Are you serious?

[R33C0]

Just browsing futures brokers and found:


“We currently offer $550 day trading margins for E-mini S&P 500 (ES)”

Is this true?

My futures broker gets $12,320.00/contract for ES margin.

$550 day trading margins? Can someone please comment on this?

 

[mervyn]

AMP has $400

 

[Robert Morse]

I will. Some of the smaller FCMs offer very low margin for day traders and very low starting balances. IMO this is very dangerous and regulators and the CME should not allow it.

$550 day trading margins? Can someone please comment on this?

 

[Laissez Faire]

$550 day trading margins? Can someone please comment on this?

I think that's fairly common with discount brokers. I'm with NinjaTrader. I'll copy and paste their margins below. You'll need the full margin to hold through the electronic close, though.

I've seen that AMP increases the margin requirement pending major news releases (FOMC and lately CPI, etc.), but I haven't seen Ninjatrader do it. I imagine a lot of damage must have been done after that unprecedented CPI drop pre-market last fall.

 

[VEGASDESERT]

normal intraday margins. easy to auto liquidate if it hits a certain threshold, down i think like
80% of your account and its game over.

deposit more quarters to play again

 

[alistera]

Isn't it amazing how absolutely no one researches this stuff, yes AMP are good, IB double margins overnight whenever suitable and for as long as necessary, the others are variable between those two.

 

[mervyn]

Trading futures are not for newbies. You learn quickly. So yes, depends on your account size and strategy, no one is stopping you to have both. I have multiple futures accounts to allow me to carry swings, too small of an account is obviously auto liquidated.

 

[Robert Morse]

What benefit do you get out of two accounts? Why can't you "swing" and Day Trade in one account?

Trading futures are not for newbies. You learn quickly. So yes, depends on your account size and strategy, no one is stopping you to have both. I have multiple futures accounts to allow me to carry swings, too small of an account is obviously auto liquidated.

 

[maxinger]

 

[mervyn]

What benefit do you get out of two accounts? Why can't you "swing" and Day Trade in one account?

for one thing, I can open long and short on the same instrument at the same time, provided I have a risk system and the market indeed swings.