How do I find tax information on OptionsFirst?
The Profit and Loss Calculator is a tool that can be helpful both before and during your options trading. It gives you an educational analysis of complex option strategies and allows you to study hypothetical market situations before they actually occur. The system shows how your positions are affected by these different market conditions so you can make informed decisions about your trading plan.
To get the P&L Calculator started working for you, click the Tools tab at the top of your OptionsFirst window and select P&L Calculator from the column on the right. Click Launch Tool to begin, and make sure your pop-up blocker is turned off.
How it Works
Inside the P&L Calculator tool, you can start by entering a symbol in the top left corner and then clicking Find Chain. A separate window will pop up with the option chain for the symbol you've selected. Click the bid or ask price for the contract you'd like to buy or sell, and you will see the contract information populate the P&L Calculator tool window. If you'd like to include a trade on the underlying stock, simply click Add Stock to Calculator from the bottom left corner of the option chain window.
Up to a four-legged spread can be built from the option chain. As you select the legs for your trade, you'll see the profit curve graph in the P&L Calculator window update automatically to provide you with an interactive visual profit and loss curve. You can adjust the buy/sell, quantity and price of the selected contracts from the P&L Calculator window once your contracts are selected.
Customizing Your Calculator
The OptionsFirst P&L Calculator is unique to similar tools in that it allows traders to change pricing assumptions relating to the limit-order strategy for the position. It tracks the strategy assuming either a mid-point fill at the current price of the underlying or a unique fill price you enter. This gives you the flexibility to analyze a position that filled at a different time or market condition.
Use the three tabs on the left to alter the underlying assumptions of the calculator and make real-time changes to the profit/loss curve of your chart. The tabs are called Expiry/Volume, Interest and Divs/Size. Manipulate the different variables to create your own "what-if" scenarios and fine-tune your analysis. Variables include:
-
Fluctuation of the underlying's price
-
Days until expiration
-
Volatility changes
-
Interest rates
-
Dividends
Using Greeks
Move the cursor on the P&L graph to show what you stand to gain or lose at the different prices of the underlying. If you left click in the P&L graph, your positions will be locked in to those market conditions, and the system will calculate the Greeks of your account at that "what-if" scenario. This is a must-have feature for any options trader who uses Greeks to analyze and adjust trades. Delta, theta, gamma and vega are available for each contract you've selected where the legs are listed under the graph, and your cumulative Greeks for the entire spread are listed to the right.
The P&L Calculator is only available on the OptionsFirst platform. If you are not a current OptionsFirst customer, please visit www.options.scottrade.com to explore more about the platform. If you wish to have a walk through of the platform or the P&L Calculator, please contact an OptionsFirst representative at 1-877-223-3344.
Log In to your Scottrade account to keep learning. If you don't already have an account with us, open one now.
With more than 500 branch offices nationwide, Scottrade offers live events in neighborhoods all over the country. Visit your local Scottrade office for a cozy small-group Branch Seminar, or get together with Scottrade customers from your area at our popular National Client Education Conferences.
Browse All Live Events >Education meets interaction in the Scottrade Community. Join Scottrade customers from all over the country as you exchange information, ideas and trading strategies in a comfortable online learning environment.
Interact with Scottrade customers and product specialists. Share your thoughts and learn from others. Grow as an investor. Join our community today!
Learn More About the Community >