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HOW DO I OPEN AN ACCOUNT? |
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Accounts
with NWT can be opened in any of the following three
ways: |
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Online: |
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1.
Complete a secure online application. |
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2.
Download, print and fax back a PDF version of the
new account application. |
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By Phone: |
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Call
1-877-644-1112 and you will be connected with an NWT
representative to help you complete your application
process. |
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By Mail: |
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1.
Download an application and print it out. |
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2.
Complete and sign the application, and send it to us
at the following address: |
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NWT
Financial Group, LLC |
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Attn: New
Accounts |
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275 1st
Place NW |
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Issaquah,
WA 98121 |
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HOW DO I
MAKE MY INITIAL DEPOSIT? |
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Choose the
method that works best for you:
Instant
Funding
You may
choose to instantly fund your account online as you
complete our online account application (available
from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET).
Transfer Money Electronically
Electronically move money from another financial
institution or an existing NWT Financial account
during the online application process.
By
Check
If
you're applying by mail, include a personal,
cashier's, or bank check made payable to Penson
Financial with your account application and send it
to the appropriate address.
By Wire
Transfer
Click here for complete
wiring instructions. |
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WHO IS NWT
FINANCIAL'S CLEARING FIRM? |
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Our
clearing firm is Penson Financial Services, a member
of the FINRA and
SIPC, located in
Texas. Penson carries your account as a clearing
broker pursuant to a clearing agreement with NWT
Financial Group. Penson provides clearing services
for several brokerage firms and provides superior
back-office and reporting tools for our clients as
well as PenFlex accounts to easily access investment
and trading accounts.
Clearing,
settlement and custody are primarily back office
functions that are mostly transparent to the end
customer, and to a great deal, the introducing
broker/dealer. Most broker/dealers do not have the
internal capacity to handle their own clearing,
custody and settlement so they contract with a
clearing firm to handle that for them. Once a trade
is executed it must be compared with the
counterparty and settled, if it is a U.S. stock
transaction, in three (3) business days. |
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CAN I
TRANSFER AN ACCOUNT OR ASSETS FROM ANOTHER FIRM? |
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Once your
account is open, NWT offers a free
electronic transfer service
that can reduce the transfer time dramatically. Full
brokerage transfers submitted electronically are
typically completed in ten business days. You can
download an account transfer form by going to our
Forms Download page.
Please
remember to attach a copy of your most recent
account statement from the firm from which you are
transferring. Also, please use a separate account
transfer form for each account. Transferring an
account usually takes approximately two weeks,
depending on how quickly your assets are released by
the delivering firm. You may fax your completed
account transfer form, along with a copy of your
most recent statement, to us. |
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WHAT IS
THE MINIMUM AMOUNT REQUIRED FOR OPENING AN ACCOUNT? |
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Typically,
$1,000 equity is required to open an IRA, and $2,000
equity is required to open any non-IRA. Your minimum
initial deposit is based on the account type you
have selected and may be modified by special
promotional offers. Regardless of any promotional
offer, a $2,000 minimum deposit is required to be
considered for margin and options privileges. |
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WHAT KINDS
OF SERVICES DOES NWT FINANCIAL GROUP OFFER? |
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NWT works
with a variety of product/service providers to offer
our client's a diverse array of value-added services
including direct access trading to domestic and
global markets. Our primary audience includes
hedge fund managers, banks, institutional money
managers, and active individual traders and
investors. |
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ARE MY
ACCOUNTS INSURED? |
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As a
member of the Securities Investor Protection
Corporation (SIPC) funds are available to meet
customer claims up to a maximum of $500,000 in cash
and securities with a $100,000 cash maximum.
