Options and Futures....

[uzzi]

Hi all,

I've been investing/trading in shares for quite some time (on the side). Made some money, as well as lost some...

But now I want to have a go at playing the markets volatility as opposed to having a specific view as to where certain companys/markets are going...

Therefore I want to invest in Options (Straddles, Strangles etc) in order to try and profit from some volatility.

My question is...Does anyone know/recommend where I can trade options or futures? I want to make it clear that I'm not looking to do spread betting at all, simply want to trade listed options/futures. Not sure if it can be done by an individual investor, but I hope it can!

I currently use Share.com for my investing in shares and ETFs, but unfortunately they don't offer Derivative trading.

Any help/direction/advice is appriciated!

Usman

p.s. Merry Christmas :-)

[Simpo Two]

Send it to me. In return evey quarter I'll send you a piece of paper with some graphs on it

[ShadownINja]

Is igmarkets.com any use?

The number of times I recommend them, I ought to be on commission.

PS are you just interested because you heard you could make easy money or do you want to do it because you're already making a killing trading shares and want an extra edge to boost your profit? I hear that you can make a lot of money trading options but that must surely mean you can lose even more if you don't know what you're doing. In other words, they're suitable for profitable traders who already know how to trade well.

Edited by ShadownINja on Friday 26th December 11:36

[ATM]

I read an article on trade2win about strangles and straddles and it confused the f out of me.

[uzzi]

ShadownINja said:

Is igmarkets.com any use?

The number of times I recommend them, I ought to be on commission.

PS are you just interested because you heard you could make easy money or do you want to do it because you're already making a killing trading shares and want an extra edge to boost your profit? I hear that you can make a lot of money trading options but that must surely mean you can lose even more if you don't know what you're doing. In other words, they're suitable for profitable traders who already know how to trade well.

Edited by ShadownINja on Friday 26th December 11:36

Thanks ShadownInja...

Unfortunately IGmarkets only does spread betting or CFDs...doesn't offer the ability to trade futures/options.

Theres a couple of reasons why I'm interested in having a go at options trading...

Firstly, yes, I have made some good returns % wise and want to try a different angle. (Don't get me wrong, I've also lost some money as well!).

Secondly, I've (somehow) managed to secure a graduate job in a large investment bank for equity derivatives (Front office) and wanted to get a little more hands on practice/learning prior to joining.

Finally, yes, I imagine you can make a lot of money trading options (if you're lucky), but what I like is that fact that when you BUY options, the MAXIMUM you can ever lose is the premium paid for the option.

Anyway...back to my search!

Anyone else?

[limpsfield]

uzzi said:

ShadownINja said:

Is igmarkets.com any use?

The number of times I recommend them, I ought to be on commission.

PS are you just interested because you heard you could make easy money or do you want to do it because you're already making a killing trading shares and want an extra edge to boost your profit? I hear that you can make a lot of money trading options but that must surely mean you can lose even more if you don't know what you're doing. In other words, they're suitable for profitable traders who already know how to trade well.

Edited by ShadownINja on Friday 26th December 11:36

Thanks ShadownInja...

Unfortunately IGmarkets only does spread betting or CFDs...doesn't offer the ability to trade futures/options.


Anyone else?

IG Markets and Index do allow you to do options. If you were spreadbetting on for example the FTSEJan 4200 option and the market was e.g. 100 and you did £10 per point your maximum loss is going to be £1,000. Usually, the spreads are pretty tight - although the UK option market as a whole is not the most liquid so you may want to consider the US

However, it sounds like you have not done much before with this if anything so I would suggest if you are going to do it you do it very small.

[uzzi]

limpsfield said:

uzzi said:

ShadownINja said:

Is igmarkets.com any use?

The number of times I recommend them, I ought to be on commission.

PS are you just interested because you heard you could make easy money or do you want to do it because you're already making a killing trading shares and want an extra edge to boost your profit? I hear that you can make a lot of money trading options but that must surely mean you can lose even more if you don't know what you're doing. In other words, they're suitable for profitable traders who already know how to trade well.

Edited by ShadownINja on Friday 26th December 11:36

Thanks ShadownInja...

Unfortunately IGmarkets only does spread betting or CFDs...doesn't offer the ability to trade futures/options.


Anyone else?

IG Markets and Index do allow you to do options. If you were spreadbetting on for example the FTSEJan 4200 option and the market was e.g. 100 and you did £10 per point your maximum loss is going to be £1,000. Usually, the spreads are pretty tight - although the UK option market as a whole is not the most liquid so you may want to consider the US

However, it sounds like you have not done much before with this if anything so I would suggest if you are going to do it you do it very small.

Thanks for your reply limpsfield.

I was looking to actually trade options rather than spread bet on their price movemnts.

I'm starting to think that it's not possible for a mere individual such as myself to invest in options!

You're right about me not having any experience in actually trading derivatives with my own money - I've never done it before! Only ever done shares....

[g4ry13]

Use IB to trade options - they're highly reputable so I shouldn't imagine you'd have any problems with them for options. You'll probably need decent capital though as they're a serious outfit and something beyond the level for you I imagine.

Which Bank is your job supposed to be with?

Edited by g4ry13 on Saturday 27th December 18:35

[limpsfield]

uzzi said:

limpsfield said:

uzzi said:

ShadownINja said:

Is igmarkets.com any use?

The number of times I recommend them, I ought to be on commission.

PS are you just interested because you heard you could make easy money or do you want to do it because you're already making a killing trading shares and want an extra edge to boost your profit? I hear that you can make a lot of money trading options but that must surely mean you can lose even more if you don't know what you're doing. In other words, they're suitable for profitable traders who already know how to trade well.

Edited by ShadownINja on Friday 26th December 11:36

Thanks ShadownInja...

Unfortunately IGmarkets only does spread betting or CFDs...doesn't offer the ability to trade futures/options.


Anyone else?

IG Markets and Index do allow you to do options. If you were spreadbetting on for example the FTSEJan 4200 option and the market was e.g. 100 and you did £10 per point your maximum loss is going to be £1,000. Usually, the spreads are pretty tight - although the UK option market as a whole is not the most liquid so you may want to consider the US

However, it sounds like you have not done much before with this if anything so I would suggest if you are going to do it you do it very small.

Thanks for your reply limpsfield.

I was looking to actually trade options rather than spread bet on their price movemnts.

I'm starting to think that it's not possible for a mere individual such as myself to invest in options!

You're right about me not having any experience in actually trading derivatives with my own money - I've never done it before! Only ever done shares....

SPread betting on them and trading them is the same thing. But if you wanted to buy the physical exhange traded options for whatever reason then just google futures brokers and there are plenty out there who would be falling over to get your commission

[Somewhatfoolish]

uzzi I'd recommend you don't trade them before you start your job lest you pick up some bad habits...

Also remember the implied vol in the prices at the moment is bloody high - you have a fair bit of downside going long vol at present... And do you really want to short vol?