I read about how seasoned and successful? traders transition from stocks to futures. I don't get it. Tax advantages? Nullified by AMT, if you are indeed successful. But look what you miss out on, for example, just in the last hour: ABK > 20% move MBI >20% move DNA >6% move RIMM >5% SPY .5% move? QQQQs .5% move? Come back to stocks. The water is warm and the profits are steaming.
One major flaw in your analysis - with the current range on the ES at 26 pts @ $50/pt = $1300/contract, stocks cannot touch that. Factor in all the intraday ups and downs and it's not even close. The net change on RIMM for example is 8 CENTS so far today. Wow, 8 cents. How many shares of RIMM do you need to own to make what the ES afforded? Good try though.
26 point range for the futures in the past hour. What chart are you looking at.?? When I first posted, RIMM was trading at just over 100. That's where I got in long. I just got out at the 50% Fib RT around 103.50. So, yes, my stock trading can "touch" your futures trading. And that's just one stock.
Stocks is way better to trade than Futures or vice versa statements is just retarded. Whatever works for you is good. You might as well go to a car forum and post : Prosche is way better than Ferrari.
Who needs or wants 100:1 leverage for trading. I can do without that risk. I'll admit there are days when futures are going to prove much more lucrative (eg. FOMC days etc). But on days like today, where intraday futures moves have been lackluster, it seems crazy to try to squeeze a highly-leveraged point or two out of the futures when stocks are proving a much more lucrative and yes, safer trade. I am not suggesting you give up futures. Just consider including stock trading in your repetoire of strategies.
OP you are just afraid of futures cause you know we would skin you alive LOL come to YM, I am waiting for you
You assume that futures traders "need" wild swings to make money. Even in a tight market I can carve .50-2pts moves consistently. I DONT need 10% moves to make successful trades. However, I do need liquidity if I want to take advantage of small moves, and the ES has PLENTY of that.
If your trading was profitable and could transfer to futures, you would see why that leverage is a phenomenal wealth building vehicle. If the proposition of making more with less scares you, then yes, stay away from the futures side. Being scared comes from knowing your system cannot hold up in the futures markets b/c if it did, you would not be clamoring for stocks.
This is where Money Management comes in. You dont HAVE to use that kind of extreme margin, noone is putting a gun to your head forcing you to max out every position. Look at the nice move in FDAX today - with 10:1 or 15:1 applied there it would KILL your RIMM stocks You choose to put on company risk and market risk instead of just market risk - and that is fine by me.