Futures Brokers

Best Futures Brokers

Investing in the futures market can make you money if you’re a trader or investor wanting to spread out your investments. But understanding this market isn’t easy. That’s where futures brokers come in. In this article, we’ll explain what futures brokers do and how they do it. Whether you’re new to trading or already know a bit, this article will get you going with the best future brokers for a better financial future.

What are futures brokers? And how do they work?

Before we talk about the best future broker, let’s first understand what it is and how it works. Futures brokers are middlemen who help people or businesses get involved in the futures market. They link buyers and sellers of futures contracts and offer services like access to market data and help with trades. They guide clients through the complicated futures market by sharing market insights, doing trades, and managing risk.

Futures brokers charge a fee for their services. In return, they give clients better access to the market and professional knowledge than they could get on their own. They play a key role in setting prices and making it easier for clients to buy and sell futures contracts by providing liquidity to the futures market.

10 Best Futures Brokers

1. Interactive brokers

Interactive Brokers (IB) is at the top of our list. It is an American company and one of the best futures brokers. IB operates the largest electronic trading platform in the United States based on the number of daily average revenue trades. The company brokers various financial instruments such as stocks, options, futures, EFPs, futures options, forex, bonds, funds, and some cryptocurrencies. Its headquarters are in Greenwich, Connecticut, and it has offices in four cities. IB is the largest subsidiary of the brokerage group Interactive Brokers Group, Inc., founded by Chairman Thomas Peterffy, who was an early innovator in computer-assisted trading.

The company offers fully disclosed, omnibus, and non-disclosed broker accounts, and it provides correspondent clearing services to 200 introducing brokers worldwide as of 2014. As of February 2022, IB serves 1.76 million customers, with US$348.5 billion in customer equity. Interactive Brokers Group also owned 40 percent of the now-closed futures exchange OneChicago, and it is an equity partner and founder of the Boston Options Exchange.

2. TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is a well-known futures broker. It’s a stockbroker that provides an electronic trading platform for buying and selling financial assets like common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, mutual funds, fixed income investments, margin lending, and cash management services. The company makes money from interest on margin balances, commissions for executing orders, and payment for order flow.

3. Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American company that does futures trading. It offers banking, investing, and other services like consulting and advice for managing wealth. It serves both regular people and big companies. The company has more than 380 branches, mostly in big cities in the United States and the United Kingdom. It’s the tenth largest bank in the US based on how much money it has.

By December 31, 2023, it had $8.5 trillion in client money, and it managed accounts for 34.8 million people who actively trade, 5.2 million workers’ retirement plans, and 1.8 million regular banking accounts. It also has a special fund for people who want to donate stocks or bonds. The company started in San Francisco, California, and now its main office is in Westlake, Texas.

4. Plus500

We picked Plus500 in our futures brokers list for a few reasons. Plus500 offers various futures contracts to trade, including commodity futures and index futures, giving traders plenty of choices. The Plus500 platform is user-friendly, especially for beginners. It has an easy-to-use interface and straightforward trading tools, which new traders appreciate.

Plus500 gives traders tools like stop loss, trailing stop, and take profit to manage risks and safeguard investments. Plus500 follows the rules set by relevant authorities, which is important for many traders when picking a broker.

5. NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader is a famous futures broker. It’s well-known for its easy-to-use platform, which is great for people with small accounts who want reliability and advanced features. You can customize the interface, use advanced charting tools, and set up automated trading. Also, NinjaTrader lets you trade in different markets and use different types of orders, which many traders like.

6. TradeStation

TradeStation is a futures broker for experienced traders with small accounts. It has strong trading tools and lots of research resources. You can customize its platform, use advanced charts, and trade automatically. TradeStation offers over 50 futures products and different order types, so many active traders like it.

It’s great for experienced traders with small accounts who want advanced features and research. But it might not be good for beginners because of its high minimum deposit and complex platform.

7. Firstrade

Firstrade is a top futures broker because it has low trading fees and an easy-to-use interface. This makes it great for people with small accounts who want something simple and affordable. Firstrade lets you customize your platform and gives you real-time market information. You can trade over 50 futures products with Firstrade. They also have a feature where you can practice trading without using real money. Plus, they offer different ways to place orders, which traders really like.

8. eToro

Many new traders with small accounts like using eToro. It’s easy to use and has features like social trading and copy trading. You can trade futures and customize the platform with advanced charts. Also, you can try out your strategies with a demo account before using real money.

9. IG

Finally, IG is a global futures broker. It offers a secure platform, educational resources, and competitive trading fees. It’s for traders with small accounts. You can customize the platform and use advanced charting tools. You also get access to over 100 futures products. IG gives you a demo account and different order types. That’s why many traders like it. It’s great for small account holders who want a secure platform with educational resources and good fees. But if you’re a beginner, the high minimum deposit and limited order types might not be right for you.

10. Tickmill

Tickmill is a platform where you can invest in various things like CFDs, precious metals, stocks, commodities, options, and futures. It offers analysis and trading tools that help you manage your investments in the futures market easily. Some of the most popular futures are S&P 500 micro e-mini, NASDAQ 100 micro e-mini, and micro Bitcoin futures. You can invest in futures with low fees and clear commissions. The platform is fast and seamless for high-volume traders, who are always busy.

Pros and Cons of Using a Futures Broker

Conclusion

In conclusion, Interactive Brokers is the best futures broker because they provide a lot of products, a wide variety of properties to change, competitive fees, risk control tools and great customer support. Buying and selling futures is beneficial for speculation, growing profits and protective investments.

While brokers offer access to many futures markets from a single account, they struggle with inconsistent customer service, often taking an hour or more to respond. Therefore, whether you are new to buying and selling or experienced, it is vital to have a solid approach to futures trading and choose the right broker for the best results.