I have less than 25k, What type of account should I be trading with?

Education Frequently Asked Questions
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For balances under 25k, the recommended account type is a cash account and not a margin account.

A margin account with a balance under 25k means you are subjected to Pattern Day Trading when you trade four or more times in five business days where the five business days is a rolling window. Once you are restricted for violating PDT, you will only be able to close positions. There is no benefit to having a margin account with balances under 25k since you can not freely open and close new positions without considering PDT.

A cash account on the other hand, does not have this restriction. You are free to open and close positions as many times as you’d like without triggering PDT, hence giving you the flexibility to take profit when you are in the money or close positions that have gone sour. Eliminate PDT from one of the factors that influences your decision on closing the position will improve your profitability while keeping your account safe from PDT.

My brokerage recommendation for cash accounts under 25k is Webull. Firstly Options trading on Webull is free compared to brokers like TDAmeritrade, TastyWorks, etc where they charge a $0.6x fee per contract. Secondly, for trading exclusively options, the Webull options T+1 settlement period seems to allow the unsettled funds to be freely traded effectively giving you unlimited option day trades without Good Faith Violations.

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hi @Kryptek -

first of all thanks for the guide.

may i check with you if the webull options only unlimited trading glitch still works for accounts <25k?

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yes it still does work as long as you keep it to options

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Sorry for the noob question but what time of day are funds settled with T+1? For example if I buy and sell a contract today, are those funds available tomorrow morning or EOD?

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Tomorrow morning.

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Should usually be settled the next morning

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Question, not sure if this is the best place for it but saw it was recently active so I’ll try here. On Webull, if you accepted the free stock are you screwed as far as the unlimited day trade goes? Or do I have to make sure not to sell it and I’ll be good? Thanks for the help.

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I think the glitch is that if you don’t sell the free stock, you can day trade even with unsettled cash. If you do sell the stock, you can still day trade with settled cash, but not with unsettled. Technically you can, but you’ll get violations. Also the unsettled cash becomes settled the next trading day