Our Trade Resource directory is divided into three categories; training, brokerage and Information. After all, those that are serious about learning how to trade for a living are interested in three basic categories … targeted training/coaching, top flight brokerage services and market information sources. There are three basic headings on this page; BROKERAGE, TRAINING and INFORMATION.
We are very careful about the companies and links we put on this list and, as you can see, our list is rather short. We only post companies on here that we have checked out thoroughly or our customers have endorsed as being ethical and offering superior service, competitive pricing and helpful content.
BROKERAGE SERVICES GUIDELINES
Our first category is Brokerage Services. We don’t charge these companies a fee for advertising on our site and we receive no compensation from them other than reciprocal referral business when they believe our product can help their customers.
We are focused on trading electronic markets, trades that can be executed on your computer without having to call a broker for trade execution. These firms offer electronic trade execution at competitive commission rates and they also have full time support staff available 24/7 via telephone. These brokerage firms offer a tiered commission schedule. Getting lower rates per trade requires you to build a relationship with your broker. As they get comfortable with your trading style (risk management) and the frequency of trades they are more flexible on commissions. Every broker wants to keep a disciplined, self directed trader that manages risk properly.
Tier 1 is for small retail futures traders trading between one to ten contracts per day electronically. Commission rates run between $5.50 down to $4.50 per round turn on each contract traded and intra-day margins will run around $1,500.00 per contract traded depending on the market traded. Rates and Margins vary based on trading activity and the experience of the trader.
Tier 2 is for retail traders doing more size and a substantially larger monthly volume of trades. Those commissions can be negotiated for a lower rate with the broker and, based on volume per month, can be as low as $4.00 per round turn.
Tier 3 commission rates are for large retail traders doing 200 round turns per day, or more. Those rates are negotiable and can be dramatically south of $4.00 per round turn. These firms will set deep discount rates upon further negotiation on margin, trading parameters etc..
Tier 4 >> Managed account commissions. These firms offer a service wherein they will execute trades on your behalf based upon your trading rules or their trade management guidelines. Managed Account trading commissions are substantially above those referenced in Tier 1, as the broker needs to be compensated for managing your trading account. Managed Account commission rates are negotiated on a case, by case, basis and can be as high as $25.00 per round turn.
PREFERRED FUTURES BROKERS
Kwik*POP has been here since 1999, which is a very, very long time in the futures industry. We have a diverse base of customers that have used a variety of futures brokers and FX dealers. Newer customers always ask us for a broker that we believe will offer them what they are looking for. Please understand that we are ‘broker neutral’ in that we don’t recommend any particular broker. We encourage customers to do a little homework and investigate all options.
Our list of ‘preferred brokers’ is based entirely on customer feedback. There are many excellent brokerage firms out there, those listed below are firms that our customers have been satisfied with and would recommend to others. Our list is based upon several critical components; Customer Support (real people with telephone numbers), Technical Support (firm/broker expertise on charting applications and trading dome), Competitive, Flexible Commission Rates (broker works with customers based upon account size, trade performance and trading volume), and Knowledge Library (broker provides access to additional training material and relevant information for traders).
Kwik*POP offers a ‘plug-in’ module of our indicators in four charting applications; Sierra Charts (Infinity Futures AT), Ninja Trader 7.0, TradeStation 8.8 or greater, and Multicharts. The brokers listed below specialize in each of these charting applications.
FOR SIERRA CHARTS: Infinity Futures, a best of class, top tier futures broker, provides their customers the newest Sierra Charts charting program… at no cost! They also offer>< real time>< futures data through AT…. at no cost! That’s a significant savings of well over $1,000.00 per year for active traders. They offer very competitive commission rates and excellent customer support. Click on the orange logo for more information.
FOR NINJATRADER CHARTS: For traders using the newest NinjaTrader 7.0 application, Mirus Futures is a, best of class, top tier futures broker offering their customers FREE>< real time>< futures data through ZENFIRE… at no cost! That is a significant savings and Mirus has multilingual brokers for Russian, Spanish and South American customers. They offer very competitive commission rates and excellent customer support. Click on the MIRUS FUTURES icon for more information.
FOR MULTICHARTS: Global futures is a 'best of class, top tier' broker offering support on a number of different charting applications. Professional, well trained brokers are a phone call away and they clear all futures markets as well as Forex markets. They offer very competitive commission rates and excellent customer support.
FOR TRADESTATION CHARTS: TradeStation offers a wide range of pricing options for futures, stock and forex traders. By executing a very minimal number of trades each month, through their brokerage services for futures/stocks/forex, there is no charge for the top ranked charting application on the market. They offer competitive commissions and an extensive library of training materials and free add-on indicators through one of the largest user groups in the industry. Click on the icon for more information.
