I wonder what's the correlation of the poll results with the number of years trading experience. I'm sure that those who are successfully supporting themselves are predominantly experienced traders. I wonder, though, what's the breakdown of those who aren't making a living off of trading yet (those who picked 3 through 6 on the poll)?
Don't think so, that's why I suggested the DIA. Can you explain for me the difference between SPY and DIA? There's a bunch of Russell Fund SSF's available. IWB: Russell 1000 IWD: Russell 1000 Value Index Fund IWF: Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund IMW: Russell 2000 IWN: Russell 2000 Value Index Fund IWO: Russell 2000 Growth Index Fund IVM: Russell 3000 QQQ: NASDAQ 100 Index Tracking Stock www.nqlx.com www.onechicago.com
You left off option # 4.5. You could work full time and trade when you're off work. Either work a night shift and trade during the day, or work a regular job and trade the E-minis after hours.
no difference, besides the obvious I suppose.. just prefer the SPY since it has more volatility intra-day and its all I trade
I just looked at SPY and DIA, and I suspect DIA is just as volatile. SPY doesn't even seem to have options traded off it. If you have over $25,000 in your account, then you will have access to 4:1 intraday margin. But if you don't, the most you'll have is 2:1 margin. With DIA stock futures you'll get 5:1 margin, round the clock (without needing $25,000). I'd suggest just add DIA to your trading page, and watch it in relation to SPY. You'll arrive at your own decision.
will do...i`ll overlay it for a few days...maybe that i`m just used to watching the SPY....do you trade futures exclusivley?
At this point, yes. I started out trading options exclusively, and I had tried to trade only one specific stock's options for a long time. But that approach didn't work out well for me. Anyhow, since all the (neverending) SEC restrictions made it more and more difficult to trade stocks and options, and SSF came out at the same time, I took that opportunity to switch over, and I don't regret it one bit.
interesting..I have been having good succes trading SPY and have tinkered with the idea of opening a E-mini account(since I have heard they offer more action)..can you tell me what the value is per tick of the mini?
The S&P E-mini is $50 per point, the Nasdaq 100 E-mini is $20. Add them to your trading page, if you can.