| Futures | Stocks | |
|---|---|---|
| Product choices | Exposure to a wide variety of futures markets, such as stock indices, commodities, bonds, currencies, and volatility. | Partial ownership of a broad range of publicly traded companies within different market sectors. |
| Margin | Initial margin requirements are generally a fraction of the contract value; typically 3-12%. These percentage requirements can fluctuate. |
50% of the purchase amount (Regulation T). Please note: Not all stocks are marginable.
|
| Trading hours |
Most futures trade nearly 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Please note: Different contracts trade at different times, and it's important to know those times before trading. |
Outside of the regular U.S. exchange market hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Schwab offers extended pre-market and after-hours trading sessions on all of our platforms. Additionally, extended+overnight (24/5) trading of over 1,100 equities is available on any thinkorswim® platform, including all stocks in the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow 30, plus over 600 exchange-traded funds (ETFs). |
| Liquidity | Liquidity is evaluated using factors such as the bid/ask spread, daily contract trading volume, and open interest. Futures trading is volatile and liquidity varies across products, plus it can be impacted by economic and market conditions. | Liquidity is typically strongest in large-capitalization equities, where trading activity is highest. Smaller or less frequently traded stocks may see lower levels of liquidity. |
Understanding how futures differ from stocks can help you decide how each might fit into your strategy.
Source for table: CBOE