Futures FAQ

• What is a future?
• What are the pros and cons of trading futures?
• How can I access futures on the Saxo platform?
• Why can't I view or trade futures?
• What is the difference between contract futures and futures strategy?
• How does future expiry work?

What is a future?

A future is a financial contract obligating the buyer to purchase, or the seller to sell, an asset at a predetermined future date and price.

Learn more about futures, types of futures, and more: What are futures?

What are the pros and cons of trading futures?

Trading futures offers the advantage of leverage, enabling you to control large positions with relatively little capital. It also allows for diversification across various asset classes, such as commodities, currencies, and indexes. However, the leverage also presents significant risk, as it can amplify losses alongside gains.

The complexity of futures contracts requires a good understanding of market mechanics, which can be challenging for beginners. Additionally, futures markets can experience extreme volatility, requiring active risk management and caution.

Learn more about the risks when trading futures: What are futures?

How can I access futures on the Saxo platform?

On the SaxoTrader platform, you can access futures in various ways:

• Instrument search bar: search for the desired future in the search bar or sort for Contract Futures/Strategy Futures to view a long list of popular futures.
• The watchlist: add futures to a watchlist to keep an eye on the futures you want to track.
• Futures page: to gain a broad overview of the futures market, you can access Saxo's futures page on the platform. Navigate to the Research tab > Markets > Futures. Here you can view the most popular futures, different categories of futures, access futures courses, along with top gainers and losers of the day.

Why can't I view or trade futures?

Futures are considered complex products, why it might be inaccessible to you. 

1. To view and access futures you must make sure that you are logged in on SaxoTrader, as futures are not available on SaxoInvestor. 
2. Make sure that you have enabled futures in the platform settings.
3. Take the appropriateness test if you haven't already done so.

Also read: Why can't I trade VIX and VSTOXX futures and short options?

What is the difference between contract futures and futures strategy?

Contract Futures are standardized agreements that enable the purchase or sale of an asset at a specific price on a predetermined date in the future. They are utilized in various markets, including commodities, stocks, bonds, and currencies.

Futures Strategy instruments enable the ability to trade two separate futures contracts (legs) in a single order to prevent legging risk. These instruments are useful when rolling an existing futures position to a different expiry or opening a calendar spread position.

How does future expiry work?

With Saxo you avoid physical delivery of the underlying asset on expiry of a futures contract, which is not supported. Therefore, we advise you to take note of the expiry and first notice dates (FND) of any futures contracts in which you have positions and ensure they are closed before the appropriate day, as described below.

For some contracts, the FND which Saxo utilises could be several days earlier than the FND provided by the relevant exchange. Please always refer to the trading conditions displayed on the contract in the trading platform as well as the trade ticket to see specifications for each contract before trading.

• If the expiry day is prior to the first notice day (FND) as utilised by Saxo, the contract will be closed on the expiry day.

• If the FND as utilised by Saxo is the same or prior to the expiry day the contract will be closed the trading day prior to such FND.

If futures positions are not closed before the relevant date, Saxo will close the position on your behalf at the first available opportunity at the prevailing market rate. Any resulting costs, gains or losses will be passed on to you.

Read more about futures expiry here: How does Futures expiry work? or navigate to Futures trading conditions