What are futures and why are they interesting to investors? Futures for beginners: What is it and how to trade them? Real futures trading

Futures trading on the market- one of the profitable, but also risky ways for a trader to make money. Before you start work in futures trading, you need to learn the basic steps and concepts of futures. What do you need to know so as not to foolishly lose money, fail the deal and ruin your relationship with the broker?

Let's start with the concept itself "futures", - at first it will seem to you that this is a complex and professional abbreviation, but if you translate it from English, the meaning is “future”, everything else will become much simpler and clearer. Futures are a contract between a buyer and a seller, the terms of which are negotiated today and the buyer undertakes to fulfill them at the appointed time of sale. The price is negotiated earlier so that the buyer can insure himself against price increases in the future. Thus, the futures contract stipulates the following conditions:

• type of asset;
• quantity of asset;
• deadline for fulfilling obligations;
• the price at which delivery will take place.

To confirm that the buyer will definitely buy and the seller will deliver, the parties to the contract pay a deposit margin, which serves as a guarantee that the conditions will be met. After fulfilling the obligations, it will be returned to you.

Exchange futures trading mechanism

Trading on the futures exchange begins with the submission of an application to the broker about the product data, threshold values ​​or the current exchange price are negotiated. After this, during trading, the broker shouts out his order to buy/sell contracts. In turn, other brokers interested in the same type of goods for purchase/sale offer their own price. When the price matches, the transaction is considered concluded and is registered by exchange systems. After futures trading on the exchange, brokers check the details of concluded transactions.

You can, at the right time for you, before the expiration of the futures contract, liquidate your obligations by concluding an offset transaction. In futures trading, an offset trade means the opposite of a previously concluded trade in the same contract with the same expiration date.

I would like to note that the buyer and seller accept financial obligations not to each other, but to the clearinghouse, which acts as a third party. It registers exchange transactions, determines and collects collateral amounts, liquidates canceling contracts, and guarantees the fulfillment of contract terms in futures trading. When registering a contract, each party deposits a certain amount into the clearing house account.

Several factors influence futures trading in the market., such as: changes occurring in the conditions of economic development, the state of the monetary and financial system, sufficiency of financial resources, improvement of trading techniques and others.

Now let's consider currency futures trading– this is the same trading, only in currency. The first currencies in futures trading were the British pound, the Canadian dollar, the German mark, the French franc, the Japanese yen, the Mexican peso and the Swiss franc. One of the main difficulties that new traders face in futures trading is understanding the quoting method. All currency futures are carried out on “American terms”, i.e. in dollars for each unit of currency. Today, one of the largest commodity exchanges, the CME provides the best regulated foreign exchange market in the world, and the second largest, no less famous - the electronic Forex market. About 50 futures contracts and 30 options contracts based on world currencies are traded on this exchange. Trading on the futures exchange is most often carried out today on the Globex2 electronic platform, there is practically no voice trading today. Trading currency futures has significant advantages:

1. minimal likelihood of manipulation;
2. transparent pricing;
3. provide complete anonymity;
4. electronic access anywhere in the world, six days a week;
5. the ability to hedge currency risks.

Futures trading on the foreign exchange market is characterized by high liquidity. For example, the average daily turnover of all forward currency contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) exceeds $100 billion.

Trading futures on the foreign exchange market is suitable for those traders who need a guarantee of security and a transparent financial instrument. Exchange trading of futures is controlled. The exchange carries out centralized clearing and does not allow price manipulation.

A novice trader can trade currency futures through the Meta Trader terminal.

The opportunity to invest your funds in stock trading thanks to the Internet has become available to everyone who is interested in this type of earnings. Anyone who has the necessary knowledge and means to do so can try their hand at this business. The services provided by brokerage houses allow you to start earning money without significant financial investments. Here we will consider the option of futures trading, the distinctive features of this financial instrument, as well as what those who are taking their first steps in this field should pay attention to. may seem difficult, but you can always learn.

Futures - what is it in simple words?

This is a transaction where two parties agree in advance on the price of a product at a certain point in the future. Usually, thanks to such contracts, market participants insure themselves against possible financial costs; such operations allow them not to pay the entire amount under the contract at once, but only make the necessary deposit as a guarantor of a future transaction; it depends on the conditions of the exchange and can amount to up to one fifth of the total cost .

