Powered for option trading. Flat-rate pricing, $4.95 trades and $.65 per option contract. No account minimums. Free research, powerful tools and more.
Open Account | Options Education | Trading Tools | Strategy Scanner
www.TradeKing.com
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Discount brokerage services including free tools, research and education for online stocks and options investors. Open an Account!
www.optionsxpress.com
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Trade Options on Commodity Futures. Free Real-time Option Quotes.
www.optionsXpress.com
$14.95 spreads, $9.95 options $0 per contract, $2.95 stock
OptionsHouse.com
Designed for Trading Professionals. Visit thinkorswim.com & Learn More!
www.thinkorswim.com
Find Stock Futures and Options. Search listings and reviews of retailers, specialists and services in your local area now.
JustClickLocal.com
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Investment Tools & Guidance At Banc of America Investment Services
www.BankofAmerica.com/Investing
100 Commission-Free Option Trades Apply Now at E*TRADE Securities
ETRADE.com
Scottrade has In-Depth Research Real Time Quotes & Market News.
www.Scottrade.com
Learn to Trade with Confidence in a Volatile market with Investools®.
www.Investools.com
BOTCC is a highly rated and financially secure futures and options clearinghouse owned by clearing member firms which trade on the Chicago Board of Trade and the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange.
www.botcc.com
Bridge presents the definition, construction, calculation, data and charts for their futures indices, spot indices and total return index.
www.crbindex.com
Futures and commodities broker. Choose from two online futures trading platforms. Discount futures broker. Trade futures online or by telephone.
www.dtfutures.com
Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved the application of the FutureCom Commodity Exchange for designation as a contract market. FutureCom is the first Internet-based futures exchange.
www.futurecom.org
GSCI is a composite index of commodity sector returns, representing an unleveraged, long-only investment in commodity futures that is broadly diversified across the spectrum of commodities.
www.gs.com
Site was developed to enable Grain & Feed Commodity Traders of all different levels to have a central forum where they can easily buy or sell any quantity of a given commodity.
www.icecorp.com
Full-service commodity brokerage firm specializing in futures and options trading strategies.
www.infinitytrading.com
Full service clearing firm with an online futures and options order entry system and extensive online market research products providing access to all global commodity futures.
www.iowagrain.com
Provider of Standard & Poor's (S&P) data and futures data free-of-charge.
www.johnfortune.com
Index representing a diversified, liquid, investable commodity futures portfolio that historically provides positive correlation to inflation and growth and acts as a hedge for stock and bond portfolios. Basket includes base metals, energy, and ...
www.jpmorgan.com
Find Stock Futures and Options. Search listings and reviews of retailers, specialists and services in your local area now.
JustClickLocal.com
Extensive range of derivative products. Provides futures and options contracts across five different currencies and product lines: bonds, short term interest rates, swaps, equities and equity indices, and commodities.
www.liffe.com
Operating under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, OCC is the issuer and registered clearing facility for all U.S. exchange-listed securities options.
www.optionsclearing.com
Discount brokerage services including free tools, research and education for online stocks and options investors. Open an Account!
www.optionsxpress.com
Powered for option trading. Flat-rate pricing, $4.95 trades and $.65 per option contract. No account minimums. Free research, powerful tools and more.
www.TradeKing.com
Information on the Turtle trading system for stock and commodity traders.
turtletrader.com
Trade Options on Commodity Futures. Free Real-time Option Quotes.
www.optionsXpress.com
$14.95 spreads, $9.95 options $0 per contract, $2.95 stock
OptionsHouse.com
Designed for Trading Professionals. Visit thinkorswim.com & Learn More!
www.thinkorswim.com
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Guide to Stock Futures and Options
Trading futures and stock options can offer big returns with very little money downStock futures contracts control the same amount of shares as options: 100 shares per single stock future. However, when trading futures, you usually only have to make a deposit of 20 percent. The deposit is to open the position and this is called initial margin. The power of leverage is how this is all possible. With a small amount of money, you can control a larger stake. This larger stake allows your potential profit to be much higher then if you only bought the stock outright.
In this guide to stock futures and options, you’ll learn:
- Where to find educational tools to help you master futures trading and options trading.
- Where to paper trade before you actually begin trading futures and options with real money.
- Where to open an account to begin trading stock options and futures.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Educate yourself about stock options trading and futures trading
For novice traders, it's a good idea to get a solid foundation in stock options trading and futures trading before putting your money on the line.
I recommend:
The Options Industry Council (OIC) offers a variety of learning tools, including online classes, podcasts and live seminars to help beginners learn the basics of stock options trading. Investools also offers a host of courses and online tools on stocks and options trading.
Practice trading futures and options
Paper trading and practice accounts are a great way to get your feet wet in either the options or single stock futures market. Online futures sites even have practice trading accounts available to try before you place any real money on the line.
I recommend:
First American Futures has a great 30-day online test trading account funded with $50,000 virtual dollars. At OptionsXpress and OptionsHouse, you can use virtual trading tools to practice trading futures and stock options.
Open a stock options trading account
Stock options trading is offered by most brokers. If you have a broker, you can usually upgrade your account by signing a few forms and placing your account on margin. If you prefer to find a new broker for trading stock options so you don't mix your current stock portfolio with your options portfolio, there are many online brokers to fit your needs.
I recommend:
E*TRADE has low prices and an advanced options screening tool. TradeKing is another excellent options broker. Zecco Trading is known for their dedicated customer service. They also offer great prices for more complex trading strategies.
Open an online futures account
Many brokers offer single stock futures as well as stocks and other investment instruments.
I recommend:
PFGBEST.com is an online futures broker that can trade single stock futures. Interactive Brokers can trade stock, options, bonds and futures all in one place. They are a little more expensive than some of the other futures brokers, but their trading platform is great, and with the ability to trade virtually all investment instruments, it makes them a one-stop shop. OptionsXpress will also allow you to trade futures, stocks, stock options and single stock futures.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide- The biggest difference between stock options and single stock futures is that you have to trade single stock futures on margin.
- Always remember that stock options are a wasting asset. Options expire, and if the strike price is never reached, they can become worthless.
- With stock options trading, current stock price, strike price and expiration date are what you have to keep in mind.
- Single stock futures do not have a strike price. Stock futures are more straightforward and require only making a decision on the movement of a stock.
Powered for option trading. Flat-rate pricing, $4.95 trades and $.65 per option contract. No account minimums. Free research, powerful tools and more.
Open Account | Options Education | Trading Tools | Strategy Scanner
Discount brokerage services including free tools, research and education for online stocks and options investors. Open an Account!
Find Stock Futures and Options. Search listings and reviews of retailers, specialists and services in your local area now.
