Registration Grade: C
Overview:
The OptionsHouse registration process is average. Completing the initial account opening process from the website is quick and easy. The final application needs to be printed out, signed and faxed/mailed back to OptionsHouse which is something we would have hoped to avoid in the year 2010. Once we faxed our application to OptionsHouse, they took a bit longer than most other brokers to activate our account. Combine this with a few more days to electronically fund an account and users can expect to wait about two full weeks until their accounts are fully set up at OptionsHouse.
Details:
The OptionsHouse welcome screen (click on images for larger views):
We selected to open an individual brokerage account with margin. The minimum initial account deposit is $1,000:
Once we completed the main part of the application, we were prompted with the option of either printing out the application or receiving it via FedEx. We chose to print the application ourselves. We also decided to fund our account by linking our Bank of America checking account to our OptionsHouse account. An initial funding amount is requested at this stage:
Linked accounts are active only once micro deposits are verified. Once this is complete, our previously requested transfer amount was sent. If you go this route, make sure you do not select to transfer funds again, because the previously requested amount is automatically processed and you will end up transferring funds twice.
Most of the terms and conditions forms can be verified by clicking a single check box. Many brokers have a separate page for each form, so the time saved here is most appreciated:
As we noted earlier, users can select to either print out the final application or receive it in the mail. Since we selected to print it ourselves, the final step is to print out the application and mail or fax it to OptionsHouse. We would much prefer to avoid paper applications all together, so OptionsHouse loses some points for their lack of technology in this area. In the end, we faxed the completed application with no issues:
Once the initial account opening process was completed on the OptionsHouse website, we received a welcome email a few minutes later. It took several business days from when our account application was faxed to OptionsHouse until our account was activated. This is a longer turn around time than at most other brokers. Thankfully, upon first requesting a new account, OptionsHouse automatically creates a mock account for users to try out in the mean time.
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