For example: The parties agree on the price for a certain product in one month, and at the coming moment, which is called expiration, they are obliged to fulfill their obligations regardless of what the price will be at the end of the transaction. If the price turns out to be higher than previously agreed upon, then the buyer wins and therefore makes a profit. In the opposite case, the transaction will be beneficial for the seller.

There are a lot of tools for concluding deals; let’s look at some of them and determine the differences.

What is the difference between forward and future, option and future?

A forward contract is not an exchange transaction entered into by persons interested in buying or selling a specific product. Basically, these contracts are concluded by organizations that are interested in the actual supply of certain goods. Futures contracts are different in that they are concluded according to the rules of the exchange, they do not require mandatory delivery of goods, their volumes are standardized and determined by the number of lots. The settlement for such transactions is the payment of the price difference, so futures are often used to make a profit.

Difference between forward and futures

An option contract is another financial instrument, using which the investor acquires the right to make a transaction, while the seller of the option is obliged to carry it out on pre-agreed conditions; the buyer himself decides to exercise his right or refuse. Thus, the main difference from futures is the difference in rights and responsibilities between the buyer and seller.

Using futures as a trading tool, players on the exchange make a profit due to the difference in price; you can work on sites that provide opportunities for using this financial instrument:

• In Russia this is the FORTS platform.
• Exchanges of America and Asia.
• European brokerage companies.

The main key to success in this earning is an understanding of price formation and the ability to predict its movement in the future. Therefore, you need to thoroughly know the essence and laws of the market in which the trader plans to begin his work.

To achieve success you need:

• Funds for trading on the stock exchange must be invested based on your capabilities, It is not advisable to use borrowed funds, or at the first stage of work an amount the loss of which could cause a significant blow to your budget.
• Choosing a broker, a very important point on which success depends. Unfortunately, there are often companies on the market whose main goal is to enrich themselves at the expense of their clients’ deposits, instead of fulfilling their obligations in good faith. Such supposedly brokerage organizations are called “kitchens”. A good broker provides his clients with services for working on trading platforms and makes a profit through commissions; he is interested in increasing the volume and quality of his client’s transactions, which means increasing his account; such a broker is always committed to long-term cooperation.

How to choose a broker

What criteria should be used to determine reliability:

1. Time of existence and history, for the Russian market is at least ten years, there are rare exceptions, but it is better not to take risks.
2. The activities of a brokerage house must be regulated by the laws of the country in which it operates and not run counter to international law. The agreement concluded between the broker and the trader must be completely clear. It should not contain points that can be interpreted differently. Withdrawal of earned money is carried out in compliance with concluded agreements and without violating deadlines.
3. The broker provides a trading terminal that is convenient and user-friendly; it must correctly reflect quotes in real time and quickly respond to market changes.
4. Technical support must be provided in a language that the client understands, and must also be available throughout the trading period and promptly respond to the client’s requests, regardless of the size of his account.
5. A good broker, as a rule, provides the client with the opportunity for technical and fundamental analysis on its website.

For beginners, it is advisable to have the opportunity to work with a virtual account, which allows you to make transactions in real time using virtual money, this allows you to develop skills and create your own strategy, without the risk of losing your own funds.

Example of futures trading for all instruments

Private clients can trade on the Moscow Exchange through an accredited broker (Brokerage Firm). A special feature is that the investor is given the opportunity to work remotely using a trading terminal and other online trading systems.
An example of trading futures contracts through the QUIK terminal

At the very beginning, we will outline the main things regarding futures (how to look for them, how to read them, etc.).

So, a brief theory on futures - futures specification

Contract name

The name of the contract consists of several parameters

1) An underlying asset is a bet on what will happen in the future with some underlying asset. The underlying asset can be an Index, a Share (settled futures contracts for shares), Commodities, Currency, etc. - this is what the futures are traded on.

2) Type contract a (delivery/settlement) – by type, it can be delivery or settlement. As traders, we are interested in settled futures (final settlement in money). Deliverable futures (they are also available there), as a rule, are contracts for shares.

3) Place of delivery of settlement futures– this is your trading account (trading terminal), everything will fall there.

4) Contract size– each futures contains a certain amount of the underlying asset per contract.

