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TIAA and Citi Day Trading Rules in 2024
Does Citi and TIAA have PDT rule? Pattern day trading requirements for
accounts below $25,000. How many day trades do Citi and TIAA allow?
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The PDT Rule at Citi and TIAA... And How to Avoid It
Although Citi and TIAA don’t specialize in short-term trading, the brokerage firms do
permit it. If you want to day trade inside your Citi or TIAA account, here’s what you
need to know:
PDT Accounts and FINRA
Day trading inside any US-based brokerage account is strictly regulated by FINRA, America’s primary watchdog of the securities industry. In a nutshell, the regulatory body requires any pattern day-trading account to have an account equity of at least $25,000. And what does the regulator consider to be a pattern day-trading account? It is:
An account that places 4 or more security trades in a rolling 5-business-day period. Securities are things like stocks, bonds, options, and ETF’s. Bonds and options aren’t available at Citi, so you won’t need to worry about them.
A margin account. FINRA does not impose its PDT rule on cash accounts.
An account with total day-trading activity making up 6% or more of the account’s total trading activity.
Getting Around the PDT Rule on Citi
Looking at the definition of a pattern day-trading account, we can see several ways to legally evade it.
First option is to open a cash account instead of a margin account. This will always circumvent the $25k PDT requirement. You will have to wait until funds settle, though, because there is no leverage in a cash account.
Or you could swing trade. Swing trading is buying and selling within a 2-week period. FINRA’s PDT rule only applies to buying and selling securities within the same market day.
If you only had a few day trades to make, you might be able to stay under 6% of total trade activity, and this would avoid PDT classification.
Can Citi’s Software Be Used to Day Trade?
Day traders are accustomed to using advanced software to meet the requirements of their trading regimens. Unfortunately, Citi doesn’t have advanced digital tools that other brokers offer. You won’t be able to trade on a desktop program or even a web-based platform. Citi’s trading ticket appears on its website, which is very simple.
Citi’s order ticket for securities is very elementary. There are only two order types, market and limit, and no duration choices. There are no stop loss orders, so obviously you won’t be able to place any bracket orders. You could place a limit exit order after an entry order if you wanted.
The broker’s mobile app has the same order form as the website.
Better Broker For Traders
For day traders, a great alternative trading broker is
Webull.
It has a number of advantages over Citi and TIAA: virtual and crypto trading, lower margin rates,
and advanced trading tools.
Webull Promotion
Open Webull Account
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