What does futures mean. Futures for beginners: What are they and how to trade them? Characteristics of the futures and basic rules of transactions

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Surely you have already noticed on various financial sites, where there are currency quotes and economic news, a special section "Futures". However, there are many varieties of them. In this article, we will talk about what Futures are, why they are needed and what they are.

1. What is Futures

Futures(from the English "futures" - the future) is one of the liquid financial instruments that allows you to buy / sell goods in the future at a pre-negotiated price today

For example, buying December futures in the summer, you will be delivered this commodity in December at the price you paid in the summer. For example, it can be stocks, currency, goods. The end of the contract is called expiration.

They have been widely used since the 1980s. Futures are just one of the speculations for many traders these days.

What are the goals of the futures

The main purpose of futures is to hedge risks

For example, you own a large block of shares in a company. The stock market is going down and you want to get rid of them. But selling such a large volume in a short period of time is problematic, as this can cause a collapse. Therefore, you can go to the futures market and open a position for a fall.

Also, a similar scheme is used in periods of uncertainty. For example, there are some financial risks. They may be connected with the elections in the country, with some uncertainties. Instead of selling all your assets, you can open opposite positions in the futures market. Thus, protecting your investment portfolio from losses. If the futures will fall, then you will earn on it, but lose on shares. Similarly, if stocks rise, you will earn on this, but lose on futures. You kind of support the "status quo".

Note 1

In textbooks, you can see another name - "future contract". In fact, this is the same thing, so you can say whichever is more convenient for you.

Note 2

A forward is very similar in definition to a futures contract, but is a one-time transaction between a seller and a buyer (private arrangement). Such a transaction is carried out off the exchange.

Any futures must specify the expiration date, its volume (contract size) and the following parameters:

• name of the contract
• code name (abbreviation)
• contract type (settlement/delivery)
• contract size - the amount of the underlying asset per one contract
• terms of the contract
• minimum price change
• minimum step cost

Nobody issues futures like stocks or bonds. They are an obligation between the buyer and the seller (i.e., in fact, traders on the exchange create them themselves).

2. Types of futures

Futures are divided into two types

1. Estimated
2. Deliverable

With the first, everything is simpler, that nothing will be delivered. If they are not sold before the execution, the transaction will be closed at the market price on the last day of trading. The difference between the opening and closing prices will be either profit or loss. Most Futures are settled.

The second type of futures is deliverable. Even by the name it is clear that at the end of time they will be delivered in the form of a real purchase. For example, it could be stocks or currencies.

In fact, Futures is an ordinary exchange instrument that can be sold at any time. You don't have to wait until the due date. Most traders strive to simply earn money, and not to buy something in reality with delivery.

For a trader, futures for indices and stocks are of the greatest interest. Large companies are interested in reducing their risks (hedging), especially in the supply of goods, so they are one of the main players in this market.

3. Why Futures are needed

You may have a logical question, why do we need Futures when there are base prices. The history of the issue of their appearance goes back to the distant 1900s, when grain was sold.

In order to insure against strong fluctuations in the cost of goods, the price of future products was laid in the winter. As a result, regardless of the yield, it was possible for the seller to buy at an average price, and for the buyer to sell. This is a kind of guarantee that one will have something to eat, the other will have money.

Also, a futures contract is needed to predict the future price, more precisely, what the bidders expect it to be. There are the following definitions:

1. Contango - an asset is trading at a lower price than the futures price
2. Backwardation - an asset is trading at a higher price than the futures price
3. Basis is the difference between the value of an asset and a futures contract

4. Trading Futures - how and where to buy

When buying a futures on the Moscow Exchange, you need to deposit your own funds for approximately 1/7 of the purchase price. This part is called "warranty provision". Abroad, this part is called margin (in English "margin" - leverage) and can be much smaller (on average 1/100 - 1/500).

The conclusion of a supply contract is called "hedging".

In Russia, the most popular futures is the RTS index.

You can buy futures from any Forex broker or on the currency section of the MICEX. At the same time, free "leverage" is given, which allows you to play for decent money, even with a small capital. But it is worth remembering about the risks of using leverage.

Best Forex Brokers:

Best brokers for MICEX (FORTS section):

5. Futures or Stocks - what to trade on

What to choose for trading: futures or stocks? Each of them has its own characteristics.

For example, by purchasing a share on it, you can receive annual dividends (as a rule, these are small amounts, but nevertheless, there is no extra money). Plus, you can hold shares for as long as you like and act as a long-term investor and still receive at least a small, but percentage of profit every year.