5) Size and price of one tick (minimum price change) – each instrument has its own minimum price value. Let’s say that a futures contract on the RTS index has one tick (one division) equal to 2 cents; at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of December 5, 2014, a dollar costs 52.69 rubles, rounded to 52 rubles. and we get 2 cents = 104 kopecks. Accordingly, if you opened a position and the market moved 1000 points from that moment, then you earned approximately 1040 rubles. Not a bad result for those who are going to trade intraday. The only thing, of course, is to be able to predict this movement by analyzing the market.

6) GO ( guarantee or margin) – the deposit (tenth) that must be paid in order to trade futures, what you must deposit, i.e. reserve a certain amount in order to take advantage of this contract.

But the next type of margin is called Variation Margin - this is what you earn when you hold a futures (a position on a futures contract), and depending on whether the market goes in your direction or not, you earn or lose. This variation margin can be either positive or negative. Of course, positive variation margin is much better.

7) Contract expiration date(expiration date) – the date when both parties are obliged to fulfill their obligations. Those. there is a seller and there is a buyer, each of them, depending on what role he plays, must either buy the contract - if it is a short position, or sell - if it is a long position.

Futures trading

Decoding the contract

Let's figure it out regarding decryption.

Explanation of the futures contract for the RTS Index (example)

Name of the underlying asset – RTS Index
Underlying asset code (field “C”) – RI

Encoding month of execution
The year of futures execution is coded as a single digit from 0 to 9

The contract execution date is the 15th day of the month of execution (or the working day closest to this date)

F – January
G – February
H – March
J – April
K – May
M – June
N – July
Q – August
U – September
V – October
X – November
Z – December

Example

If you open QUIK and find the March RIH4 futures contract, what does it mean?

RIH4

Letters (RI) - mean Russian index.
The letter (H) means month, in this case March.
The number (4) means the year, in this case 2014.

After RIH4 (March contract) finishes trading, the (June contract) will come and it will be called RIM4, the next one will be called RIU4 (September contract), the next RIZ4 (December contract), then comes again (March contract) RIH5 only for 2015 year, etc.

As for, for example, oil futures contracts, they are traded monthly, because the instrument is volatile. Oil is traded monthly, for example March 2014 BRH4, etc.

The contract execution date is usually the middle of the designated month, the 15th day, or the closest working day to it, i.e. if the 15th falls on Saturday, then expiration occurs on the 14th, if on Sunday, then on the 16th. In this regard, many try to switch to another month in advance, because they are afraid that they will suddenly have to hold the position, and in order not to fall under this expiration, under forced closure, they prefer to switch to another month, for example March or some other. After March, respectively, comes BRJ4 (April contract), then BRK4 (May contract), BRM4, etc.

Types of futures contracts

1) Futures contracts on INDICES

Code – RTS mm.yy. MIX
Contract name – RTS Index, MICEX Index, etc.
Type – Calculated, Calculated
Underlying asset – RTS index value, MICEX index value
The exchange fee for a scalping transaction is 1 rub., 1.5 rubles, different for each broker.

The most, most liquid and at the same time dangerous instrument that is available on the derivatives market is the futures on the RTS index. The RTS Index is the 50 largest issuers of the Russian market for which a futures contract was made. Those who believe that the market will rise buy this futures contract (open a long position), those who believe that the index will fall sell and open a short position.

The same is true for the MICEX index, however, it is not so liquid, so it is better to consider such an instrument as a futures contract for the RTS index. There are also other exotic indices, such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), etc.

2) Futures contract on SHARES

GAZPR – Gazprom
LK – Lukoil
ROSN – Rosneft
SBER – Sberbank (JSC)
SBPR – Sberbank (p)
GMKR – Norilsk Nickel
TATN – Tatneft
TRNF – Transneft
MTSI – MTS
HYDR – RusHydro
SNGR – Surgutneftegaz
CHMF – Severstal
NOTK – Novatek

Many novice traders are recommended to practice on them, because stock futures are very tied to the stock chart, therefore, if you analyze these stocks from the point of view of technical or fundamental analysis, you will then be able to roughly understand what will happen with futures on these stock.

It is very difficult to analyze the futures itself, because it is short and the chart for it will be very broken and truncated.

Stock futures are, as a rule, blue chips and some of the top of the second tier.

