Question About Es

[topherea 10]

Hello, I'm new here and I was wondering what one es contract costs, also, who would be the better broker to open an account with for a small account? Thank you

[Ceschiatti 10]

$50 per point. Most brokers require $5k for initial account.

[topherea 10]

Thank you. My next question then is once I have $5000 in an account, and I buy one contract, how much cash will I have left over? Or are you saying that one contract costs $5000?

[topherea 10]

Thanks. So 1 es contract costs $5000? Or?

[nt82 10]

not with any broker but I spoke to broker name global futures and they dont have any minimum so you can start ES with $500 which is daily margin.

[MadMarketScientist 11]

Just be careful with what the broker "permits" vs. what is wise.

 

Take forex brokers, you can get 100:1 leverage, put in $1,000 and trade a full sized, $100,000 pair. Of course if you lose 30 pips, every easily done by the way you have a 30% drawdown on one trade. Bye bye trader.

 

So, on futures if someone says $500 is all they need on the ES think what happens if you lose just 1 point -- you're down 10% in a trade. Lose 2? Well now 20% - -off a single trade. You get the idea. Even with a very good strategy you'd be wiping out and have margin calls.

 

Make sure you start with enough I think to where you are risking no more than 2% - 5% absolute maximum on a trade.

[emg 12]

$50 per point. Most brokers require $5k for initial account.

 

i really think the minimal should be $100K per contract to trade futures.

[TheDude 10]

Hello, I'm new here and I was wondering what one es contract costs, also, who would be the better broker to open an account with for a small account? Thank you

 

You be paying around $5 round turn assuming you trade under 1000 lots pcm as a beginner.

 

Using a FCM with their own exchange memberships will probably charge a little more, but you should get that back in service levels. They usually have a higher margin/balance requirement - say $10,000

 

Trading through an introducing broker will be a bit cheaper (under $5), but service may not be as good - typically because they have to call the FCM who hold the membership with the exchange should something go wrong. In other words, you're dealing with a middle man. You will typically need less to open an account as the middle man/intro broker bundles his business together and takes it to the FCM (wholesaler) to get a better deal.

 

Compare MF Global (FCM) with Velocity Futures (Introducing Broker)

Or, RJ OBrian (FCM) and Open E-Cry (Introducing Broker) for example.

[nt82 10]

You be paying around $5 round turn assuming you trade under 1000 lots pcm as a beginner.

 

Using a FCM with their own exchange memberships will probably charge a little more, but you should get that back in service levels. They usually have a higher margin/balance requirement - say $10,000

 

Trading through an introducing broker will be a bit cheaper (under $5), but service may not be as good - typically because they have to call the FCM who hold the membership with the exchange should something go wrong. In other words, you're dealing with a middle man. You will typically need less to open an account as the middle man/intro broker bundles his business together and takes it to the FCM (wholesaler) to get a better deal.

 

Compare MF Global (FCM) with Velocity Futures (Introducing Broker)

Or, RJ OBrian (FCM) and Open E-Cry (Introducing Broker) for example.

 

any idea about Global Futures? are they FCM or introducing brokers?

[brownsfan019 17]

I would also recommend Open ECry as a broker to consider. You can download a demo and test it out for yourself but it's been a very reliable and steady platform for me.

[MadMarketScientist 11]

I'm an Interactive Brokers fan and have been for many years, but you've got some really good broker suggestions above as well. I have also heard good things about Mirus Futures but don't have any firsthand. Maybe someone else does.

 

Like the advice above, $5 or less in commissions is all you should pay. Your up-time should be near 100%. Your executions should be split second. Make sure they have a way to reach them in case your internet goes down. Ensure the broker allows a stop and limit to be placed same time (OCO).

[dam5h 10]

Velocity Futures (Introducing Broker)

 

i'm fairly certain that velocity is not an IB, they do their own clearing; for instance AMP is an IB for velocity. i currently use velocity and have no issues what so ever. with my former broker i was on the phone dealing with data and platform issues here and there. velocity been much better to deal with, as in completely uneventful-just the way i like it.

[Ceschiatti 10]

Velocity is not an IB for sure. They are a FCM.

[TheDude 10]

I was referring to having their own execution memberships at the exchange. I didn't think Velocity had any memberships. Maybe I'm wrong?

[forex_broker 10]

Hi my name is Jesse and I am a Futures and Forex broker. I think I can shed some light here. The initial or overnight margin for the ES contract set by the exchange (CME) is $5,625 per contract. That means to hold a position overnight (between 4:15 and 4:30 EST) your equity must be at least $5,625 per contract or you will incur a margin call. Each broker is allowed to set a day trading margin which is usually significantly less than the overnight margin, usually around $500 per contract. So if you open and close trades before the overnight period, you will not need to worry about the overnight margin. The ES contract moves in $12.50 ticks with 4 ticks per point, so each point is $50 per contract.

 

So if you have a $5,000 account and the broker's day trading margin for the ES is $500 and you opened one contract, your margin requirement would be $500. If the position moved against you by 90 points and 1 tick ($50 * 90.25 = $4,512.50) you would receive a margin call as your equity would now be less than the margin requirement. (Equity = Balance +/- unrealized gain or loss. Equity = $5,000(balance) - $4,512.50 (unrealized loss) = $487.50 Margin requirement is $500.

 

TheDude:

Regarding the structure of FCMs, you may be thinking of clearing vs non clearing FCMs. Open E Cry is a non clearing FCM, meaning they hold customer funds and have a clearing arrangement with one or several clearing firms on the various exchanges, RJO for example is a clearing FCM as they hold customer funds and clear their own trades.

[nt82 10]

what about Global Futures?

[MadMarketScientist 11]

It's my understanding that Global is not a clearing FCM (I think use Rosenthal, etc...) but someone else may know for sure.

[Tiobingo 10]

This is a very informative thread. I haven't heard anyone mention Tradestation as an ES broker. Does anyone have an opinion? They are very inexpensive and I use them with other markets but I haven't traded ES with them. Any thoughts?

[snp500 10]

I've been a client with Velocity for 2 years now and am very happy with the service they deliver. I use TradingTechnologies on the backend with Ninjatrader as the executing platform.

 

One particular aspect I like about them when compared to others is that they have a "leaderboard" application which shows the PnL of accounts that opt-in to compare. It is a daily statistic and gives a very good relative idea of how the best traders are doing and what contracts they're trading. For example today, there's a guy that's up like $100k lol

 

Ask for Dale and let him know "snp500" sent you and he can help you out. They also have $500 intraday trading margins for those who like to leverage.

[snp500 10]

Advantage Futures is really good as well, especially when it comes to colocating equipment. Though I suspect if you're trading with a small account, you're probably not realistically looking at co-locating a server for automated trading.

[Tiobingo 10]

That's interest snp500. What are their commission rates?

[brownsfan019 17]

Great, more spam about to come from this person now.

 

Just trying to get their post count up and then turn the robot on.

 

[Kiwi 16]

You don't mean you get suspicious when you get fake female names and bs posts do you brownsfan?