Terra Nova offers futures trading, along with equities and options, all from the RealTick^® platform. Trade a wide array of futures products including E-mini Stock Index Futures—electronic mini versions of the CME’s leading stock index futures contracts.

Our link to the CME’s Globex electronic trading network provides a fast and efficient method for entering futures orders and receiving executions. (Market volatility and volume may delay system access and trade execution.) RealTick’s swift quote dissemination and advanced charting features put you in the driver’s seat, where you can react quickly and make the best decisions possible.

E-mini futures offer the following benefits to traders:

Trade Futures on a Level Playing Field

E-mini futures trade on the CME’s Globex^® electronic trading system. These futures trades are matched on a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) price algorithm. That means no one has an advantage over you in the execution of your order. All orders for these futures products trade in this one centralized market. You do not need to worry about where to route your order for the best fill.

Immediate Access Using RealTick

RealTick gives you immediate access to the CME Globex futures markets. This platform brings speed and tools to the futures markets.

High Liquidity

The market depths and volumes of E-mini futures are among the highest of any traded instruments. They are clearly the product of choice for active traders. Daily volumes for the S&P 500 E-mini have been in excess of 2,000,000 contracts with record volume in excess of 4,000,000 contracts traded in a day. All this trading takes place at the single location of the CME Globex matching engine. You do not need to search for the greatest source of liquidity to execute your trade.

E-mini S&P volume dwarfs the volume of the competing SPY. One S&P 500 E-mini contract is equivalent to 500 shares of SPYs. That means the recent average daily futures volumes of 2,000,000 contracts is equivalent to a daily volume of 1 billion shares of SPYs. SPY average daily volume is only a fraction of this amount.

Low Margins (Performance Bonds)

Margins in futures trading are known as Performance Bonds. Minimums are set by the exchange on which the contracts trade. The concept is to set the amount high enough to guarantee that the trader can cover the market moves likely in the short run on his position, yet low enough to not tie up excess capital. The result is that E-mini margins typically fall in the neighborhood of 10% of contract value.*

No Regulatory Restrictions on Account Sizes for Day Trading

There are no regulatory limits on account sizes for day trading in futures markets such as the $25,000 minimum necessary for day trading stocks.

No Restrictions on Short Sales

All purchases and sales are executed in the same manner. No distinction exists between a short and a long sale.

Daily Marked-to-Market Settlement

Margins are released as soon as a trade is liquidated. All realized & unrealized funds are immediately available for use as margin or can be withdrawn without waiting for a T+3 settlement.

Low Commission Cost

As an active trader, you view your trading as you would a business. You are always looking for ways to reduce your operating costs to help increase your profits. One of the attractive features of E-mini trading is the relative lower cost compared to traditional stock trading. For example, 1 E-mini NASDAQ 100 contract is equivalent to 800 shares of QQQs. What would your cost be for trading 800 QQQs?

*Terra Nova or its Clearing Firm may require a larger initial performance bond. CME initial performance and maintenance bonds may also vary over time. The degree of leverage that is often obtainable in futures trading can work against you as well as for you and as a result, can lead to large losses as well as gains.