Happy Friday and hope everyone’s trading is going well!

FYI Schwab is starting to restrict certain trades on TOS. After spending an hour with the trade desk to get an SPX calendar to go through, figured out some parameters to help and hopefully others do not have to go through the same issues.

1. ITM options no bueno. I was trying to put an ITM put calendar on because they are cheaper than calls but their risk department does not like that. Once I switched to more expensive calls they went through.

2. Have more than 5 DTE between your long and short expirations. I was going for Friday/Monday and no go. Once I had a 7 day spread it filled. The risk dept. does not like less than 3 days as weekends cannot be hedged.

3. Size, I was trading 40 contracts. I could get the first 20 to go through by breaking them into 10 lots but after that would not let me add additional spreads.

4. No issues at Tastytrade, everything went through fine there. So the lesson really is complex spreads or combinations trade them there or interactive brokers. TOS understood them but Schwab does not and never have and since the bought TD I have noticed worse margin requirements, margin calls on futures that have not moved, and just a general mis-understanding of how spreads work with margin.

5. They have never allowed calendars or diagonals in RUT so don’t even waste your time there. Again, no issues at TT but I have noticed that by Wed. on a Fri. expiration TT ramps up the margin requirements (to like 300k) which forces you to close it then anyway.

6. Frustrating but still manageable in a typical BWB/Rhino/double calendar trade if I stay within those parameters. I will still make as much money, just increases the margin and time requirements.

I will not close that account as the Algo runs on that account but I will be trimming it for only 10-20 contracts and only growth will be from profits, will not add any other funds ever to Schwab accounts. New money will go to Tasty and maybe open an account at Interactive Brokers.

Enjoy the extra day of theta decay!

Chris