Recommended Broker for eMini S&P 500 Futures

Thanks for pointing out the hidden costs. Good job!
I guess go futures.com's advertised rate of 99 cents do not include hidden costs. Damn these brokers! No wonder BSC went bankrupt, a bunch of crooks!

 

Gofutures .99 per side is correct. Add in the exchange/clearinghouse/brokerage/regulatry/NFA fees of $1.16 for es futures, and you get $2.15 per side per contract.

 

I forgot to mention that you have to tell them explicitly to open an account with MF Global, not with other clearing firm, if that's what you want.

 

Give TransAct a try. Been very happy with them

 

Thinkorswim or optionsxpress.
They have nice advanced order types.

They allow you to open an account with your 20k. Some large brokers require 25k or 50k.

 

But don't forget to also factor in VERY frequent software order entry and charting freezes/lock-ups during the day, and a back office that continually places on your statements $3.00 - $5.00 of mysterious additional clearing, exchange, or broker fees per trade, and that ".99 cents per side" actually turns out to equal $5.15 - $7.15 per side (or about $13 per R/T for an ES contract)! It's probably not so much a problem with GO Futures itself as it is with their FAST software, which is the same FAST software used by brokers such as GO, DT, Sonic, Farr, etc.

So for any trader who wants connection and software reliability, I'd avoid these brokers at all costs.

 

I would avoid optionsXpress. I have had problems with the Xtend platform - particularly in order modification and cancellation when the markets are moving and there's alot of volume. It's been such a problem that I'm hiring legal counsel.

 

have you noticed the front page of ET lately?

or the broker ratings?


seems like there are a lot of bad stories out there waiting to be told

 

FWIW; [http://www.5perside.com/about.asp]

I post this for the published rates commission shoppers... $1.75 all-in per side for ES, NQ, ER. That's a published RT all-in rate of $3.50!

They are a DBA for Man Financial(aka MFGlobal)

This is not a recommendation, merely a suggestion. Always do your own due diligence.

http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet
http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms

Osorico

 

www.5perside.com has a rather wierd stipulation about real time data:

"Real-Time Quotes**

Customizable Charts with Studies**

** limited to the first 200 per month FREE"

Doesn't say what they charge after you get your free 200 quotes.