Starting Friday, May 3rd, the new exchange minimum margin for the e-mini Nasdaq will be $3000 initial and $2400 maintenance. I don't see the e-mini S&P listed, so its margin must be staying the same. You can see this margin change as well as several others for CME contracts on the CME website. The link to the margin notice is: http://www.cme.com/risk_management/...?NoticeID=0004EECF-07F7-1CCF-A93180EDBEFB0000 Now you can trade 4 contracts with a $10k account instead of just 3! ;-) Happy trading, Aaron Schindler Schindler Trading
Errr... I was looking at the maintenance margin. Using the initial margin you'll only be able to trade 3 contracts with your $10k account. Yes, mom, I really can divide! Aaron
I thought it was an INCREASE, not decrease for the E-mini Nasdaq? Although u probably know better since you are with a professional firm.
I highly doubt they have the need to increase margins at this point, since the "tabletop" for the NQ has diminished significantly over the past 2 years...The volatility is nowhere near what it was in 2000, it only makes sense that the numbers suggest that lower margins are on the way...
"Now you can trade 4 contracts with a $10k account instead of just 3! ;-) " I know Aaron is kidding here, but seriously, I never understood why people get so concerned about the margin requirements for ES/NQ trading. The leverage of these contracts is already huge! If you are any good at trading, 1 ES can rapidly earn you the profts needed to move from 1 contract to 2. If you aren't good at trading, why would you want lower margins allowing you to trade 2 contracts right off the bat? So you can blow out twice as fast? If you dont even have the funds to meet the exchange's suggested margin amounts, then you should probably be working at a job and continuing to paper trade. Dont go looking for some cut-rate broker who will let you trade the ES for $1500.