Hi. I would like to find a firm which can offer: - 33% of normal margin requirements (when daytrade) - Short Margin Cut-Off Time (eg 5-15 mins before market close) - futures markets in HK & US & Singapore/Japanese (the more, the better) What firm can come close to what I want? Thanks!
Brokers that offer low intraday margins are frowned upon by many traders. It is a topic that has been discussed many times before on ET, suggest do a search. IB offer access the markets you have stated. There aren't many retail brokers that can match them for breadth but the intraday margins are obviously too high for your needs. There will need to be a compromise somewhere to get the solution you are looking for IMO. MoMoney.
http://www.globalfutures.com/margins/margins.asp $500 US Eminis intraday but Asian coverage looks poor.
It doesn't need to be too low. I realise the danger of being too low. Actually if the firm allows low margin but at the same time liquidate fast to prevent capital deficiency. It shouldn't be a big problem. I'm searching but I couldn't find the thread you are talking about. Is the thread you mention a bit old? Is there any other broker which still offer worldwide futures with competitive rates for moderate traders?
Yes, it does look poor on Asian coverage, but it has covered NIKKEI and Hang Seng - my 2 favorities. So-so! The margin is much lower than what I expect. I need to look how this firm control the risk of "being crashed and burned". Strangely, the overnight margin for Hang Seng is very low (one third of the full requirement), while NIKKEI is still low.
Try this one to start with: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69275 I can't help you with that one. Good luck! MoMoney.