Having been a successful equity swing trader for many years and switching over to the ES at the beginning of this year, I can tell you from my personal experience that swing trading stocks was relatively easier then daytrading the ES. My equity curve took on a different shape this year :eek: , but I eventually prevailed.
Before I began trading ES I was told that I would be up against bigger, brighter, and faster opponents. Initially not believing that, or at least not really understanding what that meant I moved forward and pressed on. I needed to see it actually in action and watch my futures account shrink before I got it. I then had to retreat a bit and work on my discipline (since I can't make myself bigger, brighter, or much faster). Luckily for me, I was also introduced to market profile before I began trading index futures; and I believe MP is one of the few strategies that leads to consistent profitably on index futures (unless your a good scalper or work on the floor). I don't mean to get side tracked here and hijack this thread with strategy talk, but this was part of my experience moving from stocks to futures.
My response to the question of what makes one better then the other to trade is this: Once you become a profitable index futures trader go meet with your accountant, you will be delighted to hear that index futures get a 60/40 tax treatment, which translates roughly into a 10% tax savings for me. As long as I play the game with a profit, it makes much more sense financially for me to stick with what I'm doing now.