Additionally, our clearing firm holds excess
insurance of $200,000,000 in the aggregate, over all
customer accounts, subject to a maximum limit of
$900,000 per Customer in respect to cash. This
excess protection is in addition to the protection
provided by the Securities and Investors Protection
Act, which is administered by SIPC and is subject to
certain conditions and limitations, details of which
are available upon request. Note SIPC and excess
coverage provide coverage against loss of securities
and cash, not against market depreciation,
fluctuation in market value of your securities or a
trading loss. |
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I AM A
FOREIGN CITIZEN, IS IT POSSIBLE TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
WITH NWT FINANCIAL? |
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Yes,
foreign citizens may establish accounts with NWT
Financial Group. You may print out the new account
form from our Forms Download page or submit a
request online for an application to be mailed to
you. All foreign citizens are required to complete a
W-8BEN Form, which is available on our Forms
Download page. Additionally, all foreign citizens
who do not have U.S. resident alien (green card)
status must submit a photocopy of the identification
page (this photocopy must contain a photo of the
applicant) of their passport or other
government-issued ID. If you are a legal resident of
the United States you are not required to complete
the W-8BEN Form. For more information regarding
foreign citizenship status, please visit the
Internal Revenue Service and read the Tax
Information for Aliens and U.S. Citizens Living
Abroad, specifically Publication 519. |
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HOW DO I
VIEW MY HISTORICAL ACCOUNT INFORMATION? |
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NWT
Financial Group customers can view historical
account information by clicking the CLIENT LOGIN
link at the top of each page on our site or by
visiting
https://online.penson.com. Using this
login, you can access historical account
information, obtain account statements, profit and
loss reports, tax information, and perform a variety
of administrative functions. |
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WHAT TYPES
OF ACCOUNTS CAN NWT FINANCIAL CUSTOMERS OPEN? |
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Currently,
NWT Financial Group offers individual, joint account
and custodial accounts via its online application or
you may download forms or ask us to mail them to
you. If you are a corporation, LLC or partnership,
you may also open an account by filling out the
appropriate application from our Forms Download
page. In addition to the account application and
margin agreement, you will also need to complete the
authorization form that applies: Corporate
Resolution, LLC Authorization or Partnership
Agreement, which can be found on our Forms Download
page. If you are applying for a margin account,
including a day trading account, you must complete
the Margin and Short Account Agreement, in addition
to the NWT Financial Group Account Application.
To
transact options, you will need to fill out and
submit the Option Account Agreement in addition to
he NWT Account Application. Additionally you will
need to review the Special Statement for Uncovered
Option Writers Writers if you intend to engage in
uncovered option activity. If you only intend to
write covered calls or maintain long option
positions, you need not apply for a margin account.
All other option positions must be established in a
margin account and therefore, you must submit a
Margin and Short Account Agreement. |
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WHAT ARE
NWT'S MARGIN REQUIREMENTS? |
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NWT
Financial Group has the right to set it's own margin
requirements called "house" requirements, as long as
they are set higher than Regulation T margin
requirements or the rules of the NASD and the
exchanges. At NWT Financial Group we have
established a 50% initial requirement on all
purchases made on marginable stock and a subsequent
maintenance requirement of 25% or $2.50 per share;
whichever is greater. All stocks priced under $5.00
are not marginable and the margin requirement is
100%. Some stocks priced $5.00 and over may be held
at a higher maintenance requirement.
For
short sales of stock, we have established a 50%
initial requirement and a subsequent maintenance
requirement of the greater of 35% of the short
market value or $5.00 per share. Stocks that are
originally shorted at $5.00 or above and then fall
below $5.00 are allowable, however no new short
positions may be created and held overnight for
stocks that trade under $5.00, and the margin
requirement is 100% of the current market value or
$2.50 per share; whichever is greater. |
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CAN I
TRADE IN THE EXTENDED MARKET HOURS SESSION? |
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Orders
sent to EXTENDED HOURS from 8 am to 9:30 am ET and
from 4 pm to 8 pm ET will go to any of the available
ECNs offered through NWT. |
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HOW DO THE
NEW MARGIN RULES CHANGE DAY TRADING BUYING POWER (DTBP)? |
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DTBP for
accounts deemed as Pattern Day Traders is limited to
four times the day trader's Maintenance Excess. This
calculation is based on the customer's account
positions as of the close of business the previous
day. Maintenance Excess is calculated by subtracting
your Margin Maintenance Requirement from your Margin
Equity. |
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HOW DO I
CALCULATE MY DAY TRADING BUYING POWER? |
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Provided
the account is not currently in a day trading call,
and the account is coded as a pattern day trader,
DTBP is calculated by multiplying your maintenance
excess by four. If in a day trading call and coded
as a pattern day trader, the DTBP is calculated by
multiplying your maintenance excess times 2 on an
aggregate basis. Aggregating trades is defined as
taking the total cost of all opening positions in
one trading day. |
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IF I APPLY
ONLINE, AM I STILL REQUIRED TO SIGN AND RETURN MY
APPLICATION? |
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Yes,
account applications must be signed and returned
with you new account paperwork . You may fax this
paperwork to us at 1-425-295-0401 or send it by
mail. Click
here for our contact information. |
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FAQs
& Support