Futures is a more speculative market and it hardly makes sense to hold them here for more than a few months. But they discipline the trader more, because here you have to think about a shorter period of the game.

Commissions for operations on futures are about 30 times lower than on stocks, and plus, leverage is issued free of charge, unlike the stock market (here the loan will cost 14-22% per annum). So for fans of scalping and intraday trading, they are the best fit.

In the stock market, you cannot short (be short) some stocks. Futures don't have this problem. You can buy both long and short all assets.

6. Futures on the Russian market

There are three main sections on the MICEX exchange where there are futures

1. Stock
   • Shares (only the most liquid)
   • Indices (RTS, MICEX, BRICS countries)
   • Volatility of the MICEX stock market
2. Monetary
   • Currency pairs (ruble, dollar, euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, etc.)
   • Interest rates
   • OFZ basket
   • Eurobond basket RF-30
3. Commodity
   • raw sugar
   • Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium)
   • Oil
   • The average price of electricity

The name of the futures contract has the format TICK-MM-YY , where

• TICK - ticker of the underlying asset
• MM - futures execution month
• YY - futures settlement year

For example, SBER-11.18 is a futures contract for Sberbank shares with settlement in November 2018.

There is also an abbreviated name of the future, which has the format CC M Y, where

• CC - two-character short code of the underlying asset
• M - letter designation of the month of execution
• Y - the last digit of the year of execution

For example, SBER-11.18 - a futures contract for Sberbank shares in the abbreviated name looks like this - SBX5.

The MICEX adopted the following letter designations for months:

• F - January
• G - February
• H - March
• J - April
• K - May
• M - June
• N - July
• Q - August
• U - September
• V - October
• X - November
• Z - December

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Futures (futures contracts, from English futures) is a derivative security (), which is an agreement on the establishment of conditions for the purchase or sale of a standard amount of a certain asset at a certain date in the future, at a price set at the time of the transaction.

There is a rule according to which at least two working days must elapse between the definition of the terms of the transaction and its execution, otherwise the transaction is considered immediate.

Why are futures contracts necessary?

Futures have three general purposes:

• The most important purpose of futures in general is to determine the price of the instrument.

The applied value for market players can be one of two (or a combination):

• insurance against financial risks, i.e. (engaged mainly by real suppliers or consumers of the tool)
• speculation for financial gain (engaged by experienced traders and investors)

What options does a futures have?

Any futures has two main parameters:

• due date - i.e. a specific date on which the sale and purchase transaction must take place
• tool - i.e. the subject of the contract, whether it is a commodity, raw materials, securities or currency (in the case of a currency, such a contract is called a forward contract)

Additionally, there are additional options:

• the exchange on which this futures is sold;
• size and unit of measurement (for example, 100 barrels);
• contract quotation unit (for example, US dollars per barrel);
• the amount of margin (i.e. the amount that is deposited when the futures are signed and is kept to cover the loss, if any).

What is special about futures?

The buyer of a futures contract (future) assumes an obligation to buy the asset provided for in the contract within the agreed period. The seller of a futures contract assumes the obligation to sell this asset within a specified period.

The peculiarity of the futures lies in the fact that when making this transaction, we are talking about a standard quantity of goods (called a contract or lot) and a specific period (called the day of delivery). After the expiration of the delivery date stipulated by the futures contract, the next one is set, and trading begins on a new contract.

Due to the fact that the futures price is set at the time of the transaction and does not change until the day the contract is executed (regardless of what the prices of the asset underlying the futures are), futures are often used by sellers to insure their own risks when trading various instruments and commodities, which is called hedging.

Futures trading

Futures contracts are especially popular among traders who profit from fluctuations in stock prices. have a number of advantages over conventional stock trading (namely, low commission, increased leverage, the procedure for calculating exchange rate differences, etc.). The most liquid contract on the Russian futures market is futures on .

Futures Exchange

In Russia, the derivatives market (Forts) is represented by the Moscow Exchange. Futures on stocks, bonds, commodities, energy, currency pairs and indices are traded on the futures exchange.

The most liquid instruments are:

Stock futures

Futures on indices

• MIX (Moscow Exchange)
• RTS (Russian Trading System)

Commodity futures

Futures on currency pairs

Futures are very liquid, volatile and quite risky, so novice investors and traders should not deal with them without being properly prepared.

