Commission rate question

[miker]

Is it typical that commission rates for trading ES E-mini futures are based on a round-trip per trade or round-trip per contract per trade? If the latter, how would this be configured in NJ?

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Hello miker,

A minimum commission will apply commissions per side per order.

A commission level will apply commissions per side per contract.

For example, a minimum commission of $3 will calculate $3 commission per order per side, so it will be $6 per trade.

A commission level of 3/0 will calculate a commission of $3 per contract per side. If you submit an order with a quantity of 5, it will calculate $30 for the trade.

More information can be found at the link below.

http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/HelpGuideV6/AddingCommissionRates.html

[miker]

Thanks Jason.
Is it typical that broker charge their rate per contract traded?

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Unfortunately, I am not sure. I suggest to contact your broker and inquire how commissions will be applied.

[randyjb]

Miker.. it is quite common for brokers providing you access to trade the e-minis to quote you a commisions charge on a per-contract roundtrip basis. For instance, if you were fairly new and trading a rather low volume of contracts per month you might be quoted (as an example only) $5 per contract, roundtrip whereas if you were trading higher volume, with regular frequency, you might be offered a somewhat better rate by your broker.

Note: Once you are regularly trading with that greater volume don't be shy about asking your broker to offer you a better commission rate as they should not be relied upon to offer it up automatically.

Happy Trading,
Randy

[miker]

Thanks Randy.
Do you have any experience with AMP and Mirus?
Can I assume that if they both are using Zen-Fire and both claim to have great support, then commission rate should be a good basis to choose?

[randyjb]

Commission rate is definitely a key consideration. It is a lot more important than intra-day margin (since you should almost never trade the amount of contracts that their very low intra-day margins would allow.)

I have experience with one of those introducing brokers and I would expect them to be quite competitive with each other in terms of commission rate and perhaps even on service but that is something you will have to check out directly for yourself and simply move your account somewhere else if the service you require isn't delivered to you in a satisfactory manner.

If you have been around trading long enough to develop an edge in the markets as well as having developed a viable trading plan and good money management (the real holy grail of trading) then you are good to go. If you haven't yet achieved those goals, then commission rate, though important, is perhaps one of the least of your concerns at the moment and you shouldn't trade real money until you've got a good handle on the other items mentioned.

Happy Trading,
Randy