Supporting Options in FIX 4.0

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Imported from previous forum

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[ original email was from David Hu - wof39@hotmail.com ]
I realize that some options fields (like strike price) are missing in FIX 4.0. However can one still support options in FIX 4.0 ?

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[ original email was from Ryan Pierce - rpierce@taltrade.com ]
> I realize that some options fields (like strike price) are missing in FIX 4.0. However can one still support options in FIX 4.0 ?

There isn’t any really standard way to do it. FIX 4.1 was the first protocol version to introduce options symbology. Hence the best way is to upgrade to FIX 4.1 or 4.2.

However, if that isn’t an option, two possibilities exist, both of which require mutual agreement between all counterparties:

  1. If you are trading options with somewhat standard exchange symbology and don’t need to break out put/call, strike price, and expiration date in the message, then you could possibly use that exchange’s symbology in the Symbol field. I.e. in US equity options, one could place an order with Symbol=“MSQAA”

  2. You can use the FIX 4.1 options symbology in a FIX 4.0 message. Note that some FIX parsers may not particularly like this and may want to reject the message.