NE
W
THE TRADERS
COMMUNIT Y
INTRO
May you live in interesting times
This ancient Chinese curse is wheeled out every time the stock market sees a bit of volatility. If it
is applicable to the stock market, then its never been more applicable to the action we have seen
in 2008 and 2009.
What makes it interesting is not so much that the stock market suffered massive falls or that
people, unfortunately, lost money in stocks and property, but interest in commodity markets
pushed to a new high.
The offshoot has been many people are now looking past the traditional asset classes of property
and equities. People are now looking at alternatives that provide diversification, liquidity and of
course the opportunity to profit.
As a professional trader, I see impact in the market. My little niche is growing and I personally
think its fantastic. I first started learning about futures about 20 years ago thanks to a high school
excursion to the Sydney Futures Exchange. Since then I have been hooked. I have since been
involved in futures and/or options for most of those 20 years.
In the last few years, and more so in the last year, I have seen a growing interest in commodity
trading. Its exciting to see and I encourage everyone to have a good look at the opportunities.
That is what this eBook is about. Im introducing three relatively straight forward strategies. They
are all what you call spreads. That is, they involve buying one futures contract and selling
another to profit from a change in the price differential.
Spread trading is very much a niche, but as this eBook will show you, it can provide some fantastic
trading opportunities. I will show you three little strategies that professional traders use and few
others know.
Yes, there is some jargon and yes, some concepts may make you scratch your head, but please
persist. These strategies are not as complex as they first may seem. We are not talking rocket
science or complex mathematics here. The mathematics involves addition and subtraction.
So lets get on with it. First of all, I have put together what I call a miniglossary. These terms are
particularly relevant to the following discussion. Then we look at the three spread strategies: the
bull spread, the bear spread and the intermarket spread. This is the guts of this eBook. Then we
look at where to get more info on how to trade spreads.
This eBook is aimed at a beginner level. However, some knowledge of futures trading would be
advantageous.
SUMMARY
An e-book for beginners, Guy Bower introduces three relatively straight forward strategies for
spread trading -- buying one futures contract and selling another to profit from a change in the
price differential.
While spread trading is very much a niche, this eBook will illustrate that this method can provide
some fantastic trading opportunities. Guy shows you three little strategies that professional traders
use and few others know. There is also a mini glossary included relevant to the discussion of the
strategies.
BIO
Guy Bower has worked in financial markets for nearly 20 years. As an analyst, broker, director of a
managed-futures fund, and CEO of a stock brokerage and funds management business, Guy
learned his trade from the bottom up. Not satisfied simply to work in the financial markets, Guy
developed and utilized his entrepreneurial side to both advance his knowledge to a new and higher
level and deliver that knowledge through quality services. Building upon the foundation developed
from his years of work in the financial industry, he started and built a commodities broker business
and trading advisory service that has served countless traders. As an author, he continues to
deliver his hard-earned knowledge to traders of every stripe. Currently, as the Publisher of the PTD
newsletter (www.ProTradeDigest.com), and a contributor to TraderPlanet.com, a dynamic and
interactive website dedicated to educating traders, Guy uses his research, knowledge, and
experience to identify spread-trading opportunities in the market, and to make those opportunities
available to his readers.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. MiniGlossary
3. Strategy#1:TheBullSpread
4. Strategy#2:TheBearSpread
5. Strategy#3:TheInterCommoditySpread
6. Summation
7. AbouttheAuthor
8. WebResources
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10
12
13
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Acknowledgements
The charts in this eBook are kindly provided by eSignal. Over the years, I have used
many different systems. One I have kept is eSignal. I absolutely love it. Thanks to
Mina Delgado and all at eSignal for their ongoing support.
Thanks also to Daniels Trading who provided some of the data and technical
assistance.
Legal Information
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of
future trading results. Information here is taken from sources believed to be reliable. We do not guarantee that such information is accurate or
complete and it should not be relied upon as such. There is no guarantee that the information given here will result in profitable trades. Only you
can take responsibility for your trading decisions. This document is meant as education, not advice.
Copyright 2009 Guy Bower. All Rights Reserved.
ProTrader LLC. 244 5th Avenue #2741. New York, NY 10001
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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INTRODUCTION
byGuyBower
Mayyouliveininterestingtimes
ThisancientChinesecurseiswheeledouteverytimethestockmarketseesabitofvolatility.Ifitis
applicabletothestockmarket,thenitsneverbeenmoreapplicabletotheactionwehaveseenin
2008and2009.
