Is AMP really cheap?

[heispark]

I opened a live account and started trading. For one contract for Gold, they charged me USD 3.24 (Commission 0.5 + Exchange 1.5 + NFA 0.04 + Clearing 1.0 + CQG 0.2). At first, commission itself looks pretty cheap, but other fees are quite huge. I have demo account in Thinkorswim and it says the total cost is 3.76 (Commission 2.25 + Exchange 1.5 + NFA 0.01). Especially, I don't see 'Clearing fee' in their list. I quickly had a chat with Thinkorswim and they confirmed there's no other fees as stated in their website. Is this true? Am I missing something? If so, it looks AMP's cost doesn't look very attractive to me.....

 

[AMP_Futures]

Yes, AMP is cheaper.

Here is the TD/Thinkorswim pricing off their website:

Futures & Options on Futures - A transparent Plus Fees pricing structure includes the commission plus the specific exchange and regulatory fees.

Transparent but....TD makes you do the math....to get the total price.

Here is the actual TD final all in pricing:

$2.25 fee per contract (plus exchange & regulatory fees)
$1.50 - gold GC - exchange fee per contract
$0.02 - NFA Regulatory fee per contract

TD (all fees included) per contract pricing for Gold - GC = $3.77 per side or $7.54 round turn.

vs AMP Volume Tiered Pricing (all fees included) = $2.37 per side or $4.74 round turn > AMP is at least $1.40 per side or $2.80 per round turn cheaper.

AMP includes all fees in the exact cost calculator:
https://portal.ampclearing.com/account/commissionquote.aspx

If you need any assistance, please contact our 24 hour help desk in real-time via Phone or Live CHAT: https://www.ampfutures.com/contact-us/

Happy Trading!

 

[Rickshaw Man]

Yes they are, they don't eat up your account with fees. Commissions are better than just about everyone. If you want to sit and wait for the best time, they don't charge you for waiting.

 

[heispark]

Yes, AMP is cheaper.

Here is the TD/Thinkorswim pricing off their website:

Futures & Options on Futures - A transparent Plus Fees pricing structure includes the commission plus the specific exchange and regulatory fees.

Transparent but....TD makes you do the math....to get the total price.

Here is the actual TD final all in pricing:

$2.25 fee per contract (plus exchange & regulatory fees)
$1.50 - gold GC - exchange fee per contract
$0.02 - NFA Regulatory fee per contract

TD (all fees included) per contract pricing for Gold - GC = $3.77 per side or $7.54 round turn.

vs AMP Volume Tiered Pricing (all fees included) = $2.37 per side or $4.74 round turn > AMP is at least $1.40 per side or $2.80 per round turn cheaper.

AMP includes all fees in the exact cost calculator:
https://portal.ampclearing.com/account/commissionquote.aspx

If you need any assistance, please contact our 24 hour help desk in real-time via Phone or Live CHAT: https://www.ampfutures.com/contact-us/

Happy Trading!

Oh, I see, so when I trade a lot with "AMP Volume Tiered Pricing" plan, I can save additional cost. Otherwise, it's no big difference. I trade only 2-5 times a week, so I cannot benefit from this... By the way, if trading volume is high, any brokers would provide special price I believe. Anyway, no objection with AMP. I like AMP indeed.

 

[Overnight]

IMHO, AMP needs to get away from this "cheap" thing. The term to be used in "inexpensive."

"Cheapest" broker is just that...Cheap. It connotes flimsy, weak. Try this...

"Amp is the least expensive broker out there."

Or, "AMP in the most inexpensive broker".

Stop using the word "cheap". You dig? Get away from that word "cheap", somehow. Oi!

 

[redman]

just figure on 5 bucks /round turn. makes the math easy. concentrate on the more important things. profitable trades. have rules and never break them.......

 

[heispark]

This scenario is based on rough estimation (‘CL' used in this calculation).

