1) Futures Offer: Consider The Number of Tradable Assets

When considering whether a futures broker is worth a shot, you should look into the number of financial assets that it offers.

Normally, futures brokers provide traders with approximately 50 to 60 futures products to choose from. They also offer various asset classes besides futures, such as Options, CFDs, ETFs, Company Stocks, etc.

Particularly, at some futures brokers, there are over 200 futures products in dozens of asset classes available. In terms of the number of tradable assets, they are ideal brokers as you will get more opportunities to strike and profit when having more trading options.

Whether a futures broker offers custodial accounts is also an important factor that you should consider. A custodial account is a savings account that an adult controls for a minor under the age of 18. This account is accessible via a mutual fund company, financial institution, or brokerage firm.

The minimum required to open a custodial account at futures brokers varies from $0 to $10,000.

• The number of financial assets that a futures broker offers is an important element in comparison.
• The number of asset classes available is also interesting.
• You should consider whether a futures broker offers custodial accounts as well.

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2) Futures Costs: Consider The Following Three Types of Fees

There are 3 types of fees that you should take into account:

Trading fees: Of course, lower futures trading fees are more beneficial. The average fee in the futures industry is about $0.60. A few low-cost futures brokers only charge to traders $0.25 per contract or per side. Meanwhile, there are some brokers charging relatively high trading fees: $2.25 to $3.50 per contract or per side.

Fees for additional services: At most futures brokers, accessing research data, platforms, or online education is free. However, if you use brokers’ trading assistance, you will usually have to pay an additional fee which is approximately $25 per contract.

Custodial account fees: These fees are charged annually and vary from $20 to $50. If a future broker charges higher custodial account fees than this average cost, you should consider whether or not that broker’s services are worth that cost.

Besides fees, you should also consider the futures broker’s day-trade margin. Almost all futures brokers’ offered day-trade margin varies from 25% to 50% on select contracts and 0% on most other ones.

• Fees are an important element that you should consider when choosing a futures broker.
• There are 3 types of fees: trading fees, fees for additional services, and custodial account fees.
• You should also consider the future broker’s day-trade margin.

3) Accounts: Consider The Types of Accounts Offered

Good futures brokers usually give to traders many types of accounts to choose from. Below are the popular account types:

• Individual Retirement Account (IRA): This is an account established at a brokerage firm or financial institution, enabling an individual to save for retirement with tax-free growth or on a tax-deferred basis. There are 3 major types of IRAs: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA.
• Individual and Joint account: An Individual account is much more flexible compared to IRAs as it allows you to cash your money out at any time. A Joint account is similar to an Individual account, except that it has 2 owners.
• Trust account: A Trust account is used to invest funds for a beneficiary which may be an individual or a group.

Some futures brokers may offer VIP accounts which usually have special benefits. However, going along with those benefits is higher account minimum. If you have large funds to invest, you should consider using VIP accounts.

• Good futures brokers usually give to traders many types of accounts to choose from.
• There are 6 popular accounts types: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Trust, Individual, and Joint accounts.
• Some futures brokers may offer VIP accounts which usually have special benefits.

4) Futures Platforms & Mobile Trading: Consider The Professionalism of The Trading Platform

The trading platform is a crucial element to consider when picking a futures broker. A poor futures trading platform won’t help you achieve good results.

Below are the signs of a good futures trading platform:

• Professional and easy-to-use interface.
• Fast order execution: Trading using a platform with fast order execution will decrease the odds of missing trade opportunities. Fast order execution also helps you get real-time market prices.
• Powerful analytical tools integrated.
• Research data & analysis attached (optional): It will be better for traders if there are researches and analysis from experts attached in the platform. Traders can quickly refer to those researches and analysis to reinforce their trading plans.

Besides considering the abovementioned elements, you should also take into account whether the futures broker offers mobile platforms. Having a trading platform on your phone will help you catch trade opportunities from anywhere.

