This segment features a discussion about the different ETFs, and their corresponding options, that are designed to follow the price action of various futures contracts, making them more accessible to smaller accounts. They provide opportunities for new traders and smaller sized accounts to trade what otherwise might be too high of a jump or out of reach.
Many futures contracts are excellent trading vehicles. They are liquid and provide good speculative possibilities. One downside is that the the large notional sizes often make them intimidating products for new traders. There is an alternative though for those with limited capital. There are exchange traded funds (ETFs) which are designed to mimic the moves of the futures. They tend to have a smaller notional value and often also have liquid options. ETFs, just like stocks, are quoted in terms of dollars per share. The options are quoted the same as stock options too.
Futures contracts are designed for the markets they serve. There is no uniform size between all futures contracts. That means the tick size often differs and thus the notional value differs. The first step to finding both is to know the multiplier value. An example for finding the notional value is shown using the e-mini S&P 500 (/ES). The E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract /ES, currently is trading for 2078.75. The multiplier for /ES is $50, meaning a 1 point move results in $50 P/L swing per contract. The notional value calculation is 2078.75 x $50 = $103,937.50
That large notional size can be thought about in terms of the equivalent ETF. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is trading for $208. The calculation then is $103,937.50 / $208 = 500 which means that one /ES contract is the equivalent of 500 shares of SPY.
A table was displayed of the futures of the S&P 500 (/ES), the Nasdaq (/NQ), the Russell 2000 (/TF), Crude Oil (/CL), Natural Gas(/NG), Gold (/GC) and Silver (/SI). The table showed the dollar point, current quote and current notional value. A second table displayed all the equivalent ETFs for each of these futures including their share price, equivalent amount of shares, and how many at-the-money (ATM) to control 1 future. The slides, of course, are available to registered users.
A great way for a beginning trader, or one with a smaller sized account, to look at the ETFs and their options is in terms of a beta weighted delta of the future. How much will a position in the ETF or ETF option move in comparison to the future is easily calculated. A final table displayed the position, position delta and /ES beta weighted delta for a long position in the /ES and then several long SPY and SPY option positions. This can be applied to other futures and ETFs in the same fashion.
Takeaways: If a futures product is too large for your account size, trading the equivalent ETF on a smaller scale can be a viable replacement
Watch this segment of "tasty BITES" with Tom Sosnoff and Tony Battista for a discussion on futures and their equivalent ETFs as well as a great cheat to improve your trading.
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