Why do most trading gurus, such as Larry Williams, make money off futures? Is it because of the leverage, or volume? Some stocks and most indexes have volume too. I constantly make money money in stock long. I know why I don't short, trade options, futures, forex. 1 short: too risky. i would rather hold cash when there is no long i can find. And since I never had enough money to long, I will not touch short. 2 option: penny stocks seem better 3 future: too many eyes are on the same thing. too many are better than me. i can only win, when competitors are weaker. 4 forex: too busy within doing what i am good at. no time to touch forex. What do you trade? Why do you trade that vs the others?
I trade currencies - spot. No commissions. Biggest market in the world. Open 24/365. Pure liquidity. A stock can go to zero. Fat chance of a major nation going to zero. I have control of my money. Most people who enter the ForEx lose. DrawDown
Don't mistake lack of understanding of a vehicle (or lack of an edge) as a valid reason not to trade it. That being said, I long and short US equities and am increasingly employing options in conjunction with my holdings because I feel comfortable in these vehicles and they suit my trading personality. Down the line I do want to look into futures and forex as a way to spread into differently correlated vehicles.
I tried futures. Sucked at them, didn't offer me enough time to think and the tick size was to large to learn on when 2 - 3 trades a day was all I could afford. Equities is where I am at now. I long and short equities. Just scalping quick movements, in and out fast, but have no issue with letting winners run, problem is, some days liquidity is lacking. But this is true in Futures and Options as well. Options... Challenging, only demo'd Options, still learning but want to learn more in future. Forex... I really am starting to like forex and am considering opening up a real account. I just like it for longer term plays, not day-trading. That's about it.
have traded equities, fixed income, forex, energy, options. prefer spot forex and commodities because I like the volatility, you can run winners big time.
I've traded equities, fx, and futures. Each for several years. I prefer futures cause: No MM's, all electronic. Cheap commish. No uptick rule. Just as easy to be short as long. Instantaneous fills TA works with em (cause so many people use it with futures. Self fulfilling). Fast, liquid, and loads of leverage. And finally, if you are profitable, the tax advantages. 40% taxed at long term gains, even if you are a day trader. I occasionally still put on fx trades if I want a specific size rather than the futures. So I guess I do both, but prefer futures for the liquid markets (Euro, Yen, Pound, Canadian).