Alternatives trading can be complicated much more so than stock trading. When you buy a stock, you simply decide the number of shares you desire, and your broker fills the order at the prevailing market value or a limit cost you set. Trading options requires an understanding of sophisticated methods, and the procedure for opening a choices trading account includes a few more steps than opening a common investment account.( Required to brush up on puts, calls, strike prices and other alternatives trading lingo? See our post on choices trading 101). Compared to opening a brokerage represent stock trading, opening an options trading account requires bigger quantities of capital. And, provided the intricacy of predicting several moving parts, brokers need to know a bit more about a potential financier prior to granting them an authorization slip to start trading options.