tastyworks Review

Useability

After you log in to the website (which mainly provides basic account management functions), you will need to log in to the trading platform. This adds some redundancy. Logging on is easy and straightforward. Logging into the trading platform will show you your real-time net liquidity. There is also a vertical menu at the top of the page. The vertical menu will contain tabs for your trading dashboard and portfolio, watchlists, tastytrade and trading history. Tastyworks affiliate, tastytrade is a live financial news network that allows active retail options traders to access financial information. It is an excellent resource for both new and experienced traders. The cool thing about the follow feed is the ability to copy and view real-time trades made by traders and show hosts at tastytrade.

It is easy to open a new tastyworks account. After your account has been opened, you have the ability to customize the trading platform to suit your preferences and needs. You can reorder the widgets and change the layout of columns. Chart settings can also be modified for further customization. You will need to be familiar with options trading in order to use the tastyworks platform.

The mobile app works just as well as the web-based or desktop platform because it supports the same types of orders and has the same asset classes. It also streams real-time data. The mobile app of tastyworks does not provide news or research and it is not capable of combining drawing tools with charting functionality. Both desktop and mobile platforms can be used intuitively and are best suited to frequent option traders.

Trade Experience

Tastyworks offers three distinct trading platforms: a web-based platform, a desktop program and a mobile application. All three platforms offer customizable features, including watchlists and position details. Trade page details include delta, theta and volume. Many of the tools on the tastyworks platforms are designed to help active traders evaluate volatility and determine the likelihood of profit.

You have two options when it comes to trading options: the table or curve. You can access predefined strategies like butterfly, straddle and iron condor by choosing either view. Drag and drop options orders to easily edit the default parameters. This will improve the efficiency of your trading. You can also see all statistics associated with your options, such as the probability of profit, theta and standard deviation, implied volatility, expected move, maximum profit/loss, expiration dates and prices. It's easy to see your potential options trader position.

Both the website and desktop platform share a similar user interface, especially in terms of trading experience. Both platforms allow trading from charts and offer real-time streaming of quote information. You can also stream quotes from multiple platforms simultaneously. The desktop version is better for active traders as it provides graphing and charting tools.

Though tastyworks maximizes tax efficiency using software, you cannot select a tax lot before placing a sell order. This is a good thing for traders, who will defaultly choose to sell shares using FIFO (first-in, first out) methods. Traders looking for flexible strategies might be disappointed by the lack of customization in tax management. The platform is targeted at a specific group of traders and its features, layout, and tools reflect that.

Stop-limit orders are supported by all order types: web-based, desktop and mobile apps. However, only the desktop program enables conditional orders such as one-triggers-the-other (OTO) and one-cancels-the-other (OCO). The desktop platform is the only one that allows multiple orders to be entered simultaneously. None of the other platforms allow trailing stops or allow you to stage orders for later entry.

Mobile Trade Experience

The mobile app by tastyworks is a great solution if you aren't able to access your computer during business hours. It is fundamentally identical to the desktop and web-based platforms and has similar functionality. It is available for Android as well as IOS and features a modern design.

Although tastyworks makes it easy to place orders via the mobile app by using a drag-and-drop feature, graphing or charting are not optimized for mobile. For example, graphs are presented in a small window and the charts do not have drawing tools. The mobile app lacks news and research.

Although the mobile workflow is simple, it can be confusing for beginners. Investors who are interested in trading frequently will prefer the desktop or web platform due to its greater visual space and better trade experience.

A wide range of offerings

The range of options available at tastyworks is limited because it was designed for option traders only. It doesn't offer OTCBB stocks, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds. tastyworks, on the other hand, is innovative in that it allows you to trade cryptocurrency coins as well as derivatives like bitcoin futures.

The following are available for investors to trade through tastyworks:

• Multi-leg and single option contracts

• Stocks both long and short

• Futures/Commodities (including the ones listed on the Small Exchange).

• Futures options

• Futures contracts for Bitcoin

• Cryptocurrency

• Treasury Bills (available upon request)

Types of Order

Although Tastyworks order systems are very functional, it can be a little confusing for beginners. It is not available on the desktop, but it does allow you to place conditional orders. You cannot select a tax lot to close a position. The default is first in, first out (FIFO).

