There
is no need to have the Thomson One workstation software running
before starting OptionVue. If you have told OptionVue to
use Thomson One, every time you start OptionVue, the necessary
Thompson One processes will start automatically. It may take up
to 15 seconds for these (two) processes to start up, during which
time OptionVue is unresponsive and displays an hourglass cursor.
When finished, you should see two small icons representing those
processes in the Windows taskbar – normally at the bottom
of your computer screen. The OptionVue program communicates with
one of these processes (the one called RDC) and this process manages
the link to Thomson One’s remote server. When you close OptionVue,
the Thomson One processes close up as well. In addition, there
is no problem running OptionVue and the Thomson One workstation
at the same time. When you do that, both applications receive quotes
through the same connection over the Internet.
The OptionVue Thomson One interface features best bid/offer (BBO)
processing for equity and index options. In the Matrix, the program
shows the highest bid and which exchange is making it available,
as well as the lowest offer and which exchange is making it available.
2. In the Matrix, Graphic Analysis, and Detailed Analysis, the
program now uses actual commissions from the T.Log when evaluating
existing positions rather than using estimated commissions.
3. In the Matrix, some of the fields in the Summary section work
differently now for short stock positions. Up till now, the cash
flow field displayed zero for a short stock position and the gross
requirements fields showed 50% (initial) and 30% (maintenance)
of the value of the short stock. Now, the cash flow field displays
a positive value representing the cash value of the stock being
credited to your account, and the gross requirements fields show
150% (initial) and 130% (maintenance) of the value of the short
stock. Other fields remain unchanged, including the net requirements
fields. These changes are also reflected in the Account Status
screen, and as a result, the Stock and Options Buying Power fields
in that window work more accurately.
4. The software now deals better with nearly worthless
options. For example, in the Matrix, if an option has an ask
price of 0.10
and a bid price that is blank, the Matrix now shows the “market
price” of the option to be 0.05 instead of 0.10. And if you
enter a hypothetical trade to sell some of these options, depending
on the slippage model in effect and conditions affecting the slippage
model, the “at price” can now go to zero. And the Matrix
will deal with a zero “at price” and show appropriate
numbers in the Summary section.
The same improvements apply in the Account Status screen as well,
such that practically worthless options can show up as having zero
value. Previously, if you were long, say, 10 OTM options whose
current ask price is 0.10 and bid price is blank, the Account Status
would probably show these options as still having a value of $100.
Now, instead of ignoring the blank bid price, the program works
with it, and can show (depending on the slippage model) these options
as being worth anywhere between $50 and worthless.
5. In the Portfolio Manager, the Performance
Graph’s vertical
axis on the right side (percent change) is now based on the period
in view rather the account’s starting value.
6. In the Transaction Log, it is now possible to
enter partial shares of stock – down to 3 decimal places
(much like it has been for mutual funds for quite a while). Note
that in the
Matrix and Portfolio Manager Reports the quantity of stock will
still be displayed rounded to the nearest whole number, just
as it has always been for the quantity of a mutual fund. We want
to
improve on this sometime. However, it is not critical because
the quantity is not being rounded prior to calculations, only
prior
to displaying the quantity itself.