Stocks vs Futures - experiences?

[trynix 1]

Hello everyone,

I'm considering going the Futures route to avoid PDT until I have a big enough account, but at the same time I find my self to be a decent pattern reader when it comes to stock, and considering going for an offshore account.

For those who have traded both, what have your experiences been? Do you find one more consistently profitable over the other?

[Abiel 475]

I don't trade options but I know of some members that switched from stocks to options and they are doing great. 

[trynix 1]

Hi Abiel. Unfortunately options also fall under the PDT rule, hence I'm only comparing stocks and futures atm, though I do hear that options can be great for swing trading, so might consider options and stocks for swing trading, and futures for day trading. 

[wayneb 7]

Hi, started trading stocks with BBT 16 months ago and never got the hang of it. Switched to futures 4 months ago and doing great. I only trade ES and watch it on four time frames. I find the 15 and 30 min to be very reliable. It usually does not have a morning ORB so you may need to sit it out for awhile. Watch the first one min candle and if it has a big wip just walk away for at least 15 min. It usually has a nice run at the close also. The best thing is you don't need $25,000 to trade. I use Ninja Trading and can buy 1 contract for $500. 2 contracts a day can easily make you $400. I hear taxes are also less with futures but have not done them yet so I'm not sure.  Good luck!

[trynix 1]

3 hours ago, wayneb said:

Hi, started trading stocks with BBT 16 months ago and never got the hang of it. Switched to futures 4 months ago and doing great. I only trade ES and watch it on four time frames. I find the 15 and 30 min to be very reliable. It usually does not have a morning ORB so you may need to sit it out for awhile. Watch the first one min candle and if it has a big wip just walk away for at least 15 min. It usually has a nice run at the close also. The best thing is you don't need $25,000 to trade. I use Ninja Trading and can buy 1 contract for $500. 2 contracts a day can easily make you $400. I hear taxes are also less with futures but have not done them yet so I'm not sure.  Good luck!

 

Hello Wayne, thank you for your feedback. What has been your average return % based on your account size when Futures trading, and did you go through any particular resources that you'd recommend?

[wayneb 7]

Hi trynix, Ive been live for 3 months and average around 3% return per day. However I do not trade every day. Some days the market just does not look good or I miss my strategy so I sit it out. I always remember Andrew saying the Market is designed to take your money so I really try to limit my exposure to it. Most of the time I only need one trade per day. The commissions are high in futures so you really need to only take "A" setups. I tried 7 futures platforms and brokers and found Ninja to be the best. With futures the margins are huge compared to stocks so theoretically you can make 100% + return in a day with a small account. My second day of trading I caught a lucky move and made 40% in one trade. 

[trynix 1]

12 minutes ago, wayneb said:

Hi trynix, Ive been live for 3 months and average around 3% return per day. However I do not trade every day. Some days the market just does not look good or I miss my strategy so I sit it out. I always remember Andrew saying the Market is designed to take your money so I really try to limit my exposure to it. Most of the time I only need one trade per day. The commissions are high in futures so you really need to only take "A" setups. I tried 7 futures platforms and brokers and found Ninja to be the best. With futures the margins are huge compared to stocks so theoretically you can make 100% + return in a day with a small account. My second day of trading I caught a lucky move and made 40% in one trade. 

Awesome feedback, thank you so much for sharing. Did you find any useful educational resources that upped your understanding and winrate?

[wayneb 7]

All the knowledge I got from Andrew and BBT community has been priceless. I found I am good at finding bottom reversals hence my one and done trading. I have no problem sitting at my station all day so this strategy works well for me. I am not fast enough for ORB's and the market does not present them too often anyway. My first live day was an ORB and I made $500 in 1.3 min. Nice first day! The most valuable thing I learned was not to chase. If I miss my entry I'll just watch it run all day and not take the trade. I seem to have the ability to reverse the market with a click of a mouse.