Whatmakesitinterestingisnotsomuchthatthestockmarketsufferedmassivefallsorthatpeople,
unfortunately,lostmoneyinstocksandproperty,butinterestincommoditymarketspushedtoa
newhigh.
Theoffshoothasbeenmanypeoplearenowlookingpastthetraditionalassetclassesofproperty
andequities.Peoplearenowlookingatalternativesthatprovidediversification,liquidityandof
coursetheopportunitytoprofit.
Asaprofessionaltrader,Iseeimpactinthemarket.
MylittlenicheisgrowingandIpersonallythinkits
fantastic.Ifirststartedlearningaboutfuturesabout
20yearsagothankstoahighschoolexcursiontothe
SydneyFuturesExchange.SincethenIhavebeen
hooked.Ihavesincebeeninvolvedinfuturesand/or
optionsformostofthose20years.
Inthelastfewyears,andmoresointhelastyear,I
haveseenagrowinginterestincommoditytrading.
ItsexcitingtoseeandIencourageeveryonetohaveagoodlookattheopportunities.
ThatiswhatthiseBookisabout.Imintroducingthreerelativelystraightforwardstrategies.Theyare
allwhatyoucallspreads.Thatis,theyinvolvebuyingonefuturescontractandsellinganotherto
profitfromachangeinthepricedifferential.
Spreadtradingisverymuchaniche,butasthiseBookwillshowyou,itcanprovidesomefantastic
tradingopportunities.Iwillshowyouthreelittlestrategiesthatprofessionaltradersuseandfew
othersknow.
Yes,thereissomejargonandyes,someconceptsmaymakeyouscratchyourhead,butplease
persist.Thesestrategiesarenotascomplexastheyfirstmayseem.Wearenottalkingrocket
scienceorcomplexmathematicshere.Themathematicsinvolvesadditionandsubtraction.
Soletsgetonwithit.Firstofall,IhaveputtogetherwhatIcallaminiglossary.Thesetermsare
particularlyrelevanttothefollowingdiscussion.Thenwelookatthethreespreadstrategies:thebull
spread,thebearspreadandtheintermarketspread.ThisisthegutsofthiseBook.Thenwelookat
wheretogetmoreinfoonhowtotradespreads.
ThiseBookisaimedatabeginnerlevel.However,someknowledgeoffuturestradingwouldbe
advantageous.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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MINIGLOSSARY
FuturesContract
Afuturescontractisacommitmenttomakeortakedeliveryofaspecificquantityandqualityofa
givencommodity[orasset]ataspecificdeliverylocationandtimeinthefuture.Alltermsofthe
contractarestandardizedexceptfortheprice,whichisdiscoveredviathesupply(offers)andthe
demand(bids).Thispricediscoveryprocessoccursthroughanexchangeselectronictradingsystem
orbyopenauctiononthetradingfloorofaregulatedcommodityexchange.
Allcontractsareultimatelysettledeitherthroughliquidationbyanoffsettingtransaction(a
purchaseafteraninitialsaleorasaleafteraninitialpurchase)orbydeliveryoftheactualphysical
commodity.Anoffsettingtransactionisthemorefrequentlyusedmethodtosettleafutures
contract.Deliveryusuallyoccursinlessthan2percentofallagriculturalcontractstraded.
Source:CME
Longposition
Buyingafuturescontractwithaviewofitincreasinginpricemeansyouhavealongpositionorare
longthemarket.
Bullish
Abullishviewmeansyouexpectthemarketpricetogoup.
Shortposition
Sellingafuturescontractbeforeyoubuyitiscalledgoingshortorshortselling.Thisconceptoften
confusesthenewcomerasthereflexthoughtisHowcanyousellsomethingyoudontown?
Thekeytogettingyourheadaroundthisoneistorememberfuturescontractsaresimply
agreementsorbetsonfutureprice,andaregenerallynotenteredwithaviewofdeliveringortaking
deliveryofthephysicalcommodity.
Toenterashortposition,youplaceanordertosellthefuturescontractorcontracts.Toclosethe
position,youplaceanordertobuythecontract(s)back.
Bearish
Abearishviewmeansyouexpectthemarketpricetogodown.
