Detailed Review of Discount Trading. What You Should Know about This Broker.
Finding the best futures trading broker can easily become overwhelming. The pressure to choose the right brokerage is particularly relevant when trusting an online firm with your finances. How can you ensure that your investments are in the right hands? Do they offer the right services, features, and expertise to meet your financial needs?
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In the sections below, we provide a detailed review of Discount Trading, including an overview of the company’s founding, a review of the professional team, and an analysis of the firm’s services, fees, platforms, markets, and proprietary characteristics.
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Company Overview | Discount Trading
Based in Indiana, Discount Trading offers traders access to over 20 trusted platforms from both the U.S. and Europe. Among these is Discount Trading’s proprietary free trading platform with live streaming quotes, futures news, research, and more.
Compared to competing futures brokers, Discount Trading offers the following competitive advantages:
- $0.49 or less per trade—While this includes fees, Discount Trading provides a transparent schedule and flat rates to eliminate gray areas.
- $300 per day trade margins—Includes markets such as Emini S&P, crude oil, and gold.
- Futures and options—Includes crude, E-mini, gold, grains, currency features, and more.
- Cutting edge technology—Discount Trading provides five different routing solutions and access to over 20 of the most popular platforms in the industry.
- No monthly inactivity fees—Whether you trade daily, monthly, or only on occasion, you will not incur any additional charges.
- Easy, online account access—Electronic statements are available daily each morning.
- Access to a 24/7 trading desk—Trades can be conducted during all market hours (although an overnight fee may apply).
Image source: Discount Trading
Discount Trading brings over 20 years of futures trading experience and is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA).
The firm states that “speed, trust, and reliability are crucial to client satisfaction,” emphasizing a focus on providing a dynamic and reliable trading experience.
In the sections below, we have highlighted a few unique aspects of Discount Trading to summarize the services, features, and unique value offered by this online futures broker.
Easy Account Creation
Discount Trading provides traders with a simple, easily accessible account setup process. A new account can be created with as little as $2,000. Available account types include:
- IRA
- Individual
- Joint
- Corporate
- LLC
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- Foreign
- Trust
- Hedge
Opening a new account can be accomplished electronically and within a few minutes through the Discount Trading site. Customer service representatives are also available by phone for those who prefer to have a representative guide them through the process.
No matter what type of account is opened, all clients get the benefits of no inactivity fees; free research and news; low margins for day trading; and most importantly, clear and cost-efficient rates.
Account transfers can also be performed by filling out an online form and selecting your platform of choice.
Transparent, Low-Cost Commission Rates
Discount Trading offers full disclosure on all of their commission rates, increasing transparency and eliminating any gray areas. For self-directed traders who do not require trading assistance, this makes estimating long-term costs into a convenient, easy process.
Commissions are based on volume, with low-volume trading priced at $0.49 per side and high-volume trading as low as $0.19 per side. See below for the full pricing table:
Monthly Volume | Commission Per Side |
| 0 – 2,999 | $0.49 |
| 3,000 – 4,999 | $0.39 |
| 5,000 – 9,999 | $0.35 |
| 10,000 – 19,999 | $0.30 |
| 20,0001 – 49,999 | $0.25 |
| 50,000+ | $0.19 |
Discount Trading | Commission Rates Per Side
A complete listing of commission rates by contract name is also available here.
Discount Trading also provides a full accounting of routing, exchange, and regulatory fees that investors can expect to incur. This also includes costs for:
- Wire Transfer In
- Check Issued (Domestic and international)
- Telephone Orders
- Wire Transfer Out (Domestic and international)
- Check Issued Overnight (Domestic and international)
- And more
This high degree of transparency is a good sign for current and potential investors alike. Not only does it make it easier to evaluate the brokerage firm that best meets your financial needs, but it also speaks to an emphasis on ethical business practices and on keeping an open line of communication between a firm and their clients.
Image source: Discount Trading
Wide Range of Trading Platforms
With Discount Trading, futures traders have access to more than 20 well-known, trusted platforms. Some of these include:
- FireTip—Offers features for professional and beginner traders alike. Free version with live streaming data and quotes is available.
- Sierra Chart—Renowned for its highly customizable, stable, and open design.
- Multicharts—Award-winning platform with one-click trading, advanced charting, and built-in indicators.
- MarketDelta Cloud—Leading web-based platform in the industry. Free version is available.
- Rithmic R Trader—Includes the capability to trade multiple accounts. Free version is available.