Useful related articles

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Before a particular futures contract is put into circulation, the exchange determines the conditions for trading it, which are called "specification". This document contains information about the underlying asset, the number of units of this asset, the expiration (execution) date of the futures, the cost of the minimum price step, etc. An example of such a specification is the description of a futures contract for the RTS Index.

Futures are of two types - settlement and delivery. In the case of the latter, the physical delivery of the underlying asset, such as oil or currency, is permitted. It happens that such delivery is not implied and the future is settled. Then, at the time of its expiration, the parties to the transaction receive the difference between the price of the contract and the settlement price on the day of expiration, multiplied by the number of existing contracts. Futures on indices are classified as settlement ones, since they cannot be placed.

When trading futures contracts, the value of the position is recalculated daily in relation to the previous day with debiting / crediting money to the investor's account. That is, the difference between the price of buying or selling a futures contract and the estimated price of its expiration is credited to the trader's account on a daily basis - this is the concept of a variation margin.

Futures have an expiration date, which is encoded in their name. For example, in the case of the RTS index, the name is formed as follows: RTS -<месяц исполнения>.<год исполнения>(for example, futures RTS-6.14 will be executed in June 2014).

How it works

As is clear from the history of futures contracts, one of their main purposes is insurance against financial risks (the so-called hedging) - for this, this instrument is used by real suppliers or consumers of the commodity that is the underlying asset. Experienced traders and investors use futures (often settled) to speculate and make a profit.

Futures are a fairly liquid instrument, which, however, is unstable and, accordingly, carries a considerable risk for the investor.

When a futures contract that has been sold by one trader to another comes due, there are generally several possible outcomes. financial balance parties may not change, or one of the traders may make a profit.

If the price of a financial instrument has risen, then the buyer wins, if the price falls, then the seller celebrates success, who, most likely, counted on this. If the price of the instrument does not change, then the amounts on the accounts of the participants in the transaction should not change.

Unlike an option, a futures is not a right, but an obligation on the part of the seller to sell a certain amount of the underlying asset in the future at a certain price, and for the buyer to buy it. The guarantor of the execution of the transaction is the exchange, which takes insurance deposits (collateral) from both participants - that is, you do not need to pay the entire price of the futures at once, only the collateral is frozen on the account. This procedure is done with both the buyer's account and the seller's account in the transaction.

The stock exchange considers the value of the collateral (GA) for each contract. At the same time, if at some point the funds on the investor's account become less than the minimum acceptable level of GO, the broker sends him a request to replenish the balance, but if this does not happen, then part of the positions will be closed forcibly (margin call). To avoid such a situation, a trader should keep money in the account in an amount that is quite significantly greater than the size of the security - after all, if the price of the futures changes dramatically, then his funds may not be enough to cover the position. The collateral is frozen on the trader's account until the transaction is repaid.

At the time of this writing, the actual value of the margin charged from clients wishing to trade futures on the RTS index is 11,064.14 (more details). Accordingly, if a trader has 50,000 rubles in his account. That is, the trader will be able to buy only 4 such contracts. In this case, an amount of 44,256.56 rubles will be reserved. This means that only 5,743.44 rubles of free funds will remain on the account. And if the market goes against by a certain number of points, then the expected loss will exceed the available funds, and a margin call will occur.

As you can see, a lot depends on the futures price, which can change under the influence of a variety of factors. Therefore, this exchange instrument belongs to the category of risky ones.

Why speculation and futures are needed

Very often, people who are not very familiar with the specifics of the stock market confuse it with Forex (although this is not particularly fair) and stigmatize it as some kind of "scam", where speculators rob gullible newbies to the bone. In fact, everything is not so, and stock speculation plays an important role in the economy. Speculators buy low and sell high, but in addition to the desire to get rich, they influence the price. When the price of a share or other exchange instrument is undervalued, a successful speculator buys - which drives the price up. Similarly, if the asset is overvalued, then an experienced player can make a short sale (selling securities borrowed from a broker) - such actions, on the contrary, help to reduce the price.

When there are many stock market professionals who view the stock market from different angles and use a large amount of data for analysis both about the situation in the country and about a particular company, their decisions affect the entire market as a whole.

In the same way, in order to imagine the role of futures, it is worth imagining what would happen in the absence of this financial instrument as such. Imagine that an oil producing company is trying to forecast the required production volumes. Like any business, a company wants to maximize profits with minimal risk. In this situation, you cannot simply extract as much oil as possible and sell it all. It is necessary to analyze not only the current price, but also what level it may be in the future.

