How to trade futures
Your step-by-step guide to trading futures
Learn the basics, choose your strategy, do the research, pick a contract, and enter your order using Power E*TRADE or the Power E*TRADE app. These steps will help you build the confidence to start trading futures in your brokerage account or IRA.
Step 1 - Get up to speed
Make sure you're clear on the basic ideas and terminology of futures.
Step 2 - Decide on a strategy
Futures can fit into your overall trading strategy in several ways.
Diversify
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Futures can help you diversify your portfolio by providing access to products that are hard to find elsewhere. Plus, you can get direct exposure to underlying assets like oil or precious metals.
Speculating
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Futures can allow you to speculate on price movements in either direction—up or down—on a range of different assets.
Hedge
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Using equity index futures, you can potentially help hedge your stock portfolio against downside risk.
Step 3 - Identify potential opportunities
E*TRADE gives you access to a wide range of tools and information to help you find and evaluate possible trades.
Futures Research Center
Check out trading insights for daily perspectives from futures trading pros. View futures price movements and trading activity in a heatmap with streaming real-time quotes.
Automated technical pattern recognition
This tool helps you spot developing price swings by automatically populating charts with relevant technical patterns. Learn more about each pattern with just a click.
Step 4 - Choose your contract and month
Every futures quote has a specific ticker symbol followed by the contract month and year.
E*TRADE offers over 60 futures contracts to trade, including market indices, energies, metals, interest rates, currencies, and Bitcoin futures.
| Symbol | Product |
|---|---|
| /ES | E-mini S&P 500 |
| /NQ | E-mini Nasdaq 100 |
| /YM | E-mini Dow |
| /CL | Crude Oil WTI |
| /GC | Gold |
Micro futures contracts are often offered at 1/10th or even 1/5th the size of standard contracts, so you can trade with less up-front capital.
| Symbol | Product |
|---|---|
| /MES | Micro E-mini S&P 500 |
| /MNQ | Micro E-mini Nasdaq 100 |
| /MYM | Micro E-mini Dow |
| /M2K | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 |
| /10Y | Micro 10-Year Yield |
| /MGC | Micro Gold |
| /SIL | Micro Silver |
| /M6E | Micro Euro/USD |
| /M6A | Micro AUD/USD |
| /MET | Micro Ether |
| /MBT | Micro Bitcoin |
| /MCL | Micro WTI Crude Oil |
Step 5 - Understand how money works in your account
A futures account involves two key ideas that may be new to stock and options traders. One is "initial margin," which is not the same as margin in stock trading. Secondly, equity in a futures account is "marked to market" daily.
Money in your futures account
Watch this short video for details on initial margin, marking to market, maintenance margin, and moving money between your brokerage and futures accounts.
Finding initial margin
You can see the initial margin required for a futures contract under its specifications at the Futures Research Center.
Step 6 - Place your order
Power E*TRADE lets you efficiently set up trades—including directly from the futures ladder—in both the platform and the app. See how in these short videos.
Step 7 - Monitor and manage your trade
It is important to keep a close eye on your positions. Futures accounts and contracts have some unique properties.
Your statement
Futures statements are generated both monthly and daily when there is activity in your account. They show key information like performance, money movements, and fees.
To find your futures statement:
- Log on to www.etrade.com
- Click Accounts > Documents > Futures account
Expiration and settlement
All futures contracts include a specific expiration date. Before the expiration date, you can decide to liquidate your position or roll it forward.
If you hold the contract to expiration, it goes to settlement. Learn more in this short video.
More resources to help you get started
Learn more about futures
Check out our overview of futures, plus futures FAQs
Go in-depth
E*TRADE Knowledge has a wide range of articles, videos, and tutorials for new and experienced futures traders alike.
Add futures to your account
Apply for futures trading in your brokerage account or IRA.
Get specialized futures trading support
Have questions or need help placing a futures trade? Call our licensed Futures Specialists today at 877-553-8887.