I'm trying to phase out of equity day trading and try different markets. I looked a little into options and futures. What do you guys think is easier (easier to learn, less risk, more profitability etc.) to trade? and what are the pros and cons of these 2 markets? Thanks
In equities, you get 2:1 leverage. In derivatives, you get 50:1, 100:1, 1000:1, and what's oil?? That's what you want to focus on, first: leverage. Riskier? Less Risky? More reward? These things all balance reward against risk. If you have an equity position on that changes 1.0% today, you'll notice -- maybe. If you have a derivatives position on, that changes by 1%? Woof! You'll notice, alright. All that said, futures (to my eyeballs) don't trade all that different than equities. Options, though -- being insurance on the downside and on the upside -- are a wholly different animule -- even to the point of being *unrelated*. Look up "synthetic position" -- that's an option position that trades like an equity AND has a time-decay component, too. That's about as simple as option trading gets. From there, things get 3-4-dimensional fast. KNOW YOUR RISK GRAPHS.
Futures for day trading, options for swing & long-term. Though for some people it may be the opposite.
Appreciate that the question of "how difficult a subject is to learn" -- when applied to one's ability to Profit from the knowledge -- then how easy it is to learn, or how difficult and disciplined it is to apply -- should Not be the determining factor. If one could become proficient with a skill in say 100 hours of well planned study --then perhaps that would set them up for financial independence.