Here are some of the order types that yummyworks allows:

• Limit

• Market

• Limit your tolerance

• Stop selling

• Bracket orders

• Good til cancelled

• Good til date

• Conditional orders (OCO and OTO)

Trade Technology

Tastyworks employs a unique smart order routing system that focuses on price improvement and order fill quality. The firm approves each execution partner and sends them orders randomly through its internal systems. tastyworks monitors trade quality statistics closely and adjusts each partner's share accordingly to achieve higher prices. The net price increase is $0.01 per share, and $0.05 for option contracts.

tastyworks clients are not able to automate trading strategies or backtest strategies, unlike some other popular online brokers. They do have an external site, lookback.tastytrade.com, that fills that function instead. According to the company, APIs that support this functionality will soon be available.

Prices

Like most online brokerages that have joined the race for zero fees, customers of tastyworks pay no commissions on exchange-traded equity. It has an advantage in pricing options contracts, however. The base fee for opening an option position is $1 and the maximum amount per leg is $10. Option positions can be closed at no cost. Tastyworks unique pricing model, which is the most cost-efficient option on the market, is a benefit for derivatives traders.

• No commission is charged for ETF and stock trades, regardless of how many shares they involve.

• The base fee to open an option contract is $1. Each leg has a $10 cap. There are no fees for closing options positions.

• $10 commission per leg for 20 calls/puts

• Future contracts are $2.50 per contract to open or close positions.

• To open and close micro futures positions, you will need to pay $1.50

• It costs 1% to open positions in cryptocurrency and 1% to sell it (capped at $10 per order).

• Margin interest for $10,000 balance is 8%, $100,000 balance 6.5%

• $25 for domestic wires; $45 for international wires

• Domestic delivery of a check costs $5; international shipping costs $10

• Transfer fees to accounts are $75

• $50 fee for voluntary reorganization

• Assignment fee and exercise fees are $5

• There is no fee for account closure or inactivity

• Access to the platform is free of charge

• There are no fees for ACH withdrawals and deposits

How this broker makes money for you and from you

Many online brokerages, including tastyworks have reduced commissions for equity trades due to fee compression. The pricing structure at tastyworks is more cost-efficient than other competitors and it is unique. We've highlighted the ways brokers make money, as we believe it is less transparent.

• Interest on cash balances You can request interest on cash in your account. The rate is 0.01%. Although the cash cannot be automatically transferred to a money market fund or swept into it, it can be established. tastyworks, like other brokers, makes its money by the difference between what they get on their idle cash and what they earn on customer cash balances.

• Order flow payment:Tastyworks will accept orders for equity and option flow payments. It accepts an average of $0.00141 per share in equities and $0.50 for option contracts. This compensation is lower than the industry average for options and equities.

• Portfolio Margining: To initially apply for portfolio marting, you will need a margin account at tastyworks' highest trading level The Works and $175,000 in your account equity. This will allow you to have a cushion of $150,000 from the maintenance minimum after portfolio margining. Portfolio margining allows clients to have lower margin requirements and make better use of their capital. It is best for investors who trade derivatives to offset the inherent risk in their equity positions.

• Price Improvement:tastyworks smart order router estimates a net price increase of $0.01 per share or $0.05 per option contract.

Research and Accountability

The proprietary technology used to build the tastyworks platform was in-house. It has limited portfolio analysis tools, and no third-party resources for research. tastyworks was built for the frequent trading of derivatives. Most of its research tools are meant to help you place trades for options or futures. The platform does not have a mutual fund or bond screening tool but everyday options traders will be satisfied with what is available.

Stock and ETF Screener

Although you can create a watchlist for stocks and ETFs with tastyworks, equity analysis is not the main focus of the platform. tastyworks comes with a variety of preset watchlists, each serving a different purpose. The watchlists are valuable because they allow you to order and filter. You could filter for volume, liquidity, bid/ask price, volatility, and IV rank. However, watchlists are valuable because they allow you to order and filter.

Mutual Fund Screener

Tastyworks does not offer a mutual fund screener.

Option Screener

When compared to the larger market, tastyworks' distinguishing feature is the ability to analyze option trades. The platform is optimized to handle complex multi-leg options trades like iron condors or vertical spreads. Your screening will mostly be done using customizable watchlists tailored to your trading needs.

Fixed Income Screeners

Tastyworks doesn't offer a screener for fixed income.

