Learn to Trade Futures
Are you new to futures trading, looking for an edge to improve your trading performance or to enhance your investment portfolio? Futures and futures options products can offer opportunities to help meet your investment goals – Let us show you how.
Education is an Essential Key to Achieving Success in Futures Trading.
Discover the Power of Leverage
The Benefits of Short Selling
Get Started with Futures Trading
Futures Trading Training Courses
We are proud to present the following futures trading courses developed by the CME Group – the world’s largest futures exchange.
Introduction to Commodity Futures
Learn about futures contracts, the role of a futures exchange, who participates in this market and how a futures trade works.
Benefits of Portfolio Diversification
Discover 8 reasons why futures should be part of your portfolio in this easy-to-finish, multi-part online course.
Opening a Futures Trading Account
Learn about the steps involved in opening a futures trading account with a futures broker.
Trade and Risk Management
Get an introduction to trading and risk management, including the key information you need to know about risk management.
Building a Futures Trading Plan
Get an overview of why a trade plan is important to thrive in futures trading and how to build one to support your success.
Futures Trading and Analysis
Once you have developed a trading plan, you are ready to determine how to make buy and sell decisions.
Futures Trading Psychology
Introduction to Futures Options
Learn how options work, how they are constructed, what key option terms mean and which features make options on futures unique.
Access all futures Trading Courses.
Futures Trading FAQ’s…
Who trades commodity futures and options and why?
The first group of participants in the commodities and options markets are commercial and institutional users of the commodities they trade. For example, a company or individual who holds an asset such as coffee, corn, soybeans, U.S. Treasury bonds, or a portfolio of stocks, wants the value of that asset to increase. That person also wants to limit, if possible, any loss in value. The company or individual may use the commodity markets to take an opposite position that can minimize the risk of financial loss from holding those assets when and if their price changes. This is form of futures trading is called “hedging.”
Other participants are speculators who hope to profit from changes in the price of the futures contract. A speculator buying a contract or call option, or selling a put option, hopes to profit from rising prices, while a speculator selling a contract or call option, or buying a put option, hopes to profit from declining prices. Because, unlike a hedger, a speculator does not own the underlying commodity, the components of the underlying index, or other product, losses in the market are not offset by gains in the cash market, and speculators can lose substantial amounts.
Individuals do participate in the markets. An individual who owns or runs a business might participate as a hedger. Or, an individual with a substantial and diversified portfolio of investments might speculate using futures and/or options trading.
Insignia Futures & Options offers both Speculative and Hedge accounts to accommodate your investment objectives and strategies.
Can commodities trading meet my investment goals?
Futures and option trading is inherently complex and risky, and it is not appropriate for all investors. You should know how much you potentially can lose and honestly evaluate if you can afford to lose it in view of your financial resources and investment goals. An Insignia Futures & Options representative is available to discuss your investment objectives and goals to help you determine if futures and options trading is right for you. If you decide you have the resources and the reasons to invest in futures, you should also determine the extent to which you plan to rely on your own trading decisions and/or if you desire assistance by working with an Insignia Futures & Options broker. We offer custom trading account plans to accommodate your trading needs; Self-Directed, Traders Advantage and Managed Futures. Like other financial markets, futures and options markets are cyclical and gains may not be immediate. Finally, remember that, because of the leveraged nature of futures, losses can be more than your original deposit.
How do I open a futures trading account?
You may open an Individual, Joint, Business, Trust or IRA futures trading account with Insignia Futures & Options. A new trading account application will need to be submitted and can be accessed on our New Accounts web page. Once your account application has been processed and your account is funded ($100.00 minimum), your account will be activated and ready to begin trading. Depending on your level of trading experience and/or investment objectives, you will choose the account plan that best suits your needs. Our Self-Directed plan is designed for the experienced trader who needs no assistance with their trading or investment objectives and is able to place his or her commodity futures & options trades confidently and without the need for advice from a futures broker. Our Traders Advantage plan is designed for all levels of traders seeking a personal relationship with a futures broker. As a Traders Advantage client, you will receive our trade recommendations based upon our proprietary trading strategies. You will work one-on-one with a futures broker to fully assist you with all of your trading and market education needs. Our Automated Futures Account plan is designed for the investor who wants a “hands-off” approach to investing in the commodity futures markets. Through an automated systems futures account, all aspects of trading and managing your account are handled for you.
What are my contractual obligations when trading futures?
When you enter into a commodity or option contract through your trading account, you are required to make a payment referred to as a “margin payment” or “performance bond.” This payment is small relative to the value of your market position, providing you with the ability to “leverage” your funds. Because trading commodities and option contracts is leveraged, small changes in price, which occur frequently, can result in large gains or losses in a short period of time.
Each day, Insignia Futures & Options will calculate the current value of contract positions held in your account. If the equity in your account has declined in value to the “maintenance margin level” (approximately 75% of the amount required to enter into the trades originally), you are required to provide more margin money to restore the initial margin level (this is called a “margin call”). This eliminates the need to make repeated margin calls when daily price changes are relatively small.
If you fail to meet a margin call within a reasonable period of time, which could be as little as one hour, we may close out your positions to reduce your margin deficiency. If your position(s) were liquidated at a loss, you would continue to be liable for that loss.