Why are Futures and Forex more popular than stocks for short-term trading?

Based on interaction with other traders, it seems that futures and forex are more popular than stocks for short-term trading. I am puzzled given that there are thousands of stocks but much fewer futures and currencies. Wouldn't there be fewer trading opportunities in futures and currencies as a result?

Why are futures and forex more attractive?

Its because most people care little about researching the thousands of stocks for opportunities - they will rather get fixated on one E-mini 5-minute bars, and think they are seeing better than the 1000s other traders. Throw in leverage.
 
Based on interaction with other traders, it seems that futures and forex are more popular than stocks for short-term trading. I am puzzled given that there are thousands of stocks but much fewer futures and currencies. Wouldn't there be fewer trading opportunities in futures and currencies as a result?

Why are futures and forex more attractive?

I only trade the 6E contract. I don't see any advantage in having thousands of different products to watch. My theory is concentrate on one product and learn it like the back of your hand. People may scoff at this idea but after a while you know what is "normal" for your product and what is unusual.

Why futures?
This article explains it for you
http://apexfutures.com/trading-tools/education/advantage-of-trading-futures/
 
Of course I would run to the bank if they lent me 100 mln. I would immediately take the 9:1 bet. If I lost I would declare personal bankruptcy. For some that would equate "ruin", and I chose 100mln because I am at a level where I would not borrow 10mln and risk it all with a chance of 10% of losing it.

By the way your English is so badly worded that I do not understand at all what you are trying to say. My point was exactly that risk of ruin and risk/reward are not linked whatsoever. And I posted a perfectly valid example.

The risk of ruin does not change with the amount of money you use. The risk/reward does not depend from that. Only risk and reward are able to influence the ratio.
And on top of that only idiots will invest amounts that exceed their financial capacity. In futures you can decide how much money you risk, so your example is not from the real world.
Ruin is related to the amount of money you have, because ruin means you lose all the money you have. Warren Buffet can take a 10 mio bet and lose it completely without any problem.

Use the same example for trading stocks without leverage. Will you run to the bank and asks 10 million?

What a stupid example.

I trade futures for years, so I accepted the risk/reward and did never regret it. Trading stocks without leverage would never have brought me the amount of money I have now. That's the reality, and that's the only thing that counts.
 
Not if you can socialize losses but privatize gains. As long as the risk/reward is high enough it pays. That is essentially what every prop trader and hedge fund manager is doing. If they lose then they close a fund or the whole shop and open something else a year down the road. All that while their investors are sitting on their losses.

It would be foolish to put 100% of your capital at risk on any one trade.
 
Not if you can socialize losses but privatize gains. As long as the risk/reward is high enough it pays. That is essentially what every prop trader and hedge fund manager is doing. If they lose then they close a fund or the whole shop and open something else a year down the road. All that while their investors are sitting on their losses.
I was referring to independent traders.
 
Of course I would run to the bank if they lent me 100 mln. I would immediately take the 9:1 bet. If I lost I would declare personal bankruptcy. For some that would equate "ruin", and I chose 100mln because I am at a level where I would not borrow 10mln and risk it all with a chance of 10% of losing it.

By the way your English is so badly worded that I do not understand at all what you are trying to say. My point was exactly that risk of ruin and risk/reward are not linked whatsoever. And I posted a perfectly valid example.

You clearly live in a fantasy world. Ask 100 mio from the bank.... LOL

About my English. I checked it and there are no errors in what I wrote. The fact that you don't understand what I write shows that your IQ is at least 30 lower than mine. In that case people cannot communicate anymore.
How many languages do you speak? We can continue in my native language, but probably you will not understand anything at all. Which is not different from the actual situation...
 
I only trade the 6E contract. I don't see any advantage in having thousands of different products to watch. My theory is concentrate on one product and learn it like the back of your hand. People may scoff at this idea but after a while you know what is "normal" for your product and what is unusual.

Why futures?
This article explains it for you
http://apexfutures.com/trading-tools/education/advantage-of-trading-futures/

Many stocks are completely uncorrelated or even negatively correlated providing huge advantages in diversification. It's amazing how under-appreciated proper diversification is. To my knowledge there are no futures or FX with auction orders, which means you are forced to have slippage and face relatively high minimum ticks.

For most traders who get into FX and futures, the attraction is purely about leverage.
 
Lol. Peace out mate. Just because you don't understand basic risk management does not mean you can sharp shoot. You did not get anything of what I said, not even the simplest point.

You clearly live in a fantasy world. Ask 100 mio from the bank.... LOL

About my English. I checked it and there are no errors in what I wrote. The fact that you don't understand what I write shows that your IQ is at least 30 lower than mine. In that case people cannot communicate anymore.
How many languages do you speak? We can continue in my native language, but probably you will not understand anything at all. Which is not different from the actual situation...
 
I do not entirely agree. Currency spreads can be incredibly tight with minimal execution slippage. That makes them much better vehicles to trade for someone with a knack for macro themes. But I fully agree with your points re diversification. Many retailers actually start out under water just by not diversifying.

Many stocks are completely uncorrelated or even negatively correlated providing huge advantages in diversification. It's amazing how under-appreciated proper diversification is. To my knowledge there are no futures or FX with auction orders, which means you are forced to have slippage and face relatively high minimum ticks.

For most traders who get into FX and futures, the attraction is purely about leverage.
 
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