At the same time, those who extract, transport and store oil are not necessarily analysts and have access to the most complete forecasts regarding the possible price of oil. Therefore, the mining company cannot know exactly how much a barrel of oil will cost in a year - $50, $60 or $120 and produce the corresponding volume. To get a guaranteed price, the company simply sells futures to minimize risk.

On the other hand, the speculator from the example above may consider that the price of a particular futures contract is too high or too low, and take appropriate action, leveling it to a fair price.

At first glance, the importance of establishing a fair price in the market does not seem like such a necessary thing, however, in fact, it is extremely important for the fair use of society's resources. It is on the exchange that capital is redistributed between countries, sectors of the economy and enterprises on the one hand, and various groups of investors on the other. Without the stock market and the instruments with which it functions (including derivatives), it is impossible to effectively develop the economy and meet the needs of each individual member of society.

Futures are contracts for the delivery of certain goods in the future at fixed prices.

According to these contracts, one party in the future at a specific time and in a specific amount will buy an asset, and the other party will deliver it at the appointed time and in the required amount.

The main purpose of the futures is to minimize the risks of the buyer in the event of a possible deterioration in the market situation by fixing the price of the goods today.

Confirmation of the intentions of the parties is the introduction of a guarantee (collateral) for the fulfillment of a future obligation.

Historically, for the first time, futures became the basis of trade relations between farmers, who, by fixing prices for raw materials, ensured profit from the sale of future crops - by setting the price for products at the beginning of the season, the farmer could plan his seasonal budget, his profits and current expenses.

At the moment, futures are constantly used in trading various commodities and financial assets around the world.

Today, futures trading is mostly speculative in nature, since its main goal is to make a profit.

Depending on the subject of the transaction distinguish the following most popular types of futures on world trading exchanges:

• currency futures;
• futures for securities;
• futures for metals;
• oil futures;
• futures for grain crops.

Wherein depending on the purpose of the compilation futures are divided into:

• Settlement futures, which are used when the parties carry out exclusively cash settlements;
• deliverable futures, which are used when buying and selling certain volumes (numbers) of underlying assets (securities, oil, gold, currency, and so on).

Watch a short video that plain language Explain what futures are.

Major futures exchanges

Futures trading today carried out around the world through the use of various exchanges, among which are:

• New York Mercantile Exchange - NYMEX;
• Futures Commodity Exchange in Chicago - SWOT;
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange - CME;
• London International Financial Futures Exchange - LIFFE;
• International Petroleum Exchange in London - IPE;
• London Metal Exchange - LME.

Futures Trading Basics

Futures trading requires knowledge and understanding of the basic principles used in exchange trading:

1. Exchange where futures are traded– it is important to know the volumes and working hours of exchanges trading specific goods.
2. Futures contract unit- exchanges do not trade in contracts and goods, but in lots. Each futures contract has a standardized size: for example, gold is ounces, oil is barrels, euros are euros, etc.
3. Tick ​​size. A tick is the minimum price change value. For example, a tick on an E-mini S&P 500 future is 0.25 index points (with a $50 index point, the tick would be $12.5).

Accordingly, each of the assets has its own tick, for example, for the pound or euro it is 0.0001.

1. Margin . In general, the presence of a margin provides that when entering a position, a part of the funds from the deposit is blocked to maintain it. For futures, a margin is also set to maintain a position throughout the day and to carry it over to the next day.
2. Futures trading time– exchanges set “trade break” periods. For example, for S&P - 00:15-00:30 Moscow time, for currencies - 01:00-02:00 Moscow time, etc.
3. Time for the most active futures trading– there are periods of time when the largest injection is provided for specific contracts and the strongest intra-session trends are created. You need to know these time frames so that futures trading can bring you maximum income (for example, for currencies - 10:00 and 16:00 Moscow time, for indices - 17:30 Moscow time).

How to make money on futures

To understand how to make money on futures, you need to learn the following points.

Russian traders are accustomed to using such a tool as futures in their activities. RTS, MICEX and other exchanges make it possible to do this in relation to a wide range of financial transactions. What are the features of the implementation of the relevant trading strategies? What are futures and how do they help traders make money?

What are futures

According to the generally accepted definition among traders, futures are financial instruments that allow the implementation of futures contracts on the underlying asset, which imply an agreement between the buyer and seller on the price and terms of the transaction. In turn, other aspects of this asset, such as, for example, quantity, color, volume, etc., are negotiated in separate specifications of the agreement. Futures are a fairly universal financial instrument. They can be adapted to a variety of trading areas.

