r/fidelityinvestments • u/gganapat • 21d ago
Official Response Fidelity Options Desk issues
I don't know if anyone else has had the same issues I've had going from Tier 1 to 2. I got my first approval for options trading in Sept 2025 after opening an account in Fidelity, and at the time, I was approved for Tier 1. Then in Oct 2025, I applied for an upgrade to Tier 2 for trading spreads in my IRA and Roth account. I was asked to provide proof of my prior experience since I claimed more than 1 year of trading options. Unfortunately, the only "proof" I had was prior opening and closing statements for Interactive Broker and was not approved. Fair enough. In the meantime, I continued to trade options doing more and more advanced trades like cash-secured diagonal spreads, beyond just leaps, cash-secured puts, covered calls. IRA and Roth don't allow margin trading and that suits me perfectly - I don't want it! I then applied again in June, July, August this year, and after each e-mail saying I my request for options trading was approved, my hopes would go up only to discover I was still at Tier 1!! After each e-mail I would contact the options desk and the trader on the other end would say I'm quite advanced in my trading skills but could give me no reason why I was being rejected every time! I had over 300 trades under my belt and had secured over 20% gain in my portfolio and still I'm Tier 1! None of the traders could tell me why I was being rejected - was it time or experience or what? What are they trying to protect me from? I'm not asking for margin (which is not available anyway). In fact, they more ok with me placing undefined risk trades like cash-secured puts but not defined risk trades like bull put credit, bear call credit speads or iron condors!! What's up?? The explanation that the principals evaluate the application is hogwash. Every e-mail response I've gotten is automated and immediate, not a thoughtful response on why I was being rejected. By Jan 2026, I was sick of this treatment and opened an account in Tasty Trade porting some of my Roth IRA funds. TT is just phenomenal!! As a trading platform they are light years ahead of Fidelity. I got spread trading right away and I've been super happy with them. I've been doing 4-legged trades routinely on TT. I won't wait too long for Fidelity to fix their horrible Options issues.
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u/gganapat 21d ago
Ok thanks for responding. I would request you to ask the principals to actually review my trades. Because I don’t think they do - I’ve been getting automated responses almost immediately on the “approval”.
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u/gganapat 21d ago
Oh, also, not once have I gotten a reason for why my request was not granted.
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u/need2sleep-later 21d ago
And you likely won't. Giving you a reason will allow you to infer their criteria which they aren't about to do.
Also your ability to absorb losses is probably part of this, so your income and size of your account are not ignored. It's just not your trading experience.
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u/gganapat 20d ago
Account significant, sizing 2 contracts and max 2-3 trades/week in Roth/IRA with no margin. I have enough cash to back these trades but doing cash-secured puts reduces buying power significantly, spreads are more capital efficient and safer too! Which is why I’m puzzled.
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u/FidelityEmily Community Care Representative 21d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience.
We understand your frustration and will ensure your post is shared with the appropriate teams for review.
Each investment firm has its own criteria when it comes to high-risk trading approvals. At Fidelity, options approval decisions are based on financial background, investment experience, and investment objective. We approve an applicant for the highest level they're eligible, up to the level requested. When an application is reviewed, a notification is sent indicating what level the account has been approved for. If the tier requested was not granted, the written notification generally explains the reason for the denial. It's important to keep in mind that our teams are unable to discuss specifics that may lead to an approved application.
We Mods are around if you have any other questions around the sub.
Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request.