3) Futures contract for CURRENCY

Si -12.14 – American Dollar
ED -12.14 – Euro Dollar
GBPU -12.14 – British pound
Eu -12.14 – Euro
AUDU -12.14 – Australian Dollar - American Dollar

In Russia, traders mainly trade dollar futures against the ruble, euro dollar futures, British pound against the dollar, euro against the ruble, Australian dollar against the American dollar.

In the CURRENCY futures market, the leverage is approximately 1:20. For example (based on the ruble to dollar exchange rate for 2012, 1 $ = 30 rubles), let’s take a futures contract dollar against ruble (dollar/ruble), the guarantee on it is 1,500 rubles, it is traded in a lot of 1,000 dollars, i.e. . 30,000 rub. divide by 1500, the leverage will be 1:20, approximately the same with the Euro.

4) Futures contract for COMMODITIES

Br – Oil
GD – Gold
Sv – Silver
PT – Platinum
PD – Palladium
GR – Wheat
SA – Sugar (Oct, March)
SO – Soybeans
CN – Corn

Many people like to trade commodity futures because they are more understandable to them (what is gold, what is sugar) in contrast to abstract futures on stocks or indexes.

It is clear that let’s say in the summer, closer to autumn, there is no wheat harvest, which means that it will rise in price, which means it makes sense to buy a futures contract for wheat. Or oil reports have come out, oil reserves have decreased, oil prices will rise, which means you need to open a long position in oil futures, etc. Those. goods are something that can be mentally imagined, understood, and drawn conclusions.

Futures trading

LET'S GO TO PRACTICE

(QUIK terminal)

QUIK settings for futures trading

Setting up the necessary tables for work

As when working with stocks, there is a “Current table of parameters”, which we will need. We need the creation of the “Current Table of Parameters” and its settings so that later it would be convenient to use it to pull out the glass for the desired futures contract for trading.

Open the section (Tables – Current table – FORTS: Futures) – here we look for familiar names and add Row Headings to the list.

Row headers

BRZ4 – BREND oil
CHZ4 – (CHMF - Severstal)
CUZ4 – copper
EDZ4 – euro/dollar (euro against the dollar, i.e. play in favor of the euro)
EuZ4 – euro/ruble
GDZ4 – gold
GMZ4 – Norilsk Nickel
GZZ4 – Gazprom
LKZ4 – LUOIL
RIZ4 – RTS index futures
SiZ4 – dollar futures
VBZ4 – futures on VTB shares (they have a very low guarantee and they are quite calm - the best futures for beginners)

You can also add those tools that suit you.

For example

DSH4 – diesel fuel – if listed
CNH4 – corn – if listed
CTH4 – cotton – if listed
PDH4 – palladium – if listed

Column Headings

% change.closed
Base asset
Paper
GO pok.
GO cont.
Date of issue

% change.closed – change in closing price, when you open the terminal, the first thing that interests you is what happened to the market, whether it rose or fell, i.e. pay attention to the leaders of growth and decline, how the price has changed in percentage).

Base asset – the underlying asset, for those who are not well versed in tickers (abbreviated for futures contracts).

Paper – name of the paper.

GO pok. and GO cont. – GO of the buyer and GO of the seller, they can sometimes differ in one direction or another. Of course, you are interested in how much money you should have.

Date of issue – contract execution date

Until maturity
Lot
Price step
Closed price
Price last

Until maturity – how many days are left until maturity.

Lot – how much of the underlying asset is contained in one futures contract.

Price step – the minimum price step, the number of points by which the price will move (it is separate for each futures contract).

Closing price – closing price.

Price last – the price of the last transaction.

Click YES to create a table.

Selected options

Open limit pos.
Current clean position
Variational Margin
Accumulated income

Open position limit – limit of open positions, here we see the limit on client accounts, how much money we currently have.

Current clean position – current net position, this is the amount of collateral that we are currently using, i.e. Let's say you bought 10 futures contracts on the RTS index and you have somewhere around 100,000 in the form of your current net position.

Variats. Margin – variation margin, when you bought a futures or opened a short position on it, for example, the variation margin begins to be calculated immediately, you close this position, and you record this variation margin in your account, i.e. if you traded in a plus, you can immediately fix it, but if it goes into a minus, you can again sell the futures and then your minus will stop growing.

