The obvious differences are leverage and cap gains tax rates, but other than that they are pretty similar. Futures markets (speaking only on ES vs. SPY) tend to be less volatile than the cash market, which can make some bodacious moves. Another option is to use long calls / puts or whatever combo you can concoct to get directional exposure to the cash market with all the leverage you could possibly want, and only time decay and spread to worry about. This is my approach, but it's not for everyone :eek: