TRADE THE FUTURE, TODAY WITH FUTURES
Lock-in prices, hedge your portfolio, and capitalise on market moves.
Trade leading Spot Quoted Futures
Explore these futures contracts available for trading and diversifying your investment portfolio
What is futures trading?
Futures trading involves buying or selling contracts to purchase popular assets at a predetermined price on a future date. Trading on regulated, exchange-listed futures contracts lets you lock in today’s prices to take advantage of upcoming increases or decreases in value.
Control a large value with a smaller upfront cost
Trade in both rising and falling markets
Avoid the hassle of physical asset delivery
Welcome to the Future – A New Way to Trade Futures
Spot-Quoted futures (SQFs) are a new category of futures contract from the CME Group, offering an innovative, transparent, and accessible way to gain real exposure to popular indices and cryptoassets.
eToro is one of the first platforms to offer access to these innovative contracts. With low margin requirements, annual expiries, and no need to roll over monthly, SQFs may catch the eyes of traders looking for low-friction access to real market futures.
How do SQFs work?
SQFs maintain close alignment with the spot market through a daily adjustment mechanism. Each day, an Adjustment Amount (ADJ) is applied to open positions, accounting for real-world factors such as dividends, interest rates, or funding costs.
This helps to keep the contract price stays closely tied to the live market value of the underlying asset
The daily adjustment
- Keeps the contract aligned with spot prices
- Reflects overnight costs or potential return
- Is applied once per day using a transparent formula
- May be positive (credit) or negative (debit), depending on the position
For eToro users, the ADJ will be reflected by the application of a daily overnight fee. These fees are applied daily and are visible in your position tooltip and the Fees page.
Why trade futures on eToro?
Whether you’re experienced with trading futures or just starting out, eToro’s easy-to-use, intuitive platform is the perfect choice
Execute multiple contracts in one transaction. Manage all of your trades from one multi-asset portfolio, without multiple logins.
Trade futures most hours of the day, 5 days a week. Place orders for immediate execution whenever exchanges are open.
Access free educational resources, advanced charts, real-time data and 24/5 customer service.
The power of locking in prices
When you buy or sell a futures contract, you lock in today’s prices — and can capitalise on market changes tomorrow. In a rising market, look to secure a lower price now. If prices are expected to drop, lock in a higher selling price today.
Here’s how it works: If you buy an oil futures contract today at $70 per barrel for delivery in two months, and the price rises to $80 by expiry, you still get it for $70, securing a $10 profit per barrel.
If you short an oil futures contract at $70 per barrel and the price drops to $60 by expiry, you still have the right to sell at $70, gaining a $10 profit per barrel.
Key features at a glance
Trade futures responsibly
Futures trading can be rewarding, but it also carries risks. Understanding the market is key — trade responsibly and stay informed.
- Read our guide to learn more about futures trading.
- Start small if you’re a beginner.
- Setting a stop-loss order is required to manage risk.
- Use eToro’s demo account to practise your strategy.
- Understand that trading with leverage amplifies both gains and losses.
- Be aware that prices can change rapidly, especially near expiry.
- Ensure that your account has sufficient funds to avoid a margin call, which can result in the forced closure of trades.
- Futures contracts are listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME). Be sure to review CME’s terms and conditions here.
- Read the Futures risk disclosures to understand the risks.
FAQ
- What are futures?
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Futures are exchange-traded financial contracts where two parties agree to buy or sell an asset such as commodities, currencies, or stock indices at a predetermined price on a specific future date. Futures are standardised and traded on regulated exchanges.
- What are the fees for futures trading?
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Futures trading on eToro is based on a flat fee per lot, which is applied when opening and closing a position. For micro futures, there are no additional overnight fees, making it a cost-effective option for traders who want to avoid carrying costs over time. For more information on pricing, see our fees page here.
- Can I partially close positions?
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If you hold positions with multiple contracts, you can close one or more contracts that are part of your position while keeping other contracts in the position open. This gives you flexibility to adjust your exposure based on market conditions or your trading strategy. Please note that the contracts themselves cannot be partially closed.
- What happens at expiry?
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Futures trading involves contracts with a set expiry date, at which time all trades must be settled. Futures trades can be manually closed up to eToro’s last trading day, which may occur on or before the expiry date, depending on the settlement type.
- For contracts with cash settlement, users can hold the positions until the expiry date, at which point eToro will automatically close the trades with the official exchange settlement rate.
- Any remaining open cash-settled client positions held until expiry will not close immediately. Instead, positions will be closed and locked until the final settlement price is confirmed by the exchange. This process can take one trading day after the expiry date. Once the settlement price is available, the positions will be manually processed and closed by our Back Office.
- For contracts with physical settlement, all trades will be closed on eToro’s last trading day, which is also visible on the trade screen and typically one day before the “First Notice Day” which is defined by the exchange. eToro does not support holding physical settlement contracts until the settlement date, as users will not receive the underlying assets physically.
- Any remaining open positions will be automatically liquidated on this early expiry date. Liquidation will occur within that trading date, typically between 7:00 and 13:00 ET.
- eToro will liquidate the open position by sending offsetting trades for execution in the market on behalf of the client.
Please note: eToro may charge extra fees on positions left open for expiry. eToro reserves the right to stop trading on any future that is traded around or below the price of $1, due to negative price risk considerations.
- For contracts with cash settlement, users can hold the positions until the expiry date, at which point eToro will automatically close the trades with the official exchange settlement rate.
- Is CopyTrader supported for futures trading?
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At this time, CopyTrader does not support futures trading.