Future Trading Education

Market Exchanges:
All future exchanges offer educational resources to traders of all levels. This can include contract specifications, introductory material on how the futures markets work, strategy documents and articles, webinars and seminars about the futures markets. The Chicago Mercantile exchange (www.cme.com) has an educational resource section with specific sections dedicated to: simulated trading, live webinars, in person events and strategy papers. The Chicago Board of Trade (www.cbot.com) also has a dedicated education section that covers simulation, strategies, publications and contract specifications. A list of further education resources is also included for individuals who are looking for specific techniques or individual instruction and tutoring. Nymex (www.nymex.com) also provides downloadable material and information on options, hedging and alternative investment research.

Worldwide exchanges usually have a dedicated education section. You need to determine whether you are interested in energy trading education, commodities trading education or regional based futures trading. You would then investigate the website where the product is actually traded. Additional exchanges include: Sydney (www.sfe.com.au), Singapore (www.sgx.com), Eurex (www.eurexchange.com) , London (www.euronext.com).

Investment and trading portals also provide information on futures trading education. Finance portals such as MSN and Yahoo or dedicated market sites such as Market Watch or the Wall Street Journal. You can do a search on the products you are interested in for further information.

Specialized futures trading education services also provide opportunities for individuals to learn from experienced and seasoned professionals. You can purchase ebooks, take educational webinars or attend online or offline seminars. Subscription services are also available through some sites. Check out Trade The Markets as an example of services that are available (www.tradethemarkets.com).

Traders and investors regularly visit stock and futures trading forums. You can pick up tips and strategy ideas by reading through some of the regular and archived posts. Futures trading education is an ongoing process. A live simulator is also a great way to learn how the markets trade and to gain confidence in your approach.