Where my Canadian future traders at? Advice needed!

Hey Everyone

I currently have $10 000 in an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) and I wish to trade essentially two products: One, have an account with questrade and go long on equities and ETF’s, and two, have an account with(whatever you recommend) firm and trade 1 Emini contract at a time.

Now, I already have a broker in mind (questrade) for going long with equities , but I am still searching for a suitable futures broker that would allow me too:

• Trade Emini contracts with a Canadian account • Register with a RESP or TFSA so that I can minimize on taxes (Unlikely, I know) • Have a good trading platform with real time data to execute trades properly.

So with those three points above in mind, what broker would you recommend? I would also be interested in using a separate trading platform to do technical analysis, and one platform to execute trades on. What do you guys think?

SHORT VERSION OF QUESTION:

What are some of the best brokers to trade Emini contracts for Canadian clients? I would rank these following qualities: Commissions->Trading Platform-> Allow TFSA and RESP accounts.

Thanks and I appreciate all your efforts as always.

10 Comments
 

What are you wanting to trade? There are quite a few thing that have futures contracts.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

@heister - Emini S&P 500 contracts to start. I like the fact that most brokers require an initial margin of $5625 for the Emini S&P futures, therefore you can make about $50(not including commissions) per tick.

Since I have about $10 000 to invest, $6000 would go into a futures account so that I can day trade one contract when I am not in school. The remaining funds will be used to execute some swing trading strategies using Questrade.

What do you think?

 

What are these funds for? Personally i would look at different avenues of investment outside of futures, i.e. what i refer to as leveraged index etfs. These are index tracked etfs that can move 2,3 or more times the movement of the market. I just think you are exposing yourself to large risks for small reward and high costs. But thats my 2 cents.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 
Best Response

These funds are for personal experience and hopefully to make a profit once I become comfortable in my assumptions. I’ve been paper trading the Emini’s on the thinkorswim platform using real time data and commissions. The only reason I don’t have real funds in the account is because they do not allow Canadian clients to trade futures yet. I execute around 2-3 trades/day and only trade if I notice a pattern/set up that I am comfortable with. I understand your concerns about risk as trading futures can easily diminish an account, but unfortunately, with the limited funds that I have, it is one of the few ways that I can protect my profits from commissions.

Also, in relation to risk, I don’t think it’s such a high risk for a low return. If the initial margin for one contract is $5625 and the profit from one tick is $50, then that means I’m making about 0.88% return in just one tick. Of course it can be the other way around, but to me, that reward justifies the risk.

Anyway, I appreciate the advice already given, but I’m still searching for some reviews/experiences on some brokers that allow Canadian clients to trade futures.

Google and Elitetrader fell short in providing some reviews on the trading platforms/experiences for some of the brokers that matched my criteria.

Anyone care to provide some insight?

@Heister - What other products do you recommend I trade given the fact that I have only $10 000, and like to make intraday trades? I will take a look at the risk/reward conditions on leveraged ETF's. Seems interesting.

 

Try your tech set-up in the grain market. The margins are more suited for your size account. Plus, it's been a raging bull since last summer, you may get a better read on it.

Good Luck Trading......

Please don't make me talk to you like an asshole...
 

Good point Bravo, commodities in general are more suited to your portfolio size. I have a good educational back ground in futures but i havent done much real world trading there. Im much more comfortable with equities so im not the most qualified person to be answering your question. However ill def check back on this thread if you have any questions about equities.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Thanks Bravo, grain seems like a good option aswell. I'll definitely take a look. Now back to searching for a suitable futures broker!

 

You can try opening an account with MF Global or RJO Futures. That TFSA & RESP stuff is a shot in the dark. There in the US though but as long as you can verify who you are your account will open.

Please don't make me talk to you like an asshole...
 

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