Assume I always buy or sell only one contract, and I trade only 12 times a month (total 12 contracts). The maximum discounted total cost currently I can expect from AMP is $2.13 (allowed for over 10K deposit). I cannot expect additional discount or cost savings unless I trade 20 contracts per each 12 trades (Or, unless I negotiate AMP for further discount when I have bigger deposit. 1K or 2K Membership cannot save cost further unless I trade over 20 contracts per each 12 trades within a month, which is x20 more volume than current size.)

TDA’s basic total cost is 3.76, which is 44% higher than AMP’s total cost of $2.13.

If TDA gives following commission discount (commission only, other fees cannot be changed):
20% discount -> TDA is still 36% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $3.31)
30% discount -> TDA is still 31% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $3.08)
50% discount -> TDA is still 20% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $2.62)

If I trade 12 times a month (12 contracts), total yearly trading cost with AMP is $613, while it's $1082 with TDA. (With no discount, I spend $469 more per year, which is roughly the same as 47 points of trading profit).
With following discounts with TDA, I can save:
When I have 20% commission discount: $953 (1082-(3.31*2*12*12)) -> $129 saved.
When I have 30% commission discount: $887 (1082-(3.08*2*12*12)) -> $195 saved.
When I have 50% commission discount: $754 (1082-(2.62*2*12*12)) -> $328 saved.

This is when I use free platforms provide by AMP, if I want to use advanced platforms, the cost increases. For TDA, of course Thinkorswim is free.

Summary: When my trading volume is small, and I have a decent profit factor, the cost difference can be neglected. Also, lower price is not everything. Mac is a bit more expensive than Dell, but it’s worthing paying more!

 

[caacapital]

TD is horrible for futures $7 a round trip versus at most around $5 at any other introducing broker not to mention the datafeed delay in TD. yeah sure if your profitable commission dont matter much but a large majority of traders arent profitable so $1-$4 savings is huge

This scenario is based on rough estimation (‘CL' used in this calculation).

Assume I always buy or sell only one contract, and I trade only 12 times a month (total 12 contracts). The maximum discounted total cost currently I can expect from AMP is $2.13 (allowed for over 10K deposit). I cannot expect additional discount or cost savings unless I trade 20 contracts per each 12 trades (Or, unless I negotiate AMP for further discount when I have bigger deposit. 1K or 2K Membership cannot save cost further unless I trade over 20 contracts per each 12 trades within a month, which is x20 more volume than current size.)

TDA’s basic total cost is 3.76, which is 44% higher than AMP’s total cost of $2.13.

If TDA gives following commission discount (commission only, other fees cannot be changed):
20% discount -> TDA is still 36% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $3.31)
30% discount -> TDA is still 31% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $3.08)
50% discount -> TDA is still 20% more expensive than AMP. (TDA's total cost: $2.62)

If I trade 12 times a month (12 contracts), total yearly trading cost with AMP is $613, while it's $1082 with TDA. (With no discount, I spend $469 more per year, which is roughly the same as 47 points of trading profit).
With following discounts with TDA, I can save:
When I have 20% commission discount: $953 (1082-(3.31*2*12*12)) -> $129 saved.
When I have 30% commission discount: $887 (1082-(3.08*2*12*12)) -> $195 saved.
When I have 50% commission discount: $754 (1082-(2.62*2*12*12)) -> $328 saved.

This is when I use free platforms provide by AMP, if I want to use advanced platforms, the cost increases. For TDA, of course Thinkorswim is free.

Summary: When my trading volume is small, and I have a decent profit factor, the cost difference can be neglected. Also, lower price is not everything. Mac is a bit more expensive than Dell, but it’s worthing paying more!

 

[heispark]

TD is horrible for futures $7 a round trip versus at most around $5 at any other introducing broker not to mention the datafeed delay in TD. yeah sure if your profitable commission dont matter much but a large majority of traders arent profitable so $1-$4 savings is huge

I was a forex trader and most brokers charged $8 per 100K base currencies (one lot in MT4 brokers), so I know I can accept $7. Trading sucess isn't dependent on reducing commissions as much as possible, especially when i am not a scalper.....