Choices trading can be complex a lot more so than stock trading. When you buy a stock, you just decide the number of shares you want, and your broker fills the order at the dominating market value or a limit cost you set. Trading choices requires an understanding of sophisticated methods, and the procedure for opening an alternatives trading account consists of a few more actions than opening a normal investment account.( Need to brush up on puts, calls, strike rates and other options trading lingo? See our post on options trading 101). Compared to opening a brokerage represent stock trading, opening an alternatives trading account requires larger amounts of capital. And, provided the intricacy of forecasting several moving parts, brokers need to understand a bit more about a potential investor prior to granting them an authorization slip to start trading options.