Commissions & Fees

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Options Regulatory Fee (ORF)

This fee went into effect January 11, 2010. This regulatory fee will be added to every option trade, both buys and sells.

The new rate for the ORF is the combined amount of fees as follows: International Securities Exchange (ISE) - $0.0035 per contract; $0.01 per trade minimum, Boston Stock Exchange (BOX) - $0.0030 per contract; $0.01 per trade minimum, NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) - $0.0035 per contract Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) - $.004; $.01 minimum per trade.

The effective rate of the ORF fee will be $0.014 per contract. Fee charges will be rounded to the nearest penny.

More information regarding the fees are available from the Exchanges and can be accessed below: 　

International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Boston Stock Exchange (BOX)
NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX)
CBOE

Updates to fees are made on a best efforts basis, however all fees are subject to change without notice.  For current information and updates, please refer to the appropriate web site. 

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SEC Transaction Fee

On April 1, 2010, the Section 31 Fee increased the rate applicable to specified securities transactions on the exchanges and in the over-the-counter markets from $12.70 per million dollars to $16.90 per million dollars. This fee rate will remain in place until further notice.

How to Calculate:
Multiply the sale/principal amount of the transaction by the fee rate. Truncate at the seventh place after the decimal point. Truncate the resulting figure at the fifth place after the decimal point and round up to the nearest cent (Always round up if there is a remainder)

For more information visit the FINRA web site http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-29.htm

Updates to fees are made on a best efforts basis, however all fees are subject to change without notice. For current information and updates, please refer to the appropriate web site.

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Short Stock Fee

Based on the recent changes to the short stock rules and increased difficulties to borrow stock, our clearing firm, Penson Financial Services will be passing on charges for shorting stock that they must locate outside of their firm. These stocks are typically called hard to borrow securities. The fees can be charged daily and posted to the customer’s account the following business day for settled positions.

The formula for the Hard to Borrow fee (HTB) is the rate times the principal value divided by 360 to come up with the daily charge.  The principal value of the security is calculated by taking the securities price at the end of the previous trading day then multiplied by 1.02%, the figure is then rounded up to the nearest dollar amount.

Updates to fees are made on a best efforts basis, however all fees are subject to change without notice. For current information and updates, please refer to the appropriate web site.

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Trading Activity Fees (TAF)

Effective July 1, 2010, Trading Activity Fees (TAF) will be passed through to customers as part of normal transaction processing.

As an industry transaction standard, FINRA levies a Trading Activity Fee (TAF) on the sale of covered securities pursuant to Section 1 of Schedule A to the FINRA By-Laws. Covered securities include: 1) all exchange registered securities wherever executed (other than bonds, debentures, and other evidence of indebtedness), 2) all other equity securities traded otherwise than on an exchange, 3) all security futures wherever executed, 4) all “TRACE-eligible securities” wherever executed, provided that the transaction also is a “reportable TRACE transaction,” as these terms are defined in Rule 6210; and (5) All municipal securities subject to MSRB reporting requirements. Current FINRA TAF Fees for covered equity securities (including Bulletin Boards, Pink Sheets and ETF) are $.000075 per share with a minimum charge of $0.01 and a max charge of $3.75 per sale transaction. The FINRA (TAF) for option sales is currently $0.002 per contract and fees for covered debt securities are $0.00075 per bond, with a maximum assessment of $0.75 per trade (based on 1,000 bonds).

Updates to fees are made on a best efforts basis, however all fees are subject to change without notice.  For current information and updates, please refer to the appropriate web site.