current premium on the call option, a margin requirement is calculated. If the price of the underlying security rises, this margin maintenance requirement will generally increase as well.
Trading stocks at Tradier Brokerage will cost $3.49 per trade regardless of whether you place a market, limit or stop order. Commissions are only charged when an order is filled. Orders that are canceled or expire will not be charged a commission.
For single leg options transactions the commission is $0.35/contract. However, there is a minimum charge of $5.00 for single leg options transactions. For multileg transactions the commission is still $0.35/contract, but there is $7.00 minimum charge for multileg options transactions.
If the order is broken up within one trading day and is not modified, only one commission will be applied. If the order is broken up amongst multiple trading days on a GTC order or if the order price is modified before the entire order fills, a commission will be charged for each trading day during which an execution took place.
When selling stocks, SEC and TAF regulatory fees will apply. These fees can vary from time to time. When selling stock short, SEC and TAF fees will apply and there is the potential for a short rebate fee if Tradier Brokerage has to pay to borrow the stock.
There are exchange and regulatory fees that are passed along when you purchase or sell an option contract. The primary fees that are charged on each option transaction are the ORF or Options Regulatory Fee and the OCC or Options Clearing Corporation fee. These fees do fluctuate over time, but the ORF fee currently stands at about $0.04/contract and the OCC fee is about $0.05/contract. When selling options contracts, a TAF fee also applies. This fee also fluctuates over time, but currently stands at about $0.01/contract sold.
Yes, there are currently 17 Index Options that have an additional per contract fee. These fees currently range from $0.18/contract - $0.60/contract but only apply on these symbols: DXL, EPX, HGX, MNX, MVR, OEX, OSX, RUT, SOX, SPX, SVO, UTY, VIX, XAU, XEO and XDE.
Yes broker assisted trades are $10 more.
Once logged into your account, click the E-Documents tab at the top of the page. This will bring you to a new page where you can access your monthly statements, trade confirmations and annual tax statements. If you opened your account prior to August 2016, statements and confirmations from our old clearing firm, Hilltop Holdings are available on this page as well. *Please note that this page currently works best when using Internet Explorer as your web browser.
Once logged into your account, you will see your name in the top right corner. Clicking this will bring up a dropdown menu. From this menu select “User Settings”. This will bring you directly to the page on which you can change your password.
Email: service@tradierbrokerage.com
Phone: (980) 272-3880
Monday through Friday
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time
We'll get back to you as soon as possible, but it could take up to one business day for us to respond to email requests.