It's more a question of how the exchanges work; my ask is just sitting live at the exchange. Just wondering if it's first in, first served per exchange, and how much that matters in practice with multiple exchanges and HFT.

Sometimes my strategy on wide spreads is to sell out when a major movement in the underlying starts happening and the plebs decide to buy options. So it matters whether or not my ask - which initially beat the NBBO and then is matched by computers such that there's larger size at that NBBO - is going to get hit by retails buying into the run.

I doubt my broker will even bother to respond to that.

I assume it's FIFO. But depending on how heavily traded that option is, it's very likely that "someone" is usually going to those very computers (market maters) you mention, who may pay up to mid price.

CME is more explicit about it:
http://www.cmegroup.com/confluence/d...ing+Algorithms

Most popular CME products are FIFO, except for 2 year treasury futures and Eurodollar futures, which mix in a pro-rata component.

So I have had limit orders filled at better than my limit occasionally.

And don't forget the clearing houses. Like Grim I assume most products are FIFO. But that that depends on what level the matching engines come into play. I don't think FIFO is applied nationally. It almost certainly has to be applied "locally."

Possibly at clearing houses but most likely at exchanges. If size is limited such that orders have to be matched non locally then I would, again assume, its FIFO nationally.

If you trade with OptionsXpress I am pretty sure they will answer this question. Just talk to the trading desk and ask them to explain how your orders are routed.

Is there a central place to go to listen to previously recorded earnings calls? I browsed around earningscast.com but their selection seems to be limited. Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I applied the night I posted my question. Decided to do that one first and then after it gets approved submit the Fidelity application.

For future reference you can do it at the same time and it won't really affect your credit score. I applied for 3 credit cards in about an hour a couple months ago and it only dinged my credit about 20 points. My credit score was in the mid 750s at the time.

Say I have a simple portfolio of index funds, and I want to have 10% REITs.

Should I take into consideration that some of my other funds already have holdings in the real estate sector? For example, VTI is 4% real estate.

I realize it's a small impact either way, just curious.

I use personal capital to monitor my allocations and it makes it quite simple to monitor, evenwith a complex portfolio and automatically calculates your concern. For instance something like VWO actually holds a decent amount of Foreign Developed, by their metric.

Personally I use 9% according to PC definition which is accounting for the 4% built in. I'm guessing most here would say 10% + ~4% is too much REIT exposure. I won't go out of my way to maintain this if I ran out of tax advantaged space. But like you say, it isn't going to matter too much either way and the main thing will be just sticking to your reallocation strategy that you decide upon initially.

This comes down to personally preference. If you want 10% exposure to reits then don't buy 10% in reits along with other investments that own reits. If you are okay with more than 10% exposure to reits then you can buy 10% in reits plus other investments that own reits.

Related to this, would you (not) consider your home, if you own it, as a proxy for REITS, or do you rather see them as different asset classes? Obv depends on type of home.

I personally do not consider my home as part of my REIT allocation, but you could make a case for it. Some people also say you should treat a home loan as a negative bond, but I don't do that, either.

Lol, I literally just watched a vid of Buffett talking about shorting bonds (but that it wasnt really an option for him with the scale they're looking for), and was doing some quick back-of-the-envelope math on what effect it would have for me to quit my current variable rate mortgage and get a fixed 3% one to potentially capture some gains, if the rates rise again.

But get what you're saying - it's a thin line: if you really enjoy your specific home (/housing "level"), then it probably shouldn't be included, if you don't wanna rebalance out of it etc.

This +1

Any sources for reliable indicators of performance?
-How has the market performed?
-Break down of the methodology/data?

Any bloggers/individual investors writing investment thesis'?

Yes. Adjust your new purchase to take into account what you already own.

I've reviewed someone's portfolio once that had like 15 different mutual funds and owed the same bank stocks in 12 of them.

Can someone explain to me how margin maintenance requirement works when defined on an individual stock basis?

IB notified me HOS was transitioning to 50% maintenance margin. Do they just weight the specific holding as a proportion of my portfolio or do I need to like monitor individual share value or they'll sell the specific equity?

I'd appreciate it if anyone has specifics for interactive brokers on this one in regards to how this affects the maintenance requirement figure, Buying Power, SMA etc

So a friend of mine was telling me about a partnership he got into with a couple friends of his. They have bought 1 apartment, and are about to buy another. He pays the downpayment, and a third of the monthly mortgage payments , until he is up to 33% paid, and then the other 2 guys pay the rest of the mortgage, and they split the rental income 3 ways from day 1. Is he getting screwed or am I way off?

Oh downpayment is 25% of the price.

i wouldn't necessarily call it getting screwed but the other two guys are getting a much better deal thats for sure.

Doesn't the down payment guy loss some opportunity cost and also bear all the initial risk?

Seems like he's getting a raw deal. unless the other guys are doing the rehab, fixing, collecting rent, managing, general labor etc.

My parents say they don't pay anything for trades etc on their account (they said if you have over an certain amount, it's free, they still call in to their broker and only check stuff online) if your account is over six figures which brokerages offer free trades or where can I transfer it. $8 a trade is just an awful price.

In about 3 to 5 years we plan to have our dream home built. I would like to have about $200k for the down payment. Right now our home is worth ~ $225k and we owe about $115k, so I'm considering that to be the first $100k for the down payment on the new house. The interest rate is at 3.115% IIRC.

I'm wondering if I should continue to pay the regular monthly payment and save for the rest of the down payment on the side? Or should I "save" by paying extra principle on the current mortgage?

It doesn't seem like I can make much in safe savings accounts, and if I pay extra principle at least I'm making something on the money. However, saving it separately gives some benefit in increased flexibility/liquidity if our plans change or life throws another curveball.

What do you guys think?

Save on the side IMO. Easier to make a deal w/ $100k on the side if your old house doesn't sell right away.

Tax-related question:

I initiated positions in a taxable account in commodity futures ETFs in 2015 and sold in 2016. I received a K-1 at year-end 2015 outlining the gain/loss (unrealized by me, since I hadn't sold). Am I correct in the understanding that:
- Any gain reported in the K-1 would be taxed 60% long term, 40% short term cap gains and would go on my 2015 return
- Any loss would be treated as 60% long term capital loss, 40% short term capital loss and offset gains or income on my 2015 return
- Remaining gains/losses that occurred between EOY and when I sold would go on my 2016 return

Where did you come up with the 60/40 split?

Partnerships pass income through to the owners (like yourself) on Schedule K-1. The K-1 should show capital gains and losses that are passed on to you for 2015.

Futures contracts generally fall under this, which has the 60/40 split:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1256_Contract

I called a trading platform a few days ago and asked if I brought over $50k in new funds if they could give me anything for the new business. I got transferred to someone who gave me 500 free trades (and like, 90% the cost of options) for the first year.