The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards [Paperback]

Refco Private Client Group (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047148802X | ISBN-13: 978-0471488026 | Publication Date: August 1, 2005 | Edition: 1

Many investors learn how to trade equity options, but many are unfamiliar with futures. As headlines about commodity prices proliferate, active, self-directed investors are turning their attention to futures. The Complete Guide to Futures Trading is a comprehensive introductory handbook to investing with commodity futures, including the increasingly popular mini(r) stock index futures and the new singles stock futures contracts. It offers how-to advice from finding a broker to opening an account to making a trade, and provides advice based on years of experience to help new traders get started in commodity futures.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR The Complete Guide to FUTURES TRADING

"This landmark book makes futures trading accessible to mainstream individual investors. As chief executive officer of the largest financial exchange in the world for trading futures and options, I can wholeheartedly recommend this volume for the reader who wants to learn the fundamentals of investing in futures."
—From the Foreword by Craig S. Donohue, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Mercantile Exchange

"The Complete Guide to Futures Trading is the ultimate 'getting started' guide. The book leads you through an informative yet concise course with an A-to-Z explanation of how to trade futures successfully. eSignal has partnered with Refco Private Client Group for more than a decade to provide futures traders with reliable, accurate, and actionable data. This is a much-needed and well-written resource for the new futures trader."
—Chuck Thompson, President, eSignal

"My hat is off to the authors of this extremely well-written and timely book about futures trading. If the experts are right that the next bull market will be in commodities, this guide will find a large audience among investors interested in diversifying beyond stocks and bonds. This guide does a terrific job of explaining the practical aspects of futures trading and will be of great use to anyone interested in using these instruments to participate in market trends."
—John Damgard, President, Futures Industry Association

About the Author

REFCO Private Client Group, formerly known as Lind-Waldock, is a futures broker dedicated to giving individual investors the benefits of an unbeatable combination of strength, commitment, and focus. Founded in 1965, Lind-Waldock earned a reputation for delivering innovative products and providing exceptional client service. Lind-Waldock was acquired by Refco Group Ltd. in 2000 and became a division of Refco, LLC, in 2001. In 2005, the firm changed its name to Refco Private Client Group.
Subscribe to Refco Private Client Group's eNewsletter at www.refcoprivateclient.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047148802X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471488026
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for trader types, but for investor types, March 30, 2007

By 

Keith Vallely "Keith" (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards (Paperback)

This book is an excellent example of the financial industry specialists getting together and writing a compendium of information about a particular market investment strategy. It covers all the 'concepts' of trading but from the angle of the Financial Advisor's world. In other words, if you have money to invest, and you would like to understand the issues that pertain to investing in the commodities world, this book will help you ascertain what the commodities investment vehicle is all about. It does not advise a person to use a managed account, nor does it advise to trade on your own. However, if you are a typical 'investor' who is looking to build up a 401K or what have you, this book will help you decide if adding some funds to a managed commodities account makes sense, with your spare $XX,000.00. The book does have a few relevant charts for beginner traders that can be of assistance if you are looking to trade commodities on your own. It also includes some good summaries of trading styles, and charting types, but again, it is designed to help educate a investor class person more so than build a trader types knowledge base.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book About Trading Futures, January 4, 2007

By 

John J. Bava III (Gladstone, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards (Paperback)

This is a great publication for those interested in learning about futures. Even if you're not considering actually trading these financial instruments, this book is still useful. Most people are aware of the inherent risks of futures. However, they are completely unaware of the reasons, given their lack of understanding of leverage, which this book does a great job of explaining.

Other characteristics that make this book useful is its thorough review of charts. One cannot trade commodities successfully without being able to find opportunities based on chart reading, and with this book, you can master a variety of technical indicators, from moving averages to stochastics. If you have questions about how the tax code treats profits garnered from futures trading, this book provides a full chapter on the subject.

Overall, this is a worthwhile buy if you have any interest at all in the commodities and monetary futures markets. It's all about having the right knowledge in your grasp, and understanding the concepts presented in this book is a step in the right direction.