I would like to see the ES spreads and ticks reduced from .25 Would make flipping them a whole lot easier .
I have been saying the same thing on these boards for years. My only guess is that futures accounts are/were harder to establish than equity accounts. Aside from that, the advantages are indeed overwhelming. Whatever. I'll keep trading them, saving taxes and making plenty in doing so. A few years ago it was in our best interests to promote the benefits of them to increase liquidity for ourselves and help fellow traders discover the advantages. ES has arrived on that front, however ER2 is the next big thing. ER2 uses a $100 multiplier with margin comparable to ES, so you get twice the oomph and it's more volatile. ER2 option volume is still very low but climbing steadily, albeit slowly.
ES options are available for anyone with an IB account. They also have the Dax and urostoxx 50 options that though cash settled us Eurex risk based margining which is similar to SPAN. Not sure if the Eurex options are available to American investors though.
Amen, brother GA. I used to trade the SPX options myself, and used to think that the ES options had too wide a spread. Several months ago I checked the ES spreads again and was very impressed. Needless to say, I only trade the ES options now. Easier to hedge too, with the emini futures trading almost all of the time.
AND the ES settles in the underlying (if its not expiring too) which greatly reduces expiration risk from quirky SOQs. Summary: SPX beats SPY for taxes and commissions; ES beats SPX for spreads and settlements. ES options: it's a DUH.
Liquidity and Leverage. The real spread is much lower (mid +/- a little) if you do size. For retail traders, I have no idea why they would ever trade SPX over ES options. nitro