Accumulated income - accumulated income, trading time on the Moscow Exchange (you can see - Duration of the trading session on the futures and options market from 10:00-18:45, 19:00-23:50 Moscow time). Everything that was traded before lunch, until 13:55, is initially counted in the variation margin section, and then smoothly flows after 14:00 into the accumulated income section and the variation margin begins to be counted from scratch. Those. in order to understand how much you earned by 17:00 in the evening, you need the value of the variation margin, add it to the accumulated income, and that’s how much you got, how much you earned, or lost.

Selected options

Short name
Current clean position
Variational Margin

Short name– position size, i.e. number of futures contracts.

Current clean position – current net position

Variational Margin – how much we have been earning since the last break.

Click YES to create a table.

As in the first table, so in the second - we count money, but here in the short title section we see the position size, i.e. the number of futures contracts for a specific underlying asset. And the variation margin is how much we have been earning since the last break.

So you've ventured into futures trading and want to make it profitable! What knowledge is needed to start trading, what to do so as not to lose, bringing the transaction to the real rate and not to jeopardize the relationship with the broker? Where to begin? Stupid question - we always start from the beginning in everything. But WHAT should be the beginning of a futures seller? To begin with, it would be a good idea to get the necessary information and fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the issue. But sometimes this is not enough to successfully (I repeat, successfully, not anyhow) make money on the international derivatives market. Trading futures on the stock exchange is many hours of painstaking work.

Futures trading basics. Are you a newbie? Read it!

Let’s take investing in gold as an example, but all our arguments will fit into any derivatives market instrument: , platinum, and so on on the list. First, let's identify the required tool. For this purpose, we use the two largest exchange holdings: CME and ICE. We are looking for a menu item called “Products”. We select the “Metals” subsection and in the column that opens we look for gold, it is designated as “GC Gold”. By clicking on this designation, you will automatically be taken to a page that opens with a link to the contact specification. This table contains a lot of universal data on futures. As you can see, profitable futures trading is an activity that requires knowledge, skills and abilities. However, you cannot do without luck, no matter how naive it may sound.

Find out information about the liquidity of futures with delivery

The basics of futures trading don't stop there. Next, you need to find out information about the liquidity of the delivery futures - this is important, since at the same time there can be more than two dozen gold contracts with different delivery dates in the specification line. To identify the most actively traded one, you need to go to the “” section presented on our website. Here, in addition to months, you can immediately view the exchange value. On the left you will see sections, select “Metals” from them, and in the table that opens when you click on the section, select the “Gold” line. You will be given 20 gold contracts with quotes for five years in advance. In the “Volume” column you need to find the largest volume. It’s only at first that everything seems complicated and almost alien. If you intend to seriously engage in futures trading, you will definitely understand all the intricacies and nuances. The next most necessary knowledge is the closing day of trading and the start date of betting on the futures you have chosen. This point is especially important if delivery is scheduled not in a couple of months, but very soon. This knowledge will help you not to waste time and not be left with your nose, that is, with a contract in your hands a couple of hours before its cancellation. If events do not develop for the better, you risk closing on an illiquid market, and even with gigantic spreads - this is in the best case, and in the worst case... in the worst case, you will have to rack your brains and think about where to put the box with gold bars and how to pay .

Financial side of the issue

It is necessary to decide on the number of contracts to be purchased. You need to remember that there should always be a reserve of funds in your account, so to speak, in case of emergency, if at the end of the transaction it turns out not to be in your favor. In the derivatives market, these calculations are carried out on the basis of so-called margin deposits. Once you open a position on a contract, a fixed amount is frozen in the account, determined by the exchange. This amount will not be available while you are the owner of a fixed-term contract. As soon as it closes, the funds will be released.

Futures trading times – keep an eye on the clock and be mindful of time differences

