re:"... wait 3 days BS "
I think the 3 day settlement period rule is the same for any cash account regardless of broker.
With margin account you can day trade unlimited so long as you maintain a cash balance greater than $25,000.
If it dips below you are restricted to 1 day trade per 5 days. In a way this is worse than cash since at least with cash account you can keep going until cash reserve overheats. With the SEC rule for $25,000 if below, dollar amount doesn't matter, even if you trade 1 share of a $1 stock 3x in 3 days you are subject to loss of margin trading priviledges.
I visit a lot of these boards and anywhere a sotck goes down there are outspoken people vowing to complain to the SEC about everything. I have a feeling that some of the crazy rules us hapless retail traders must cope with are the result of past complaints. I think that the SEC would rather not be continually haranged by small investors so that I half expect anything they do as remedy to alleged "abuses" will just result in more restrictions on retial investors -making it harder for thm to trade at all. It is one way of making their problems, head-aches go away. All they really have to do is change the rules, raising the cash requirements so high that most of us small fry simply go away.
So, in general, I hope that people start to think twice before embarking on pestering the SEC and or FTC. Some of these rules are stupid but it is possible to cope with them. They could be worse, could get worse unless people get out of the habit of demanding a governemtn solution for everything.
BTW, if you want to trade options, the rule is that you must have $100,000 cash in your account. OK I think that's everything <g>
I was actually going to post about soigf. Guess I'll start a new header...