Are futures derivatives?

Yes, this is their variety. The term "derivative" is understood by many traders as a synonym for the phrase "derivative financial instrument", that is, one that is complementary to classic purchase and sale transactions. Derivative and futures is a written agreement that defines the terms of the contract for the seller and the buyer. The specificity of any derivative is that, in fact, it itself can be the subject of a sale and purchase agreement. That is, there may not be a real transfer of goods from the supplier to the buyer.

History of futures

In order to study the essence of futures in sufficient detail, it will be useful to find out how these financial instruments appeared, what are the main historical stages of their introduction into financial circulation. Some traders believe that the mechanism of the relationship between the seller and the buyer, which today fits the definition of futures, appeared long before the instrument in question appeared on the market. As is often the case in economics, first a phenomenon appeared, and then a term characterizing it.

The market demanded innovation

One of the main types of goods has always been grain. If we talk about the period until the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, then it was at all among the key items of world trade. The farmers who grew the cereals shipped them to their customers by land or sea. There was often an oversupply of goods on the grain market in the autumn - farmers tried to sell their crops as soon as possible. In turn, in the spring there could be a shortage of grain, which simply did not have time to grow, while what was not sold had time to deteriorate even in the fall, since there was often nowhere to store it. The market somehow needed to resolve this imbalance. This gave rise to term financial instruments that allowed grain farmers, as well as suppliers of any other agricultural type of goods, to enter into contracts with buyers even before the cereals had time to ripen or arrive at the point of sale.

Universal Tool

Those agreements became known as forward agreements (from the English forward - "forward"). Futures is, one might say, an adaptation of a forward contract to the peculiarities of trading on the stock exchange. Experts associate their appearance with the established transaction standards in business, thanks to which the relevant agreements can be concluded regardless of the type of goods being sold. As a result, futures trading has spread to transactions in which not only grain and other agricultural products are sold and bought, but also raw materials, metals, some prepared food products: sugar, coffee, etc. To a relatively new one, if we talk about the history of commodity relations, financial exchanges have also adapted to the instrument.

From commodities to stock indices

There is evidence that the first trading in futures in trading was carried out on the Dow Jones exchange for transactions on the index of the same name. As a result, the financiers got an excellent tool - just like grain suppliers could do in the autumn. Over time, index futures became so widespread that they sometimes traded in volumes that exceeded those of classic trades.

Futures in the foreign exchange market

The new financial instrument also began to penetrate the foreign exchange markets. One of the reasons why traders became interested in using futures was, according to some experts, the abolition of the "gold standard" in the United States in 1971. Immediately after the introduction of new norms, quotes on the world currency market began to fluctuate strongly. Traders suggested that futures are the very tool that will help the market get through the high volatility phase.

Appropriate trading mechanisms were introduced, and due to their rapid growth in popularity, experts suggested that this was exactly what the market demanded. Futures for the dollar and the ruble, as noted in a number of sources, was first concluded in April 1998. On the first day of trading, the total amount of contracts exceeded 200 million rubles.

Futures in Russia

By the way, the history of Russian exchange trading dates back to the time of Peter the Great. And at the beginning of the 20th century, according to some data, 87 commodity exchanges functioned in Russia. From the end of the 1920s to 1991, this institution of trade did not function in our country. But after Russia's transition to a free market, it became one of the key ones for the country's economy.

When did the first transactions with futures begin to take place in Russia? There is evidence that the first precedents for the use of this financial instrument were recorded in 1996 on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. The first analytical articles began to appear, in which theses were put forward about the prospects for using futures in Russian trading. In the 1990s, contracts on state and municipal bonds began to be executed through this financial instrument.

Now both majors use futures (RTS and MICEX). The first one even has a specialized segment for trading with this financial instrument - FORTS. Futures and options are available on FORTS (another popular way to enter into contracts). It will be useful, by the way, to consider their differences.

What is the difference between futures and options

The key criterion for distinguishing futures from options is that the owner of the former must necessarily fulfill the terms of the agreement. In turn, the second financial instrument allows the party to the transaction not to fulfill the conditions specified in the contract. For example, do not sell shares if they have fallen in price compared to the price at the time of their purchase.

