CFDs vs. Futures

Contracts for Variance (CFDs) and Futures are two types of widely used derivative contracts, as their prices originate from distinct underlying properties. They encourage traders to bet on price volatility without owning securities. Both are heavily leveraged financial instruments, giving traders higher exposure with a limited initial investment equal to a small portion of the underlying asset's real value. 

CFDs and Futures: What are they? 

A futures contract is an obligation to purchase (long) or sell (short) a financial commodity based on an underlying asset at a fixed date. These contracts include the exact amount, location, sale/ purchase date of the physical asset, and the predetermined price. When the deal ends, a trader can resolve it in cash or by debiting or crediting the money from the account of the party involved, or by the actual transfer of the underlying asset. Future futures are exchanged only on particular markets, precisely specifying each trade's parameters. 

CFDs are arrangements to swap the price differential of an asset between contract start and end or merely a deal dependent on an underlying asset's price volatility. The trader speculates on price movement, and if they conclude that prices are going to grow, they take a long position, and if they assume prices will decline, they take a short market position. The faction who has their speculation right gets the market fluctuation profit. 

What are their differences? 

Standardization 

Both are derivatives, but they vary where they are sold. Future contracts are exchanged in official exchanges such as London Stock Exchange, Euronext, NASDAQ Futures Exchange (NFX), and more. Highly regulated and structured futures contracts with fixed parameters. Just the settlement date varies from contract to contract. 

Difference contracts are instruments traded over-the-counter (OTC). Often they are not issued by official exchanges but by traders with their terms and conditions. CFD companies organize an asset-to-trade market and often generate and deliver real-time rates. 

Spreads 

This is the disparity in an asset's buying or selling price. Futures and CFDs are sold using spreads. However, spreads on the futures market appear to be small. Often, CFD companies use the futures market to hedge their bets and give the CFD market a wider spread.

Versatility of Leverage 

Leverage helps a dealer to achieve much greater leverage than they will use the quantity of their portfolio. The increased debt will multiply the potential benefit, but greater exposure will also mean higher potential risks. 

For futures, leverage ranges from contract to contract, but it's not very flexible. An exchange or clearing house decides the original margin or amount deposited to acquire a futures contract. This margin is around 5-10% of the contract's real value. 

Brokers build CFDs, allowing the broker to set the initial contract margin. This offers a range of opportunities for individual traders in terms of initial margin, depending on their risk appetite. 

Scale of contract

 Futures are exchanged on large markets to be used by large financial firms. Those contracts have a major minimum scale. For example, Shell's minimum oil contract unit is 5,000 barrels. Comparatively, one CFD crude oil is 50 gallons. Difference contracts have much more versatility and are open to individual small traders who can not bear broad exposure. 

Regulations 

There are fewer controls on CFDs relative to futures, making it easier to open an account to sell CFDs. Future contracts are heavily regulated by exchanges, making opening an account complicated. Fewer rules often facilitate CFDs with far less money than futures. 

Expiration

 In the derivatives market, the contract expiry date is predetermined. This deadline, in contract terms, specifies when to supply the underlying asset at the negotiated price. The exchange sets the contract expiry deadline, enabling trade. Many futures contracts are resolved before the expiry date, as traders enter into those contracts without taking tangible resources. They want to benefit from price volatility.

 A variance deal has no predetermined price or expiry date. A trader enters the agreement and liquidates it as the underlying asset price goes against the purchased position. The disparity between the price at touch start and the price at contract expiration is the trader's benefit or loss.