[SideshowBob]

Can anyone make any good suggestions how to go "short" via an IRA? I've been using bear funds, but I'd really like the ability to trade intra-day. However, shorting is out via an IRA.

I've heard there are ways to trade futures in IRAs -- does anyone have info on this or where you can trade options in IRAs?

SSB

[simple guy]

Rydex funds, but you need $25k to open an account. Sometimes they run $10k specials...

Otherwise, DRCVX is an actively managed fund that is basically a mirror reverse image of SP500

Otherwise unclear..... I agree though, tis frustrating. I own BEARX in my IRA

[machinehead]

SSB - about 5 years ago I received a prospectus for an IRA trustee which allowed futures trading. About 2 years ago that trustee defaulted, causing substantial losses to investors. I believe there was some kind of fraud involved.

Needless to say, that incident cast a pall over the notion of futures trading in IRA accounts. Regulators don't even want to hear about it anymore.

I'm under the impression that brokers such as Schwab and Fidelity which offer mutual fund trading would allow you to trade Rydex bear funds with less than Rydex's $25K minimums. They aggregate all their customer orders at the end of the day, so these brokers can set their own minimums which may be lower.

[weak hand]

TradeStation
$7000 minimum

http://www.tradestat...res_margin.shtm