I have been trading Futures for a while now, but I didn’t start with Futures. I started with, and still am an equities day trader! After getting antsy to trade, after I had reached my limit on round trip trades (thanks PDT), I looked for alternative trading methods that would allow me to advance my knowledge and my account. This is when I discovered Futures! Futures are not regulated under the PDT rule, so you could trade them to your hearts desire. I guess the gob’ment doesn’t care if you blow up your futures account….lol! Anyway, I have been using TD Ameritrade as my broker for almost three years now, I have no complaints! They have a high commissions structure, they also require a LOT of margin for futures trading compared to other brokers, such as Ninja Trader. Even though I mentioned those downsides about TD Ameritrade, I cannot take away the power of their Think Or Swim Software and their more than super Customer service, so those small negatives were compensated.
I started looking around for different brokers that may offer better margin requirements to be able to trade the /ES mini contract. Currently, for TD Ameritrade the margin requirement to trade one contract of the /ES mini is $7,700! That means you would need at least 15k to day trade 2 contracts!! Td Ameritrade also costs average $3 in commissions to Trade the /ES mini.
Ninja Trader’s margin requirements to trade the /ES…….$500!!! This means you would only need 1k to be able to trade 2 contracts of the /ES. This is wonderful because it actually allows for small account traders to access major potential! No PDT day trading at its finest! Ninja Trader also boasts having the smallest commissions rate for futures traders as well. They offer .53 cents per contract with a lifetime license. Now that is a great set of numbers I think any trader could appreciate.
Ninja Traders Software – I have only practiced trading with their platform for a very short period of time, and I have to say its not too shabby. The great thing about it is, anyone can download and practice with an unlimited paper trading account to get your feet wet! Check it out Here www.ninjatrader.com
Conclusion: After practicing with their software, and reviewing their fees, I recommend this broker highly to anyone who wants to day trade Futures! I, myself will be using this broker for my futures trading account! With their really simple to use software, margin and commission structure, What’s not to love?
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