We do not advise you to look at the collateral on the exchange website, by God, you could break your eyes! We recommend you our resource, on the pages of which you can familiarize yourself with an almost intuitively simple table of margin margins for the most popular contracts. So that you don’t have to look for gold futures for a long time, let’s immediately indicate its location - it is listed in the COMEX section - in the part of the CME that historically deals with precious metals. Don't assume that futures trading is a 24/7 activity. They work with breaks and varying activities. Look on the exchange website in the “Specifications” section for trading hours – “Hours”, be sure to convert them to local time. Trading on a gold contract takes place with a 45-minute break: in Chicago this time is from 15 minutes past five to five in the evening. Don't forget about the difference with Moscow - it is 9 hours. It is worth noting that the time of the most active electronic trading in futures is almost identical to the time of classical open trading on the exchange floor. Chicago Exchange floor trading schedule: weekdays Moscow time: from 7:20 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or from 4:20 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. What else does a newbie to futures trading need to know? You will learn to use data from the specification and calculate the cost of trading leverage, contract and minimum price step. The lines “Minimum Fluctuation” and “Contract Size” will help you with this. Understand the volume of gold contracts, one contract is one hundred troy ounces - that’s about 3 kg 100 grams. A minimal movement in the price of gold in any direction will result in a “quantum” change in your account of $10 per 100 ounces per 10 cents. Note that most instruments on the derivatives market have a “step” from 5 to 15 dollars per tick. Next, you need to look at the dimension of the quote; to do this, pay attention to the line “Price Quotation” - it shows the quotes published on the exchange, as well as the cost of an ounce in foreign currency. To this day, 1 ounce is valued at $1672.9. On the “Quotes” page you can view this and other quotes. Remember the information about the full cost of the contract - it is equal to the quote multiplied by the volume. In other words, one “gold” futures from your account is equal to an amount exceeding $167,000. So, in this article we tried to present information on futures trading as simply as possible. We sincerely hope that you find the knowledge you gained from this article helpful!

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As a rule, when talking about securities, the main association is shares. However, those who have experience working on stock exchanges know very well that the volume of trading in derivative securities (futures also includes them) is orders of magnitude greater than the volume of trading in shares. Of course, the latter have their own attractive qualities, but we will talk about futures trading specifically.

Futures contract and its characteristics

This is a security that obliges the parties to purchase and sell goods in the future at an agreed price. This contract is concluded for:

• insurance against random price fluctuations at the moment when the actual purchase/sale of the goods specified in it (hereinafter referred to as the underlying asset) will take place;
• carrying out speculative operations.

In the first case, the futures contract is brought to delivery; in the second, it can be terminated at any time.

The underlying assets can be: agricultural products, gold, oil, etc., as well as various financial instruments (stocks, Forex currency, etc.). Note that settlement futures trading is currently developed. Here the underlying asset is a certain value, for example, the MICEX index. In this case, the difference between the quote of the concluded transaction and the quote formed at the time of execution is paid.

Futures are standardized for trading on the exchange. When concluding a transaction, only the price of the underlying asset and the number of futures contracts are established. All other characteristics are specified in the specifications on the trading exchange:

• type of underlying asset (gold, currency, etc.) and the number of its units;
• execution date and delivery condition date;
• minimum price step and its cost;
• the amount of the guarantee (this value may change).

Carrying out trading operations

For beginners, it is very important to understand all the procedural aspects of futures trading.

It all starts with the trading participant entering money into the trading system on the exchange, after which orders can be submitted.

Let us note an important point. When futures are traded, positions are opened and closed. The contract is not being purchased. No money is paid for it. Opening a futures position (for stocks, gold, currencies, etc.) results in money being blocked on the participant’s trading account opened on the exchange. The amount is determined as the product of the number of open positions by the amount of the guarantee specified in the contract specification. This is done to cover possible losses. Blocked money cannot be withdrawn or used for other transactions.

Positions are opened either in the direction of growth in the price of the underlying asset
(long position, long), or in the direction of its fall (short position, short).

Having decided to complete the operation, the participant closes the position. At the time of the transaction, the funds reserved by the trading system are unlocked.

The result of the operation (variation margin) is determined as the product of the minimum price step by the difference between the opening and closing quotes of the position and by the number of contracts participating in the operation. It will be positive if the price movement of the underlying asset was in the direction of opening the position.

For beginners, it is useful to know that the calculation of variation margin is carried out by the trading system on the exchange at current prices. This data is updated with high frequency and each participant receives it in near real time. At the end of the trading day, at the time of clearing, the received variation margin is credited to the participant’s trading account or debited from it. And he starts the new day with a renewed supply of funds.

This is where one of the main differences between the derivatives market and the stock market becomes clear - in the latter, changes in the trading account occur only as a result of transactions. When trading futures, even if not a single transaction was carried out during the trading day, the variation margin will be calculated due to changes in quotes. Which will lead to an increase or decrease in the trading account.