• The trading platform is a crucial element you need to consider when choosing a futures broker.
• There are 4 signs of a good futures trading platform: professional and easy-to-use interface, fast order execution, powerful analytical tools attached, and research data & analysis available.
• Whether the futures broker offers mobile platforms is also an important element in comparison.

5) Usability of the Website: Professional Design Indicates Reliability

The website of a futures broker speaks up many things about that broker. If you enter into a futures broker’s official website and see a poor design, it’s pretty sure that broker isn’t serious in long-term business. Conversely, reliable and reputable futures brokers usually have very professional websites with user-friendly interfaces.

Your first impression when seeing the futures broker’s website will tell you whether that broker is trusted or not. However, you should also answer the following questions to be sure about your perspective:

• Is the broker’s website clearly and logically arranged?
• Is it easy to find information about the broker’s offered products and services on their website?
• Is it easy to find the broker’s details like physical address, contact and legal information?

Professional futures brokers always try to make their websites simple and easy to use. Besides, they also put contact information in eye-catching places to help traders easily reach their specialists.

• The website of a futures broker speaks up many things about that broker.
• Good futures brokers usually have professional and easy-to-use websites.
• You should consider whether it’s easy to find broker’s details on their website.

6) Customer Support: Consider Support Team’s Responsibility

When selecting a futures broker, you should also see how easy you can reach that broker’s customer care team. Normally, professional futures brokers put their contact information in eye-catching places, helping traders easily contact their support team in case traders have questions.

There are usually 4 ways for you to contact a futures broker’s specialists:

Phone: This is traders’ most favorite way since a direct call can help solve all of their questions quickly. How fast the broker’s support team responds to your call should be taken into account.

Live Chat: Some brokers offer Live chat, while some don’t. However, Live Chat is a good way for traders to reach a broker’s specialists, and we appreciate the brokers providing traders with this option.

Email/Mail: The faster a broker’s support team replies to your email, the better that broker is.

Social Media: The popular channels offered by futures brokers include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. As per above, the faster a broker’s support team replies to your messages, the better that broker is.

• How easy you can reach a broker’s support team is an important element in comparison.
• Professional futures brokers usually put their contact information in eye-catching places.
• The faster a broker replies to your emails and messages, the better that broker is.

7) Methods of Payment: Consider The Following 3 Elements

There are 3 elements that you should consider when looking into a future broker’s payment methods, including available methods for deposits/withdrawals, fees, and minimum deposit/withdrawal.

Available methods for deposits/withdrawals: Futures brokers normally offer traders 3 ways to fund their accounts as follows:

• Bank Transfer: This is traders’ most favorite transferring method, which normally takes 3 days to complete. This method is low cost.
• Credit/Debit cards: This is the method for traders loving instant deposits.
• Mailing a check: This method is for traders with large deposits. The transferring time is usually between 1 and 5 business days.

Deposits/withdrawals fees: Futures brokers usually don’t charge any fees for deposits; these fees are charged by the third party. However, brokers may charge fees for withdrawals.

Minimum deposit/withdrawal: The usual minimum deposit of brokers varies from $0 to $5,000. Most brokers require no minimum withdrawal.

• You should check available methods for deposits/withdrawals, fees, and minimum deposit/withdrawal of a broker.
• There are usually 3 ways for futures traders to fund their accounts: Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, Mailing a Check.
• Most brokers require a minimum deposit between $0 and $5,000, and no minimum withdrawal.

8) Additional Offers: Consider Bonuses and Other Offers

There are lots of types of promotions that futures brokers can offer traders. Some of them include deposit bonuses, commission-free trades, free training, trading signals, or demo account.

Deposit bonuses: You will receive a free bonus when making a certain deposit. The minimum deposit to receive bonuses may vary by brokers. Some brokers even offer traders deposit bonuses of up to $2,500. Note that these bonuses are normally for trading purposes only, however some companies may allow you to withdraw if you meet their requirements.

Commission-free trades: You will receive a number of commission-free trades when making a certain deposit. These free trades are usually usable for 24 months.

Free training: This includes free webinars, personal training, investment books & videos, researches & analysis, etc.

