Frequently Asked Questions
How do I open an account?
Click here to start trading.
Does ALTAVEST trade futures options as well as futures contracts?
Absolutely! We trade an equal amount of futures and options. In fact, through TradeScope
many of our daily recommendations employ option strategies.
Does ALTAVEST trade mini contracts?
Yes.
Margin deposits for mini contracts
are typically one half to one fifth the size of the regular-sized futures contract,
perfect for smaller accounts!
What is Margin?
Initial margin is the "good-faith"
deposit required to maintain either a short or long position in a futures
contract. The maintenance margin is a threshold amount that the initial margin must
not fall below. The maintenance margin is not additional to the initial margin.
For example if the initial margin for silver is $1,000 and the maintenance level
is $750, one would need to have $1,000 allocated from their account as initial margin
to hold a silver contract. If the silver position lost $300 for example, on one
day, the value of the $1,000 initial margin would have eroded to $700, which is
below the $750 maintenance requirement. If there were no additional funds in your
account you would be on a margin call and you would either have to exit the position
or add money immediately to bring the initial margin amount back up to $1,000..
If you did have excess funds in the account they would be automatically allocated
towards getting the initial margin figure back to $1,000. For further examples visit
Futures 101.
Do you help course members and students of the many popular futures and options correspondence
courses?
Absolutely yes! The brokers and staff at ALTAVEST are experts in 1-2-3 formations,
50% retracements, insurance options, neutral option strategies, free-trades, narrow
sideways channels, delta option strategies, seasonal trading, scale trading, and
more!
Do I need to purchase someone's mail-order course to learn to trade?
No. Call us and we can send you FREE courses that will explain futures and options
trading in more detail than many courses you would purchase. We also suggest visiting
Futures 101 and our online
bookstore.
I am enrolled in a trading course, can I paper trade with you?
Paper trading is a great idea, and we encourage it highly. We recommend that you
take advantage of
BriteTrak
Online to track all your trades.
I want to transfer an account to you, can you help me?
Yes. All you need to do is
open
an account with us and be sure to sign the transfer form. Your open positions
and cash balance will be automatically moved from your current account to your new
account with us. You may still enter and exit trades during the transfer process.
We also likely offer a much lower commission rate, so feel free to call and ask
what we can do for you.
How much money do I need to get started trading?
The answer depends on your personal trading intentions, strategies, and goals. Many
professional traders recommend a minimum of $10,000 to effectively trade, although,
it is possible to trade with as little as $2,500. Call us for advice relating to
your particular situation and visit our
New Accounts
page for details.
A discussion regarding commission rates
Many new traders mistakenly believe that commission rates will have a greater impact
on their trading than the markets! Reasonable full-service rates are not usually
the cause of losses, bad trades are.
Some rookie futures traders make the mistake of choosing "discount" futures services
with the rationale being that if they can trade stocks on their own they can do
the same with futures. However, there are many nuances and terms related to futures
and options trading that will be unfamiliar to even seasoned stock traders. It is
our experience that new futures traders placing orders without guidance are prone
to making costly mistakes.
New futures traders should ask themselves "will a discount order clerk monitor my
positions and call me to get me out of my contract if it is expiring the next day?
When I want to exit a short position will a discount order clerk correct me if I
say 'sell' when what I meant to say was 'buy'. Will a discount order clerk know
me by name when I call, will I be reminded before I place a grain order that a big
crop report is due the next day? " The answer is "no", discount brokers will not
do this because they are not paid to do so. This could result in an inexperienced
trader executing many costly order-entry errors.
The services of a competent and reasonably priced full-service brokerage such as
ALTAVEST are what new traders should be seeking most. After all, if one needed medical
treatment would they browse through ads in the yellow pages looking for the cheapest
doctor? When one hires other professionals, the first question asked is hardly ever,
"how cheap are you?", it's always "how good are you?", isn't it? Why should it be
different when choosing a brokerage service? Don't make the mistake of sacrificing
service when you need it most. We are a full-service futures brokerage and are specialists
in what we do, we encourage you to use our expertise and experience to your advantage.
What if you have traded futures before, what if you know about proper order placement,
what if all you need is pure order execution? If that is the case our
broker assisted discount services will fit your needs.
You may also consider placing trades online.
Whether full service, discount, or online, our rates are very competitive, and unlike
some firms, we DO NOT charge outrageous rates such as $225, $150 or even $100 per
round-turn. If you are paying that much you are paying a much higher rate than the
"market rate" in the futures industry. Rates at ALTAVEST are substantially lower,
with some as low as $15 round-turn! Contact us and let us know what your needs are
so that we can customize a rate for you.
Who Regulates You?
Good question. We are highly regulated by the U.S. government as we are registered
with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and licensed as a member of
the National Futures Association (NFA). Our untainted regulatory compliance record
and sound reputation is representative of our dedication to providing you with the
foremost in superior personal and professional service. For your protection we encourage
you to research the compliance record of any broker/brokerage you may be considering
by visiting the web site of the
National Futures Association.