Note. In Forex, the situation with clearing is different, but the described scheme is fundamentally the same.

Where to work with futures

In our Russian reality there are the following possibilities. Futures trading takes place on the MICEX derivatives market, which was previously called FORTS (since it worked within the framework of the Russian trading system). The Internet also allows you to work on the international Forex market.

The MICEX (FORTS) has a large range of instruments. Their underlying assets:

• indices of RTS, MICEX and other exchanges;
• industry indices;
• securities;
• exchange rates, interest rates;
• commodities (oil, agricultural products, electricity), precious metals (gold, silver, platinum);
• weather.

In Forex, the main underlying assets are based on exchange rates. But the instruments there are also gold, oil, etc.

For beginners, you need to decide on which platform: MICEX (FORTS) or Forex it will work and futures on which underlying asset (commodities, currencies, indices, gold, etc.) to trade. After this, choose an intermediary through whom he will gain access to the auction and enter into an agreement with him.

Where to begin

Before you start trading directly, you need to prepare for it:

• think over the technical side;
• develop a scheme for working on the stock exchange and follow it in a disciplined manner;
• develop a sequence for practical mastery of working with futures.

The first is hardware and software and communications. Working with futures involves high risks. Therefore, it is necessary to have a main computer and a backup (mobile or at least tablet) with a trading program installed and connected on them, allowing you to carry out operations in the event of technical problems or when traveling. When planning the latter, you must remember that work on the MICEX runs from 10.00 to 23.50, but Forex, where currencies and gold are traded, operates around the clock.

Since the connection with the trading system is via the Internet, reservation is also necessary through this channel. Moreover, one of the backup channels must be using mobile Internet. But there is no particular hope for telephone communication. In acute situations, it is “clogged.”

There are quite a lot of trading programs. But the most common one is QUIK.
It is convenient and can be easily adjusted to suit specific interests. QUIK works with major technical analysis programs. The mobile version of QUIK saves you when you only have a smartphone at your disposal.

Secondly, the risks require careful consideration of your own scheme explaining how to trade futures. The main thing in it is what to do if the direction of price movement does not coincide with expectations. There are many recommendations, but you will have to “customize” them to suit yourself by trying them in practice. And in order for the lessons of these trials to “crystallize” into experience and be embodied in effective operations, one should be extremely disciplined when implementing the adopted scheme. Discipline does not mean “stupid” adherence. All deviations must be thoughtful.

Third, you should not immediately start trading those futures that are “heard of.” On the MICEX, these are futures on the RTS or MICEX index, exchange rates, on Forex, these are futures on major currencies, gold. Having created the main trading table in QUIK, you need to find a security with a small guarantee, high liquidity and low volatility (for example, futures on VTB shares). And use it to work out a scheme of actions and configure QUIK for it, gain experience and temper your nerves, gaining the necessary professionalism. The latter is especially necessary for working on Forex, where the main underlying assets are currencies and gold.

What are the risks?

To clarify this aspect, which is extremely important for beginners who want to understand how to trade futures, let me remind you that in this market, unlike the stock market, the recalculation of the trading account size does not depend on the execution of transactions. The presence of an asset already leads to periodic revaluation, as described above. It is expressed in two points:

changing the amount of guarantee collateral and accruing/writing off variation margin. All this is reflected in the amount of available funds in the trading account. All this data can be seen in QUIK.

If the balance of available funds is negative, then you need to:

• or replenish it by introducing money from outside;
• or reduce the size of the active position.

Through QUIK the participant will receive the corresponding requirement. If it is not fulfilled, the position will be reduced forcibly.

The change in the amount of the guarantee occurs for two reasons:

• due to changes in quotes (in accordance with their rise or fall) - but these are small fluctuations;
• by decision of the exchange, when volatility “goes off scale” (in Forex this is carried out according to an algorithm).

So on March 3, 2014, during the trading day on FORTS, the size of the guarantee was increased 4 times.

Now the main danger is clear. Due to an increase in the size of the guarantee, some positions may be lost even if a positive variation margin is obtained. But this is a case when lost profit is not a loss. The situation is much worse if the variation margin is negative. Losses of an asset (futures for currency, gold, shares) can be catastrophic. And the reverse movement of quotes even the next day will be little consolation. This danger is very real for both FORTS and Forex.