They wouldn't all be in equities.... there aren't 50 viable equity futures markets. Only one position per market is possible (long short or flat), despite what some people on this site seem to think. We tried to trade every futures market with enough liquidity. Typically the market value of the portfolio is 3 to 5 times equity (a $1.5MM account would control $4.5 to $7.5MM in futures contracts, both long and short). So 100% (or greater) exposure to one sector wouldn't be unheard of. Actually if you are holding almost any sort of position in eurodollars and/or two years you will be over 100% exposure to interest rates. Usually when holding positions in both of these contracts the market value of the portfolio shifts to between 5 to 7 times equity. 5yr
I could be wrong here guys, but it seems like the OP wants a 1/2 emini contract not because he thinks $50 per point is too much, but because he's looking to hedge some positions and $50k for 1 contract is sometimes too large of a position for him to be able to hedge. AM i right on this ?
Yes, like if you had a position valued at 75K... or a 50K position with a beta of 1.5. There are many reasons to have a smaller contract value. 5yr
Serena Williams threatens to sit on line judge and fart in her face..................... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm-Mj0vjJ_s&feature=related
Lindq, I would look into trading CFD's. I trade with Marketindex RBS (United Kingdom), and they offer ES and YM split contracts 1 fourth the size of the emini derivative. So it means if you buy 4 Dow CFD's you will be trading the equivalent of one emini Dow Jones contract. You just need a company that offers very good spreads otherwise slippage can kill you. Hope it helps. Chubs
He is right. There are brokers where you can trade CFDs so underleveraged that 1 ES point is only $1. That is perfect for hedging or learning....
The guy proposed a valid ideal and it's funny to see all the wannabes come strutting in the thread and pump their chest. Although I don't see micro-contracts happening anytime soon maybe it could borrow the bucket shop model from Forex. Group small orders together and send them out to the market.
I also have often thought it would be nice to have the ability to split eminis. I have always loved the ability to scale in and out of positions and I think more traders would take longer term positions with the eminis if they could scale into a position with less than full contracts. i dont very often hold overnight positions in eminis. I do sometimes hold futures options on the eminis longer term. I dont trade with a very large account but I usually have option positions on in the IWM, SPY, DIA, etc. It would be nice to be able to hedge after hours with eminis at a more precise %. I guess that is one of the things I like about trading forex. Total scalability. I dont think it would cause any more volitility other than having some newbs that might not otherwise be trading the eminis. On another note.. The moment I read the original post I knew he would get attacked by many et posters. Trading is different game for everyone. Its really a laugh when all the wannabe big swinging dicks get in here and try to tell someone that they are a pussy because they would like more control over contract valuations. good trading to all