- Jigsaw—Best for day traders. Connects to CQG or Rithmic.
- TradingView—Brings the latest HTML5 technology and a cloud-based setup to perform on any OS or browser.
- QST—Boasts intuitive functionality and detailed options chains.
- CTS—Offers full customization and advanced functionality to accommodate unique trading styles.
- Bookmap—Provides deep analysis of past and present market depth, as well as order flow.
- Medved Trader—Features integrated market news, real-time trading, and visual charts.
- CQG Q Trader—Historical and real-time data merges with tool-driven analysis and visuals.
- CQG Trader—Users can see market activity, place orders, and track both positions and orders simultaneously.
- CQG IC—Offers 16 different chart styles for professional traders.
- CQG M—Mobile trading platform.
Each trading platform comes with a detailed list of features, capabilities, order types, resources, and pricing.
With plenty of varied platforms available—including free options—Discount Trading provides plenty of features and capabilities for novice and professional traders alike, catering to a wide range of preferences.
FireTip | Premier Platform from Discount Trading
Developed by traders, FireTip is the premier platform offered by Discount Trading. It features ultra-low commission rates and a full range of features, including unlimited charting capabilities.
Perhaps one of the most notable features includes the ability to sign up for a free demo, which allows for $50,000 worth of trading activity. This allows traders to explore the platform and test its functionality before signing up.
The FireTip platform includes a free version with free streaming quotes, making futures trading both convenient and affordable.
Expert Trading Systems
There are over 1,300 trading systems in the Discount Trading database. Each system includes pricing with fees and commission included, which is a key differentiator between Discount Trading and competing futures brokers. This makes it easy and convenient for traders to accurately forecast cost and see true representations of results in real-time.
All systems feature automated, algorithmic trading that syncs to a trading account automatically. This automation eliminates emotional reactions such as second-guessing, fear, greed, or anxiety, which often stand in the way of success. Traders can choose to stop or start an algorithm at any time.
Traders can also choose multiple systems across sectors as a means of balancing their level of risk, including variations in: entry and exit strategies, markets, and algorithms.
Discount Trading also offers a few unique benefits to their trading systems, outlined in the Client Portal below.
Client Portal
The Discount Trading client portal provides traders with complete control over their system, all without having the hassles of speaking with a broker or filling out long, detailed paperwork. Specific features include (but are not limited to):
- Real-time tracking of fills, orders, active systems, and performance history.
- Stop or switch trading systems at any time.
- Customized performance table across factors such as performance and loss, required capital, ranking, and more.
- Multiple activation options
- Complete, 24/7 control over your system preferences/usage
- Real-time updates based on profit and loss
- Automatic deactivation if a balance drops below the required minimum
Futures Trading Markets
Discount Trading provides futures brokerage services across a diverse range of investment markets. Traders can easily access a detailed overview of each market, including contract size, tick size, price quotes, contract months, settlement methods, and last trading day.
See below for an overview of the various markets that Discount Trading provides access to.
Energies
- Crude Oil Futures
- Natural Gas Henry Hub Futures
- Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock (RBOB) Futures
- NY Harbor ULSD Features
- Denatured Fuel Ethanol Futures
Metals
- Cornex Gold Futures
- Cornex Silver Futures
- Copper Futures
- Platinum Futures
- Palladium Futures
Grains / Agricultural
- Corns Futures
- CBOT Wheat Futures
- Oats Futures
- Soybeans Futures
- Soybean Metal Futures
- Soybean Oil Futures
Image source: Discount Trading
Softs
- Cocoa Futures
- Coffee Futures
- Cotton Futures
- Sugar Futures
Indices
- E-mini S&P 500 Futures
- E-mini NASDAQ 100 Futures
- E-mini DOW Jones Futures
- Mini Russell 2000 Futures
- Nikkei 225 Stock Index Futures
Interest Rate Futures
- 30 Year T-Bond Futures
- 10 Year T-Note Futures
- Eurodollar Futures
Currency Features
- British Pound Futures
- US Dollar Index
- Euro FX Futures
- Japanese Yen Futures
- Australian Dollar Futures
- Mexican Peso Futures
- Swiss Franc Futures
- Canadian Dollar Futures
- Brazilian Real Futures
Contact Information
Main Office
9247 Broadway
Suite EE-D
Merrillville, ID 46410
Phone: +1-219-769-0366
Toll-free: 1-800-747-1420
Email: [email protected]
Social Media
You can also fill out a form on the Discount Trading site to email the brokerage directly.
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