Charting

Tastyworks offers a rich and interactive charting tool for both desktop and web platforms. Recent enhancements include the addition of a wider range of risk analysis tools and the ability to create different chart configurations from the main dashboard.

Although there is not much data on stocks, there are many useful indicators, such as the implied volatility (IV) and the greeks. This is tastyworks' proprietary IV rank. It also features options-focused charts that help you to understand the likelihood of making a profit. You can see your combined risk profile for each stock if you hold multiple positions. For those who are serious about options trading, this is an extremely valuable tool.

Calculators and Tools

Tastyworks tools and calculators focus on options and aim to calculate volatility and the probability of profit for a specific option trading strategy.

Trade Idea Generators

Tastytrade offers eight hours of free content that focuses on active trading and research. All trades posted by the host are available on the "follow page" of the platform. Here you can filter, sort and select the underlyings to which trades will be displayed. Trades are live and available in real-time so you can mimic trades made by your favorite hosts. You can also follow celebrities and other TV personalities through the follow trade feature.

You will also find context and insight about certain markets and products through the Cherry Picks or Cherry Bomb emails. This will help you to identify potential trade opportunities.

Research by third parties

Tastyworks doesn't provide third-party research.

Fractional Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP)

Customers of Tastyworks can request dividend reinvestment to dividend-paying stocks. The dividend will buy fractional shares and not cash.

Cash Management

Although Tastyworks does not offer an automatic cash sweep, you can request one with 0.01% idle funds.

SRI/ESG Research Amenities

Tastyworks does not offer socially responsible investing (SRI), or other research services in the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Portfolio Analysis

While real-time portfolio statistics, such as probability of profit, delta, theta, liquidity, and buying power are displayed on the desktop application, in-depth performance reports and analysis are available to you by creating a free account at Quiet Foundation, a registered investment advisor (RIA) under the tastyworks/tastytrade umbrella. Portfolio analysis can be customized and you can consolidate holdings with other accounts for reporting or analysis.

Tastyworks provides real-time reports on account balances, margins and buying power. You won't however be able measure the tax consequences of future trades. You can expect tastyworks to make improvements to its platform as it is a relatively new player in the brokerage market.

Education

Delicioustrade, a content network and learning center, runs in tandem to tastyworks. Tastytrade provides actionable information that is based on real-world experience and research. This can help you to improve your investing skills. Trades can greatly benefit by a wealth of stats-based options content.

Before the pandemic, delicioustrade hosted live, in-person trading education events. Most of these events have been converted to webinars and digital events. Even though tastyworks doesn't have paper trading functionality yet, it offers tons of educational resources such as blogs, videos and an investing glossary. Cherry Picks, the weekly research report, as well as Cherry Bomb, the daily email, provide additional information on market news and education.

Customer Service

• The phone number for tastyworks is available Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. There is no hold time.

• Talk to a broker live

• Chatbots are available and potential clients can chat live with customer service representatives via chatbot.

Security and reliability

• SMS can be used to provide two-factor authentication

• Mobile apps can recognize your fingerprints and facial features

• Lloyd's of London provides coverage for excess securities investor protection corporation (SIPC), up to $600 million in aggregate. However, there are maximum limits of $150,000,000 for one customer's securities and $21.5 Million for one customer's cash.

• There have been no major security breaches.

• Tastyworks was not affected by any outages during the past year.

Transparency

The pricing structure and fees at Tastyworks are clear and transparent. A webpage about commissions and fees is available on the broker's website. It is easy to read and understand. The website also includes information about brokerage fees and margin trading costs.

There are many account types available

Tastyworks offers all the most commonly used accounts, including:

• Taxable for both individuals and jointly

• Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

• Roth IRA

• Simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA

• Inherited IRA

• Corporate

• Trust

• International (non U.S.)

Final Verdict

Tastyworks was created for active traders who are interested in trading futures and options. There are many tools available for futures and active options traders, as 98% of trades it customers place are derivatives. tastyworks, along with other content on the tastytrade network is an excellent platform to help beginners learn how to analyze the risks and rewards of options trading strategies.

This is the advantage of tastyworks' niche strategy: they are more interested in serving derivatives traders than investors. You will find the unique content and pricing of tastyworks very appealing if you are an experienced options trader. Investors looking to build a traditional portfolio or start investing in the market have many options.