Hi guys and ladies, I've become addicted to the Micro ES and NQ. It happened fast. I'm doing 50 to 150 R/T's per day. I'm a former floor trader, and was on the CBOT and CBOE for almost 30 years. My style back then was to always have a core positional trade on while constantly scalping the paper that came into the pits I was in. I spent a great many years in the OEX pit on the CBOE, which was a scalpers paradise on many, if not most days. One could move 1000 puts or calls with no more than 3 contra names on a ticket. Man, the markets were deep in that pit. I recently came out of retirement because the action in the markets was too hard to ignore. That said, while I love trading mini's, the algo spikes and sweeps are tough to swallow for an old guy. When the Micros arrived, it was like a dream come true for me. I can make a ton of trades (small size) and never risk too much. Of course, the $ rewards are much smaller as well. That said, these Micros are working for me. At my age, taking on big risk makes no sense. I also choose scalping versus positional trading so that I can have plenty of free time for outside activities. My question is, what's the lowest round turn rate you've seen for the Micro ES & NQ? I thought I was paying 84 cents a round turn, according to my statements, but my broker informed me today that this was a mistake, and my actual rate will be 1.14 per R/T. I get it, they have to make a living too, no problem there. However, with the number of trades I make on busy days, over the course of time it adds up, fast. Unlike the floor, where my clearing firm always capped fees after I reached a certain volume threshold, the e-brokers don't. I see AMP offering 74-78 cents per R/T, can anyone beat that? Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to share details on the forum. My lips are sealed, for real. For the record, I really enjoy working with my current broker. He's a good dude, and the company is transparent, with great customer service. The commission kerfuffle came to light after I called him today and inquired why my statements were showing a lower rate than I recall him quoting me over the phone. I guess his firm was not hands on when it came to checking statements for commission accuracy? So I make the call, and for my honesty, I get rewarded with a 30 cent per R/T higher rate. LOL Like I said, he's a good dude and I love the firm, but I don't like to over pay by a large percentage. Thanks for any response in advance. Good trading to all. Jack PS I don't post often, but I really enjoy this forum a ton. There are a lot of really sharp people here. I tried a few other forums, uhhh nope, they aren't even close to ET.
Jack W, Thank you for sharing your story. We do not give a discount at this time for the Micros, so we are not a good choice. I want to point out that as an experienced trader looking for lower fees, you should consider that even if you found $0.70/RT, that = $7.00/RT on the ES or about $2.30 in commissions per future. We start at $0.60/future + costs before volume discounts. You might be better off doing 1 lots of ES. If you compare 1 ES at $0.60 + NFA + Exchange clearing, that is $3.60 RT which compares to $0.36 RT on the Micro. IMO, these Micros are better for SPY traders or investors learning futures. Good luck, Bob
My guess is that there is customer flow but MM are going to use the ES value as a reference. They will move together give or take 1 or 2 ticks on the Micro. I do not watch them. None of my clients want them.
Hi Jack, AMP has a very good offer, with the mentioned 0.74 US$ per RT. Tradovate offers 0.62 US$ per RT, but you have to pay the monthly Tradovate membership fee, 199 USD. You could also lower your cost per RT by leasing a seat... this should lower your exchange fee from 0.20 USD to 0.07 USD per contract, so thats 0.26 US$ less per RT. So if you join Tradovate and lease a seat, then you could get down to 0.36 USD per RT. Thats the lowest in the micro eminis I have seen so far.
Vs. Hello Jack and welcome. Could you please elaborate on this? I assume you like the micros because you scale in and out which is easier to do with micros. Also, have you considered using equities where you can reduce commissions if you provide liquidity? Is it just because you are more familiar with futures or there's something that gives you a better edge in futures? Thanks
Oh, and can you define what scalping means for you as I think Robert must be referring to capturing just a few ticks.
Hello Jack, I've just joined EliteTrader and don't yet know how to send a PM. But I'd like to get in touch because like you, the micro contracts that became available on May 6th have reinvigorated my trading. Thanks, Robert aka joebtfsplk