What stock broker will allow me to write puts after i have money secured in a money market account?

I have etrade but they will not allow me to write puts. I want to write puts, use the unrealized profits to buy the underlying stock, and then write calls on that stock. Is this a hedge strategy?|||%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;What stock broker will allow me to write puts after i have money secured in a money market account?





I have etrade but they will not allow me to write puts.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;





Most, if not all, brokers will allow you to write cash-secured puts if you meet their minimum requirements for writing put options. I believe





Think or Swim


OptionsXpress


InteractiveBrokers





are more likely to approve your account for writing puts than e-trade.





%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;I want to write puts, use the unrealized profits to buy the underlying stock, and then write calls on that stock.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;





Unrealized profits from a short sale (including writing puts) can only be used to purchase stocks to the extent they exceed the margin requirements of the short position.





%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;Is this a hedge strategy?%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;





It would not normally be considered a hedge strategy, but it does share some important characteristics of a hedge strategy. Specifically, it has a delta of less than 1.00 and you have some limited protection from a drop in the price of the stock.|||A short call has unlimited risk, and a short put along with that is even more risky, since you can lose more than credit you received if either expires in the money. So that strategy has limited gain with unlimited risk.





Naked puts would require margin or enough cash to cover the strike price, so they subtract from available cash or margin until they expire worthless or you buy them back. Since the risk is more than the credit received, they reduce the amount of cash or margin available to trade. And naked calls would not be allowed in a cash account (unlimited risk).





If you want to limit your risk (and required cash or margin) you would need to buy a put below your short put, and buy a call above your short call to limit how much you could lose if it goes against you either way. That is known as an iron condor http://www.theoptionsguide.com/iron-cond鈥?/a>





You could do short puts at thinkorswim.com, even in an IRA. But short calls cannot be done in a cash account unless you limit your risk with a long call at a higher strike (and that would use cash margin until expiration to cover the difference in strike prices)