ExpiryorDeliverymonth
Allfuturescontractshaveafinitelife.Thatis,thereissomepointinthefuturewheretheyceaseto
trade.Anexchangewillmakeavailableanumberofexpirymonthsdependingondemandfor
trading.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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Somecontractscallforphysicaldelivery,somecallforcashsettlement,butveryfewpeoplekeep
tradinguntiltheexpirydate.Mostcontractsareclosedoutbeforehand,soactualdeliveryor
physicalsettlementisrare.
Margin
Whenyouenterintoafuturescontract,youdonotneedtopaytheentirecontractvalue.Instead
youarechargedadepositormargin.Thismarginvariesdependingontheparticularcontract.
Marginratestendtobeasmallfractionofthetotalcontractvalue.
FuturesBroker
Totradeinfuturescontractsyouneedafuturesbroker.Somestockbrokersmayhavefutures
tradingdepartmentsbuttherearealsomanybrokersthatofferfuturestradingonly.
Spread
InthecontextofthiseBook,aspreadisthesimultaneouspurchase(long)ofonecontractandsaleof
another(short)withaviewofprofitingfromachangeinthepricedifferential.
Toqualifyasaspread,thecontractshavetoberelated.Forexample,youcouldtakeonaspread
positionbybuying(goinglong)wheatandselling(goingshort)corn.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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STRATEGY#1:TheBullSpread
Thebullspreadconsistsoftwofuturescontractsonelong(bought)andoneshort(sold).Tocreate
abullspread,atraderwouldbuythenearertoexpirycontractandsellshortthedistantcontract.
Someexamplesofbullspreadsare:
Long(bought)Contract
Short(sold)Contract
July2010Soybeans
September2010Soybeans
October2009NaturalGas
November2009NaturalGas
September2009Corn
December2009Corn
Generallyspeaking,abullspreadisabullishposition.Thatis,thespreadisastrategyatraderwould
placewhenhe/sheisbullishonthemarket.
WhatMakesitaBullishPosition?
Theanswertothisoneisverysimple.Whenamarketrallies,itisnormallythenearercontractthat
leadstheway.Thatis,thecontractthatisclosertoexpirytendstomovefurtherthanthemore
distantcontract.Sobuyingthenearercontractandsellingthemoredistantcontractisabullish
strategy.
Asanexample,letshavealookatSoybeanMealovertheearlypartof2009.Thechartonthenext
pageshowsthepriceforDecemberSoybeanMealandthebullspreadpriceofDec2009lessJuly
2010SoybeanMeal.
YoucanseeabullmarketoccurredinbothSoybeanMealfuturesandthebullspreadaroundsame
time.
Inthemarket,traderscanusethespreadasanalternativetotradingasinglefuturesposition.There
areseveralreasonswhyaspreadmaybepreferred:
Significantlylowermargins.Thatis,itcostslesstoplacethetrade.
Reversalsinspreadscanoftenprecedereversalsintheunderlyingmarket.Thatis,the
spreadcanactasanearlywarningindicator.Thisisevidentinthechartabove.Ifyoulook
closelyatpoints1and2,youllseethespreadstartingandfinishingitsbullrunbeforethe
samemoveinthefuturescontract,madeamovehigher(point1)andcompletedtherally
(point2)beforethefutures.
Lowervolatility.Generallyspeaking,aspreadwillcarrylessvolatilityorriskthantrading
outrightfutures.Thiscanmakespreadsmoreattractivetothenewcomerorconservative
trader.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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Diversification.Lowermarginsmeansthetradercanspreadriskacrossmoretrading
positionsthanwouldbepossiblewhentradingoutrightcontracts.
WhenisaBullSpreadNotaBullishSpread?
Therearetimeswhentheunderlyingmarketmayrallyandthespreaddoesnotmoveinthesame
direction.Thescenariosinwhichthiscanhappendovaryfrommarkettomarket.
However,asageneralstatementitismoreoftennewsorfundamentalsupplyinformationthatwill
pushabullspreadhigherwhereasatechnicalorspeculatorledrallymaynotseethespreadmovein
thesamedirectionastheunderlyingfutures.
Whilethisconceptmayatfirstseemcomplex,itssimplyamatterofknowingwhatisdrivinga
certainmarket.Allthatisneededhereisagoodsourceoftradinginformationandmarketnews.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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STRATEGY#2:TheBearSpread
Likethebullspread,thebearspreadconsistsoftwofuturescontractsonelong(bought)andone
short(sold).Tocreateabearspread,atraderwouldsellshortthenearertoexpirycontractandbuy
thedistantcontract.
