General Information & Experience Regarding Trading Futures

 

Hello all,


I have a few questions for anyone with knowledge and/or experience trading futures. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

  • From experience scalping in live market conditions, how does slippage and spread compare to trading CFD in markets such as FX? Is there a notable difference, and would Futures trading conditions be more favourable?
  • What would be the main reasons (if any) you would would prefer trading futures? If you do not mind me asking. 
  • My current scalping strategy has been manually back-tested with the aim of utilising buy stop orders and sell stop orders and a target of 50 ticks in the Bund - with slippage and spread considered, and 50 ticks as the take profit, would profitability be unlikely? I appreciate this may be impossible to determine as conditions change. 
  • Is there a way we can trade Futures on the MT5 platform (assuming the brokers would allow this too)?
  • If the answer to the question above is yes, and I have my strategy automated, would I be able to backtest/optimise my strategy using the broker's data (for example: Bund)?
  • Is there any information you would like to share that you personally believe is important for someone looking to get started in trading Futures?

Thank you for taking the time to read my topic, and I look forward to reading any responses. 


Kind regards,

Alec 

 

The financial assets that can be traded are provided by the broker. Any of these assets can be traded automatically in case the broker offers a suitable platform like MT5 (not MT4).

Most of the brokers offers cfd even e.g. of shares. On the other hand MT5 is able to handle real shares, futures ... if the broker allows and provides it. Some ask for a minimal investment.

cfd have a kind of an 'automated rollover' (if don't mind my wording) other than futures that end mostly on their specific Friday. You have to know how to manage this!

Ask your broker how far back their historical data goes, only he knows.

Ask the broker about the specification of the assets (e.g. Bund) to be sure that 50 ticks as TP are outside the minimum distances set by the broker.

 
Carl Schreiber #:

The financial assets that can be traded are provided by the broker. Any of these assets can be traded automatically in case the broker offers a suitable platform like MT5 (not MT4).

Most of the brokers offers cfd even e.g. of shares. On the other hand MT5 is able to handle real shares, futures ... if the broker allows and provides it. Some ask for a minimal investment.

cfd have a kind of an 'automated rollover' (if don't mind my wording) other than futures that end mostly on their specific Friday. You have to know how to manage this!

Ask your broker how far back their historical data goes, only he knows.

Ask the broker about the specification of the assets (e.g. Bund) to be sure that 50 ticks as TP are outside the minimum distances set by the broker.

Thank you for your reply, Carl. This has been very helpful, and I will look into this more. 
 
Alec James Thomas:

Hello all,


I have a few questions for anyone with knowledge and/or experience trading futures. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

  • From experience scalping in live market conditions, how does slippage and spread compare to trading CFD in markets such as FX? Is there a notable difference, and would Futures trading conditions be more favourable?
  • What would be the main reasons (if any) you would would prefer trading futures? If you do not mind me asking. 
  • My current scalping strategy has been manually back-tested with the aim of utilising buy stop orders and sell stop orders and a target of 50 ticks in the Bund - with slippage and spread considered, and 50 ticks as the take profit, would profitability be unlikely? I appreciate this may be impossible to determine as conditions change. 
  • Is there a way we can trade Futures on the MT5 platform (assuming the brokers would allow this too)?
  • If the answer to the question above is yes, and I have my strategy automated, would I be able to backtest/optimise my strategy using the broker's data (for example: Bund)?
  • Is there any information you would like to share that you personally believe is important for someone looking to get started in trading Futures?

* Well, as far as liquidity goes, it really depends on the asset type you are trading. Some assets that offer futures are seldom traded, while others are among the most traded instruments in the world.

* As for why Futures vs CFDs, its more of a why exchange vs OTC question. When trading futures on an exchange you are trading a standardized asset, with a public, transparent quote, on a regulated market, with peers that follow exactly the same rules as you. When trading a CFD, you are trading an instrument created on the fly, against the broker itself (who may or may not forward the trade to another party), and the broker often decides pricing and commissions on the fly, without any external supervision, and even reserves the right to backpedal on the quoted prices.

* There are brokers that offer Futures from different exchanges in MT5, yes. In fact MT5 is most often used in Brazil to trade B3 Futures, and I understand that it is also popular for that in India and Russia. There are also brokers that offer US futures from CME and other exchanges. However, at least for the Brazilian exchange, MT5 by itself and with wizard-made EAs or marketplace EAs is thoroughly unreliable for trading on an exchange, unless the EA author specifically adds many safety features for order handling within the EA. The EA has to know to wait and check for proper order execution, understand what is an opening/closing auction, handle partial executions, failed executions, and more. It is not uncommon to see poorly coded EAs enter trading loops and open hundreds of positions. Which, in fact, is another way of saying that MT5 itself does a poor job on exchanges, despite the advertising, and that MQ does not really care enough to make it better.

* And yes, different brokers offer different amounts of data history.

 
Alec James Thomas:

Hello all,


I have a few questions for anyone with knowledge and/or experience trading futures. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

  • From experience scalping in live market conditions, how does slippage and spread compare to trading CFD in markets such as FX? Is there a notable difference, and would Futures trading conditions be more favourable?
  • What would be the main reasons (if any) you would would prefer trading futures? If you do not mind me asking. 
  • My current scalping strategy has been manually back-tested with the aim of utilising buy stop orders and sell stop orders and a target of 50 ticks in the Bund - with slippage and spread considered, and 50 ticks as the take profit, would profitability be unlikely? I appreciate this may be impossible to determine as conditions change. 
  • Is there a way we can trade Futures on the MT5 platform (assuming the brokers would allow this too)?
  • If the answer to the question above is yes, and I have my strategy automated, would I be able to backtest/optimise my strategy using the broker's data (for example: Bund)?
  • Is there any information you would like to share that you personally believe is important for someone looking to get started in trading Futures?

Thank you for taking the time to read my topic, and I look forward to reading any responses. 


Kind regards,

Alec 

1. Less slippage and only market spread. More favorable conditions.

2. You trade directly the market not passing through a market maker.

3. It depends on how good the filtering of Your signal will be to result in a high win rate considering that R:R ratio.

4. If the broker allows It there's no problem.

5. You should be able to back test It.

6. First manage Your risk level and establish Your appropriate risk per trade.

 

Good day, for some reason I'm unable to open an trade on MT5.

New order tab is not greyed out. One click trading is activated. When i place a trade it just does not go through.

I've asked everyone i know, with no results.


Please assist

 
Paul Eksteen #:

Go to the 'Journal' tab and check what message you receive from the server when you try to place an order.

Reason: