Share Options | Online Share Trading

We charge a standard commission on USD, EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD and AUD share options.

Our Share Options are a special form of CFD, which give a client exposure to changes in option prices but cannot be exercised by or against the client, and thus cannot result in delivery of actual shares.

1) As long as there is a tradable option in the underlying, we trade all options on shares in the FTSE 100, the DOW 30, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and some large cap Canadian and Australian stocks, as well as on a large selection of European options traded on Eurex or Euronext.

2) We charge a standard commission per lot, per side, on USD, EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD and AUD shares. There is no commission charge on expiry of a share option, but the standard commission will be charged for opening and closing positions. The charge is automatically applied to your account.

3) The standard commission charges are set out in the table below:

4) The margin requirement for buying an option contract is the opening price (or premium) multiplied by the number of shares.

For selling a share option, the margin requirement is variable, subject to a maximum of the Margin Percentage for the corresponding underlying share. The Margin Percentage for a particular share is calculated as a percentage of the opening value of the transaction. Margin Percentages for particular shares vary according to volatility and market conditions, and at the time of writing are as follows:

UK FTSE 100 Shares: 5% or 15%
American Shares: 10% or higher
Australian Shares: 5% or higher

We reserve the right to alter the Margin Percentage at any time.

5) Dealing hours are as follows:

UK Share Options: 08.00–16.30 (London time)
American Share Options: 14.30–21.00 (London time) †
European Shares: Market hours for the relevant Exchange. Please ask for current details.
Singapore Shares: 09.00-12.30 and 14.00-17.00 (Singapore time)
Hong Kong Shares: 10.00-12.30 and 14.30-16.00 (Hong Kong time)
Australian Share Options: 10:00-15:55 (Sydney time) †

†It may sometimes not be possible to quote a particular share option if there is no price being published in the underlying market.

6) The last dealing day for Share Options is the third Friday of the contract month.

Share Options not already closed by the client are closed on or after the last dealing day on the following basis:

Call Options at the settlement price of the underlying share at or after the market close on the last trading day, as reported in the Financial Times on the following day (E&OE) less the strike price, or at 0, whichever is greater. If no price is reported in the Financial Times then the price used will be the price as reported by Bloomberg.

Put Options at the strike price, less the settlement price of the underlying share at or after the market close on the last trading day, as reported in the Financial Times on the following day (E&OE), or at 0, whichever is the greater. If no price is reported in the Financial Times then the price used will be the price as reported by Bloomberg.

7) In the case of Share Options, if there is a bonus share issue, special dividend, scrip or rights issue affecting the underlying share, we will determine the appropriate adjustment, if any, to be made to the related Share Option. These adjustments will take account of the dilutive or concentrative effect necessary to preserve the economic equivalent of the rights and obligations of the parties under the relevant margin trade immediately prior to that event. Exchanges provide details of such corporate events online.

8) When you trade in a currency other than your base currency your profit or loss will be realised in that currency and will be booked to your account in that currency. As a default, we will automatically, and on a daily basis, convert any positive or negative balance on your account in a currency other than your base currency to your base currency. You may change this default at any time by calling us or via our PureDeal platform.

9) Individual Share Options can only be traded over the phone, these contracts are not available online.