FAQ - Most Common Questions
Why do I have delayed Stock and Option Market Data?
To enable real-time stock and option quotes on thinkorswim please log into schwab.com or Schwab Mobile where you’ll be prompted to sign your professional or non-professional agreements. Professional users can request real-time data by calling Schwab at 800-435-9050. For Non-Professionals, after you have completed your non-professional agreements, please log out of thinkorswim and log back in.
How long is the delay on delayed data charts and quotes?
15 minutes.
When would my account show day trading buying power (DTBP)?
Day Trading Buying Power is given to margin accounts that have completed more than 3 day trades in a 5 rolling business day period, and have a start of day margin equity value of over $25,000. If this occurs, your account will generally show a day trade buying power (DTBP) value.
Can I see my accrued interest in thinkorswim®?
Yes, to access this information, go to Monitor > Account Statement > Account Summary. Your monthly accrued interest is the difference between your Available Funds For Trading and your Option Buying Power as long as your funds are cleared for options trading.
In the example below, the account has $313.66 in Available Funding for Trading and $113.80 in Option Buying Power. The difference of $199.86 is the monthly accrued margin interest, which is debited from the cash balance on the 2nd to last business day of every month.
Account Summary
Net Liquidating Value | $43,493.91 |
Stock Buying Power | $1,045.53 |
Option Buying Power | $113.80 |
Day Trading Buying Power | $12,826.92 |
Available Funds for Trading | $313.66 |
Why are my balances and positions not showing up?
If balances and positions are not appearing, it may indicate that you currently have view only access on thinkorswim. If you are interested in learning more about gaining access to thinkorswim, please start a chat by selecting “support” at the top of the platform or call us directly at 800-435-9050.
Does thinkorswim have something similar to the trade probability calculator?
Yes, the Analyze tab is a great resource to simulate potential trades to see how they may impact overall margin requirements prior to placing a trade. In addition, you can calculate theoretical max profit, max loss, breakeven points, as well as the Greeks.
Is there a place I can learn more information about thinkorswim, similar to the Streetsmart Edge manual?
Yes, to access it go to the Education Tab > Learning Center. In the Learning Center you can navigate to the thinkManual to learn about each tab on our platform. In addition, you can navigate to the Technical Analysis section to find in depth descriptions for Studies, Drawings, Patterns, and our proprietary programming language thinkScript.
I have my thinkorswim platform setup exactly how I want it, how do I make sure it saves like this when I open it again?
Click the setup button at the top right of the main thinkorswim window. In the menu, select ‘Save workspace as…’ Once you have given your workspace a name and successfully saved it, you will now be able load and share that workspace.