Futures types. Staged

However, let's continue the study of futures. Modern traders classify them into two types. First, there are so-called staged futures. They represent a contract, at the time of execution of which the buyer undertakes to acquire, and the seller - to cede the amount of some asset specified in the transaction specification. In this case, the futures price will be the one that was fixed at the most recent auction. If the contract expires and the seller does not cede the asset, he may face penalties.

Estimated

There are also settled futures. Their peculiarity is that the seller and the buyer settle between themselves in the amounts that make up the difference between the price of the asset at the time of signing and execution of the agreement, regardless of its actual delivery.

Futures specification structure

One of the key elements of futures transactions is specification. It is a source in which the basic terms of the contract are fixed. The structure of the specifications of transactions of the type under consideration is usually as follows: the name of the agreement, its specific type - settlement or staged, the value of the underlying asset, terms, as well as some speculative parameters are indicated. Among the key ones are the tick, or the minimum price change step.

Its values ​​depend on the particular asset. For wheat, if we talk about the main world exchanges, this is about 5 cents per ton. Knowing what the volume of the futures contract is, a trader can easily calculate the total price change for the entire amount of the asset. For example, if there is an agreement for 200 tons of wheat, then you can calculate that the minimum price adjustment will be $10.

Oil futures

How is trading, say, futures for Brent and other grades of oil carried out? Very simple. On modern commodity exchanges, this grade of oil is traded, as well as two more - Light Sweet and WTI. All of them are called marker ones, since other grades of oil are valued based on their correlation with the value of those traded. Contracts are executed on two major exchanges - NYMEX in New York and ICE in London. On the American one, Light Sweet oil is traded, on the English one - two other grades. Features of black gold trading are that they are around the clock.

The generally accepted reference point for traders on the planet is the Brent variety. This oil is a marker for a significant part of the world's black gold grades, including Russian Urals oil. True, as some analysts note, there are activists among traders who do not consider it expedient to hold Brent as a standard. The main reason is that it is mined mainly only in the North Sea, in Norwegian deposits. Their stocks are declining, as a result of which, as some analysts believe, the liquidity of the commodity decreases, and the price of oil may not reflect real market trends.

Brent futures can be easily recognized by the abbreviation BRN of the London ICE exchange. The full name of the contract sounds like Brent Crude Oil. Oil is supplied under contracts on a monthly basis. Accordingly, transactions can be concluded at an interval of a month. The maximum contract duration is 8 years. There are short-term oil futures and there are long-term ones. The value of the corresponding contract is 1,000 barrels. The value of 1 tick is a cent, that is, the minimum change in the contract price is $10.

How to win in oil trading using futures? Oil quotes, according to some economists, depend on the state of affairs in the global economy. If a person is well versed in this topic, then he can try to enter into a contract to buy or sell oil at a set price, thus opening a long or short position, respectively. Let's say, at the cost of oil at $80 per barrel, a person assumes that in 3 months the raw material will rise to $120. He enters into 1 minimum contract for the purchase of black gold at a price of 90 dollars per barrel. Comes 3 months. Oil is expected to rise in price to 120 dollars per barrel, and at the disposal of the trader it turns out to be at a price of 90. According to the conditions of the exchange, the required difference of 40 dollars is immediately accrued to him.

Futures and currency

Obviously, in order to trade using oil futures, a trader will need significant financial investments. The minimum contract size, as we have already noted, is 1 thousand barrels, that is, if we take the current, not the highest prices for black gold, investments of about 50 thousand dollars will be required. However, a trader has the opportunity to earn by entering into a futures contract for the dollar, on the MICEX, for example. According to the terms of the exchange, the minimum contract size is $1,000. Tick ​​- 10 kopecks.

For example, a person assumes that the US dollar will fall from the current 65 rubles to 40. He opens a long position to sell one contract at a price of, say, 50 dollars, the term is 1 month. A month later, the ruble really strengthens its positions - up to 40 units per US dollar. A person, on the other hand, has the right to sell the amount specified in the contract specification at a rate of 50 dollars and gain from 10 rubles from each unit of American currency. But if he does not guess the course, he will have to fulfill his obligations to the exchange one way or another. This usually happens by placing a deposit of the required size on the account of the trading platform.

Similar earning mechanisms are possible when trading shares of enterprises. With a balanced, qualified analysis of the state of affairs in the market, a trader can count on excellent earnings through futures. Trading on modern exchanges is sufficiently comfortable, transparent and protected by Russian law. As a rule, a trader has convenient analytical tools at his disposal, for example, a futures chart for a selected asset. The use of the corresponding among Russian financiers has gained fairly stable popularity.