Small traders can loophole the $25,000 rule.

Futures offer contracts at different dates and options. Forex offers lower slippage, commissionsand larger liquidity than ETFs and futures.

josh 

Why not spot forex? Experiences like this: help explaining Dukascopy failed fills Hi there, I need some help here getting on the clear what should I expect when I trade the Forex market place via ECN broker like Dukascopy. I have just had a very long chat with one of their support staff and am not satisfied with the explanation. Here … I would rather trade the e-[AUTOLINK]micros[/AUTOLINK] at the CME than deal with the snakes in the forex business, and this is probably the best alternative IMO.

As far as i know the commissions for trading the micro's are rather large.
Last time i checked it was around $2.28/ roundturn.

Nicolas11 

Hi, FOREX has no centralized volume, so is not necessarily a relevant instrument for those who have methods relying on volume, either on the short-term (tape, DOM) or on more longer-term (VSA, etc.). Futures allow more margin. For the same amount of risk/gain, it allows having less capital on the broker's side, and consequently reduces the risk incurred in case of bankruptcy of the broker. I have heard that dark pools and in-house clearing (broker matching orders) are more wide-spread on equities than futures, which has impact on the interpretation of the volume. But I am not very sure of this last point. Nicolas

Not very accurate - ECN providers show volume that is relevant. Forex has superior margin qualities (sizable, much smaller pip size) and is much more liquid. Even with volumes down on most markets, forex is still showing over $2 trillion daily. The daily volume of the ES is equal to seconds on the euro dollar. Also one tick on the ES equals several pips on any major pair. This means slippage compared to futures is nonexistent. How many of you have made a strategy that was very profitable when you did not count slippage?

When counting overnight margin on futures, forex has more leverage. While margin on futures is technically unlimited intraday because there are no requirements on most contracts, forex in the US is 200:1 (or 50:1 for retail) which is very large. The leverage can be even higher if you use options or swaps for hedging.

I recommend forex to all beginners. Always choose an ECN, always.

patbateman 

Not very accurate - ECN providers show volume that is relevant. Forex has superior margin qualities (sizable, much smaller pip size) and is much more liquid. Even with volumes down on most markets, forex is still showing over $2 trillion daily. The daily volume of the ES is equal to seconds on the euro dollar. Also one tick on the ES equals several pips on any major pair. This means slippage compared to futures is nonexistent. How many of you have made a strategy that was very profitable when you did not count slippage? When counting overnight margin on futures, forex has more leverage. While margin on futures is technically unlimited intraday because there are no requirements on most contracts, forex in the US is 200:1 (or 50:1 for retail) which is very large. The leverage can be even higher if you use options or swaps for hedging. I recommend forex to all beginners. Always choose an ECN, always.

Is the volume accurate enough to do volume profile studies and footprint charts using a ECN? That would make me much more intrested.


I have $1.50 RTs on the M6E contract. I am currently doing a study on M6E right now to determine if it is liquid enough for me. The E7 contract is basically useless there is really no volume there at all for this middle of the road contract. I personally trade futures because I feel more comfortable with it as well as the volumes and other market breadth indicators you can use. I have traded spot Forex through a market maker and did not like it, i had re quotes and problems with price quotes being rejected in the platform.

patbateman 

While margin on futures is technically unlimited intraday because there are no requirements on most contracts

Say again?

I trade futures. It's nice as I can focus on only 1 instrument. Can really get the vibe of it.

josh 

Say again?

Pit traders and institutions do not have to put any money down intraday. Did you not know this?

Obviously this is not true for the retail traders in futures (although a broker can technically set margin to $0 intraday).

patbateman 

Pit traders and institutions do not have to put any money down intraday. Did you not know this? Obviously this is not true for the retail traders in futures (although a broker can technically set margin to $0 intraday).

I did not know this. Still, I thought this subject was for retail traders, so I'm not sure which pit traders and institutions you were expecting to read this for your advice.

Do you have any references on this, or should I take your word for it?

treydog999 

Is the volume accurate enough to do volume profile studies and footprint charts using a ECN? That would make me much more intrested.

seems like it to me
[img]https://nexusfi.com/v/y3n9ry.png[/img]

Massive l 

seems like it to me [img]https://nexusfi.com/v/y3n9ry.png[/img]

Is there anyone else who has different brokers to compare this profile against? I know its non centralized so i wonder if there are discrepancies between brokers / feeds. Or is this really a good representation of the profile.



Here is a shot of 30 min bars of the last 10 days (to 12/4/2012) of my volume profile using MC. Feed is IQ with FXCM data

[IMG]http://my.jetscreenshot.com/12147/m_20121215-whng-193kb.jpg[/IMG]