Trading signals: You may receive free trading signals via email or phone. The better form of this promotion is that you will be assisted directly by financial experts.

Demo account: This is a type of account that allows you to trade for free. You can use demo account to test the broker’s services, your trading strategies & expert advisors, etc.

• Taking futures brokers’ offers into account is necessary in comparison.
• There are a variety of offers available: deposit bonuses, commission-free trades, free training, trading signals, or demo account.
• Deposit bonuses usually go along with certain withdrawal requirements.

9) Regulation & Deposit Protection: Consider Deposit Insurance, Regulation, and Security

Regulation is a highly important element in broker comparison. Your money will be unsafe and insecure If you trade with an unlicensed futures broker.

All of the futures brokers recommended by Asktrader are fully certified so you can rest assure to pick your favorite one.

Deposit protection is also an important aspect of comparison. Most futures brokers are members of FINRA/SIPC, whose duties is to protect against the loss of cash and securities held by a customer at its member brokerage firm. In an unlikely event of SIPC-member broker bankruptcy, you can claim compensation of up to $500,000 (including a $250,000 limit for cash). Therefore, it’s important to find whether or not the futures broker is a FINRA/SIPC member.

Last but not least, you should check a broker’s data security for the safety of your personal information. If the broker uses innovative security technology like Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), you can put it into your basket.

• Regulation plays an important role in comparison.
• You should also check whether or not you are offered a deposit protection.
• The broker’s data security should also be taken into account.

10) Awards: Award-Winning Brokers Should Be Prioritized

Awards and recognitions also play a significant role when you choose your futures broker because they prove the broker’s core values.

A futures broker may win many awards. However, what you should look to are the following factors:

• Does this broker consecutively win awards? (Consecutively winning achievements demonstrates that broker is good)
• What types of awards has this broker won?

Not all awards are equally telling about a futures broker’s quality. Hence, regarding the second question mentioned above, you need to differentiate the types of awards that the broker has won. Awards like the Top 50 Website don’t speak up much about a futures broker’s services; instead, awards like the Best Futures Provider does much better.

Looking into trade press information about a broker is also a necessary deed in comparison. Reputable futures brokers which have been in the market for years are usually mentioned in the press.

Nevertheless, information on Forums is usually unreliable because it’s one-sided.

• Awards and recognitions are significant elements in broker comparison.
• The awards a futures broker has won should be related to the services it provides.
• You should also look into trade press information about a broker.

The Futures Market: One of The World’s Largest Markets

The Futures Market, so-called Futures Exchange, is one of the world’s largest markets. Its operation is quite similar to that of an auction market, in which participants will buy and sell futures contracts and commodities at a specified price for delivery on a specified future date. The equilibrium futures price can be either lower or higher compared to the expected future price.

According to the Futures Industry Association (FIA), there were about 25 billion contracts executed in 2017. The table below shows how futures markets have developed as time progressed:

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Source: FIA

Futures contracts are very helpful to traders. They not only help producers with risky output avoid market volatility and reduce the risk, but also help commodity stockholders get effective insurance at a low cost. With big potentials, futures markets will definitely grow in the near future.

Using The Futures Broker Comparison To Find Your Suitable Broker

Picking the right broker is the very first step when you step in the futures world. A trusted broker that suits your individual requirements will be very beneficial for you in the long-term.

The process of selecting your suitable futures broker among dozens of brokers out there will take many steps. However, if you use the Asktraders’ filter, that process will be simplified much.

Below is the wrap checklist that you should base on to find the right futures broker:

• Futures offers
• Costs
• Offered accounts
• Trading platforms
• Usability of the website
• Customer support
• Available payment methods
• Additional offers
• Regulation, deposit protection, and data security
• Awards and recognitions

With Asktraders’ filter, choosing your ideal broker is at your fingertips. All brokers in our list have been carefully reviewed to make sure they are safe and secure to invest with. Therefore, what you need to do is just choosing the criteria that fit your needs, and our filter will do the rest. Asktraders also offers detailed futures broker reviews, helping you get a comprehensive outlook on the broker you want to invest with.

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