More information can be found on our rates page, but a general rule of thumb is that our “up to 5 for $5″ plan is most suitable for our customers who trade 10 or fewer contracts per trade while our “$8.50+” plan works better for customers who trade 10 or more contracts per trade.

Both plans offer the same flat rate of $3.95 for stock trades. (plus $0.005 per share if the stock price is $2.00 or less and the stock is not options eligible).

From the Manage Accounts screen, click on the “Rates” tab.  From here, you can select the radio button corresponding to your desired commission plan. Note that you can change the commission plan for your accounts individually by selecting the account from the drop down menu.

After changing your plan, click “Save” to confirm. Note: any change made after 7:30 am CT will go into effect the FOLLOWING trading day, beginning at 7:30 am CT.

Modifying an order effectively cancels the original order and books a new order. Partial fills on the original order are subject to the commission at the time of the order. Commissions for fills for the modified order are calculated as if it were a new order.

Note that GTC orders remain open and working until cancelled by the customer or for 60 calendar days from order entry.

Buy Side

Open net buy quantity represents the total unsettled share amount per stock at any given time during a 3-day settlement cycle.

Open net buy quantity must be less than 5,000,000 shares per stock for your entire firm.

Sell Side

Open net sell quantity represents the total unsettled share amount per stock at any given time during a 3-day settlement cycle.

Open net sell quantity must be less than 10% percent of the 20-day average volume.

Please note: The NSCC illiquid fee is based on the aggregate trading volume of all of Apex Clearing’s correspondent accounts, not just the individual client trade. In other words, your trade may not exceed 10% of the 20-day average volume, but you may still be charged the fee due to the trading activities of all Apex correspondent accounts in that security for a 3 day (T+3) settlement cycle.

Yes.  Apex has implemented a fee of $250.00 for each trade that creates an illiquid charge as determined by NSCC.  This fee is in addition to the interest charge that is applied to the customer account whose trade had created an illiquid charge.

When will my account be charged illiquid fees?

Your account will be charged these on the second day (T+2) following trade date.

If your trade is eligible for an illiquid charge your account can be charged every day until settlement date of the trade.

Will my account be charged interest in association with a trade that triggers an illiquid charge?

For trading activity that triggers an NSCC illiquidity charge, Apex Clearing will charge interest at a minimum overnight rate of 15% on the illiquid requirement generated by your OptionsHouse customer account.

When any stock is sold short, the shares must be located and borrowed by a clearing firm. When there is a large demand to short a stock relative to the number of shares outstanding, stocks can be classified as hard-to-borrow. The market forces that drive increased demand for a stock vary daily depending on the particular situation.

For this reason, the fees associated with hard-to-borrow stock can vary greatly as it is based on the amount of market demand each day. We suggest that if you wish to short hard-to-borrow stock that you contact our Trade Desk at 877-653-2500. We can help you locate the stock in question and notify you of the availability and current fees.

Please Note: Some stocks will not appear as hard-to-borrow and are able to be sold through the platform, but still may incur hard-to-borrow fees. This occurs when a particular stock is able to be located and borrowed, however the limited availability of shares mandates a borrow fee. In these cases, the investor will incur fees each day that the stock requires a fee to be borrowed.