Futures For You  |  DEC 2005

Futures For You by Dan O’Neil

Stocks & Commodities V. 23:12 (72-73): Futures For You by Dan O’Neil INSIDE THE FUTURES WORLD Want to learn how the futures markets really work? Dan O’Neil, a principal at online futures and forex broker XPRESSTRADE (www.xpresstrade.com), responds to your questions about today’s futures markets. To submit a question, post your question to our website at http://Message-Boards.Traders.com. Answers will be posted there, and selected questions will appear in a future issue of S&C. YOU’RE ON MARGIN CALL The market’s moving in the wrong direction, losses are accumulating, and the value of your account is declining. By the time your broker issues a margin call, you’re already feeling substantial frustration and anxiety. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to see your broker as your adversary. But veteran traders know this couldn’t be further from the truth. For starters, nothing’s more disappointing to us than to see a good client roughed up in the marketplace. We’re not merely being altruistic—we want you to be successful and to earn profits because we’d like to see your account, your trading activity, and the commissions you generate grow over time. Ideally, if you’ve enjoyed a terrific trading experience, you’ll introduce your friends and acquaintances to futures and options trading, and they’ll open accounts with us, too. In other words, our interests are aligned, and our fortunes are closely tied to yours.

by Dan O’Neil