Share dealing platforms

slawitmum

Hi, just wondering if anyone can recommend a share dealing platform.... and I'm also wondering if anyone knows what kind of net worth one needs to trade options. Cheers

Jsscmm

This forum is more into investing than trading, but the 2 normal recommendations for finding a platform are either

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/
The site lists the various platforms, costs etc.

There is also a spreadsheet by snowman which you can plug your numbers into. A search on these boards should find it.

As for your second question, I suspect the fact that you are asking it is sufficient to answer it. Options require adding knowledge/skill/luck than general shares or funds... Please make sure you have done your research before going anywhere near them!

Good luck

bowlhead99

slawitmum wrote: »

and I'm also wondering if anyone knows what kind of net worth one needs to trade options.

As you haven't given much information about yourself, I'm going to assume that someone else is going to cover all of your expenses, of every kind, for the rest of your days.

Therefore you would only need a net worth of £100 or so, to deposit into an account with someone like IG.com (a decent trading and spreadbet platform) and make your first option bets.

If your options strategy involves you having multiple open positions at once, or you don't want to be limited in what options you can afford to buy, you may need more. Also, if you want to be able to continue when you have lost the £100, ensure you have lots more £100s lined up to keep putting in until you hit the jackpot. So perhaps a larger net worth would be useful.

I'd suggest that "net worth" is not a very good measure of whether a person can afford to trade options, because if your net worth includes a house, car and other possessions, plus other things like a retirement portfolio, medium term investment portfolio, and short term liquid assets such as cash for day-to-day living, rainy days / emergencies and so on... then you might have upwards of a millino pounds of "net worth" before you consider that you have anything 'spare' with which to play the options markets.

Others who are rather less cautious, or reasonably expect to have a lot of earning capacity ahead of them from employment over the rest of their life, might consider taking up options trading as a hobby with only a few thousand spare to devote to it. Their success may depend on whether they have a lot of time on their hands during market hours, which is often incompatible with being someone who relies on being at work during market hours for their income.