Hello
I have traded live funds(Real money).
Almost 6-7 years.
From all the above posts I understand that there are quite a few here who would like to know more about money markets.
I will post the broker I have used and additional information in the end of this post.
Let me be really negative here and post only the cons related with this issue:
(I am posting in bullets followed by the reason in paragraph form. Please read both)
1- You will lose money
Every seasoned trader no matter who, can recount the number of times his/her account has gone to zero at the start of their trading career. If they tell you otherwise, well then check your source.
Spot Money markets are 24/5 markets, since you are not a robot and do have some social commitments+sleep requirement etc etc you cannot be at your terminal every second of the day.
Majority of people start assuming they will make huge profits. Even if you dont start with high expectations, the greed factor jumps in. For example: I started with a 200$ account 1:100 leverage. Expectation 10% per month return. In the beginning my trades looked green and all was well and good. My expectation was low and +50 pips on a trade looked good enough to close. One month my account history showed a 210% gain. I was euphoric and full of confidence. My Stop-losses became deeper and no. of trades increased. To cut a long story short in the next month I had lost all profit and was showing a sizeable loss. Then came the inevitable, I will get it back by trading more and being dilligent.
End result: a/c showed 0=Confidence lost
2- The psychological make-up
There is a reason why only 5% of all aspiring traders actually manage to stay in this market and very few who actually trade it full-time using their own money.
You will find most full-time traders NOT trading their own money.
The reason is psychological make-up. Losing a big chunk of money in a matter of minutes(See any Non-Farm Payroll announcement hour) may sound easy enough to take in your stride but it isn't. I know people and am myself a part of the group, lost money 40,000 plus in a matter of minutes because? terminal froze could not close trade. The high leverage ate up my account like a slice of oven fresh pizza. I was 18 at the time. Well, the next 24 hours I stayed awake not because I wanted to but just that sleep was hard to come by. The amount wasn't big but the psychological pressure of seeing the red is hard to stomach.
The psychological make-up takes a lot of time and effort. At the terminal you have to be completely emotionless and as soon as you are away from the terminal you should be able to relax.
Nearly 80% of traders trading their own real-money hardly get a moments peace and usually either burn-out or give up due to reasons I am sure you can understand.
3- Steep learning curve
I believe money markets are the only profession which requires you NOT to study but to learn each and every day. Their is literally enough information, different interpretations, your own analysis, testing, answering the why's and what if scenarions to consume every waking minute a 1000 times over.
The above reasons are very basic. If someone wants to have a detailed discussion feel free to contact me.
I am not trying to discourage you, if I can do it then anyone can. However I am also not trading my own funds now rather handling a few accounts.
For my own funds I am currently using Marketiva and North Finance.
Although I am also using these non-CME brokers for anyone using serious amounts a CME broker is a must.
Regards
Neo