Search results

For futures traders I recommend the Margin Account Calculator (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ibrant/index.htm). Have a separate spreadsheet for each currency and link the account balances into a separate master account spreadsheet that includes the exchange rates. You'll always know what...

I'd suggest talking to your FCM. Ask them what they need to have on file to pay client funds to you. Here's a standard fee payment authorization that may be sufficient: This should be signed by the client and sent to the FCM.

Check out the possibilities for autotrading an IB account using Wealth Lab Developer at www.wealth-lab.com. If it suits your needs it'll save you a lot of coding.

A Google search on capital gains tax "short sale" turned up the answer... http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw203.html

60% of capital gains from futures trading, regardless of the holding period, are considered long term capital gains. See IRS Form 6781 lines 8 and 9. This preferential treatment for futures vs. securities can make a big difference in your net profit. The only reasons I can see for trading...

How did you decide you want to take your position in the QQQ's instead of the NQ's? Are you not a US taxpayer? Perhaps you have such a big capital loss carryforward that the tax difference doesn't matter? It's worth considering the difference carefully if you haven't already.

Thanks, Kempo. And thanks for telling us about your setup. Sounds nice.

Which version of Advanced Host monitor did you get, Kempo?

Hi Pat, That used to be true, but now there is Wealth Lab Developer (WLD). It is currently about equally as good as TS2000i. With TS2000i getting no attention from Tradestation anymore but Wealth Lab continuing to improve WLD, I'm expecting WLD to be better than TS2000i soon. I hope...

What is your source? I don't think this is true. The mutual funds I've looked at allow futures. Read the prospectuses carefully -- it is often just a single line. Here's the quote from Fidelity Magellan's prospectus, for example: I don't see any futures holdings listed in the schedule of...

Yes, definitely. Especially the index funds. It is very important to the success of the index funds that they don't underperform their index. The way they manage their cash position (have cash on hand for redemptions and put incoming cash to work immediately) and stay fully invested is with...

Near the close a mutual fund, say, finds out that it has had a $10 million inflow of new assets during the day. First thing the manager does is buy futures asap. The reason for buying quickly is to avoid the possibility of the market shooting up overnight and the manager missing out on the...

Schindler Trading profitably trades the e-mini (nasdaq). So do other people. I'm sure there are plenty of profitable e-mini traders. Whether any of us have met Mr. Bright, I don't know. I haven't.

What leads you to think an auditor would ever need to type in a list of all trades? I don't think that is the case. An auditor (at least the Schindler Fund auditor) is interested in 1) beginning balance, 2) ending balance, and 3) and in-flows/out-flows. Whether the money you made in the month...

According to tax regulations, K-1s are supposed to be sent out by the end of February, I believe. Not sure what happens (or what you can do) if a firm doesn't comply, though.

D'oh! Baron already answered this question. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?action=showpost&postid=448047 Even I can do it! :D

There are no foreign taxes on Eurex contracts. You report them the same as US futures, on Form 6781, just like you said.

Good question. Since a lot more people want insurance from equities dropping than from equities rising, I would guess there are a lot more natural longs for the VIX than natural shorts. So the back months will probably trade at a premium to spot — at least when the VIX is near the low end of...

...that may be of interest to ET readers: http://www.afsrmagazine.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=154&section=15&action=display

When you are making money, there is no better career. When you are losing money, it's a painful and nauseating career. Trading can flip from one to the other in less than a day. In any other "job", if you have a lousy week you still get paid. In trading, if you have a lousy week, not only...