HELPING FUTURES TRADERS SINCE 1997

Source: National Futures Association

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Futures Markets: What, Why & Who
3. The Market Participants - Hedgers
4. The Market Participants - Speculators
5. What is a Futures Contract?
6. The Process of Price Discovery
7. After the Closing Bell
8. The Arithmetic of Futures Trading
9. Trading
10. Margins
11. Basic Trading Strategies
12. Participating in Futures Trading
13. Deciding How to Participate
14. Regulation of Futures Trading
15. Establishing an Account
16. What to Look for in a Futures Contract?
17. The Contract Unit
18. How Prices are Quoted
19. Minimum Price Changes
20. Daily Price Limits
21. Position Limits
22. Understanding (and Managing) the Risks of Futures Trading
23. Choosing a Futures Contract
24. Liquidity
25. Timing
26. Stop Orders
27. Spreads
28. Options on Futures Contracts
29. Buying Call Options
30. Buying Put Options
31. How Option Premiums are Determined
32. Selling Options

Please note: "Education Center" is a treasure trove of highly informative information designed to teach beginners about and how to trade the futures markets. However, before you begin trading on your own, we strongly advise you to first trade with the assistance of an experienced professional commodity broker. A broker can provide you with many valuable functions to suit your choice. You may only want to have a broker try to make sure you don’t make costly errors by incorrectly initiating and exiting a trade (a common error among beginning traders). On the other hand, you may want the broker to take a more active role: acting as a sounding board for your trades, providing his trading recommendations, research reports, charts, and other helpful trading tools. Or, you may want the broker to find you a commodity trading advisor that best meets your investment goals, affordability, and suitability to professionally manage your account.

Whatever your needs are, a United Futures Trading Broker is a trained professional, there to help and provide you the level of service that you want.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss exists in futures and options trading.