Double-Diagonals Have You Seeing Double (Margin)?

Options-centric brokers don't require double margin on a balanced iron condor or butterfly (i.e., where the vertical spreads are equal and all contracts have the same expiration date)?but thanks to a regulatory crack-down in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis, it's increasingly likely that any deviation from a balanced iron condor or butterfly will cost you margin on both sides, at least until the regulations are updated (and the most optimistic estimates for when that might happen are on the order of several months).

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