Someexamplesofbearspreadsare:
Short(sold)Contract
Long(bought)Contract
July2010Soybeans
September2010Soybeans
October2009NaturalGas
November2009NaturalGas
September2009Corn
December2009Corn
Youcanseethebearspreadissimplythereverseofthebullspread.Itstandstoreasonthatabear
spreadisabearishposition.Thatis,thespreadisastrategyatraderwouldplacewhenhe/sheis
bearishonthemarket.
Aswitharallyingmarket,whenamarketisinabeartrend,thenearercontracttendstoleadthe
way.Assuchabearspreadisanalternativetoanoutrightshortposition.
Justlikethebullspread,tradercanpreferabearspreadinabearmarketforreasonsoflower
margins,lowerrisk,betterdiversificationpotentialandthefactaspreadcansignalaturninthe
underlyingmarketaheadoftime.
Soletslookatanexample.ThefollowingpageshowsthesameSoybeanMealchartasthatinthe
bullspreadexample.NotethespreadisplottedasDec(near)lessJuly(far).Withthebearspread,
beingshorttheDec(near)andlongtheJuly(far)contracts,thetraderwouldwanttoseethisspread
falltomakeaprofit.
ThethingtoseeinthischartisthefallinthespreadastheoutrightDecembercontractfalls,as
shownbythetwoarrows.
AWordonMargins
Asmentionedearlier,onereasontradersliketotradespreadsisthelowermarginrequirements.In
theSoymealexample,amarginforanoutrightfuturescontractwouldbe$2000.Fortheabove
spread,itwouldbe10percentofthat,or$200.Thatsabigdifference.
Nowwhilethespreadhaslessvolatilitythanthefuturescontract,thespreadstillgivesyoufarmore
bangforyourbuck.Ofcoursethatcanworkforyouoragainstyoudependingonwhatthemarket
does,butitremainsanattractivefeatureofspreadtrading.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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GreatMarketsforTradingBullandBearSpreads
Thislistisbasedonexperienceandgeneralopinion.Theremaywellbemarketsnotlistedherethat
offergoodspreadtradingopportunity.
Energies:
CrudeOil,HeatingOil,NaturalGas
Grains:
Wheat,Corn,Soybeans,SoybeanOil,SoybeanMeal
Metals:
Copper
Food&Fibre:
Cocoa,Coffee,Sugar
Financials:
Eurodollars,Tbonds,Tnotes
Livestock:
FeederCattle,LiveCattle,LeanHogs
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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STRATEGY#3:TheInterCommoditySpread
Ourthirdtypeofspreadisanintercommodityspread.Itisaspreadbetweentwodifferentbut
relatedmarkets.
ConsidermarketssuchasWheatfuturesandCornfutures(below).Theyaresimilarcommodities
(beinggrains)andthepricesarerelated.Amoveinonemarketcanmovetheother,buttheydonot
moveoneforone.Thiscreatesspreadtradingopportunities.
Consideranothertwomarkets:LiveCattlefuturesandLeanHogfutures(below).Botharelivestock
bredforhumanconsumption.Bothfuturesmarketscanmoveinline,buttheycanalsohaveunique
influences.Thiscreatesspreadtradingopportunities.
AnotherexampleisSilverandGold(notpictured).Botharepreciousmetalsandassuchtendto
moveinlinewitheachother.Buttherearealsoinfluencesthatareuniquetoeachmarket.This
createsspreadtradingopportunities.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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Thereareessentiallythreetypesofintercommodityspreads:
1. Spreadsbetweenrelatedcommodities.Allexamplesabovefallunderthiscategory.
2. Spreadsbetweenacommodityanditsderivatives.AnexampleisSoybeansversusSoybean
OilandSoybeanMeal.TheOilandMealisderivedfromSoybeans.AnotherexampleisCrude
OilversusHeatingOilorUnleadedGas.HeatingOilandGasisderivedfromCrude.
3. Thethirdtypeofintercommodityspreadisspreadingthederivativesasoutlinedabove.An
exampleisSoyOilversusSoyMeal,orHeatingOilversusUnleadedGas.Thepricesofthese
contractsarerelatedbuttherelationshipdoesvaryandthereforespreadtrading
opportunitiesexist.
Soletslookatanexample.OnespreadIenjoytradingisLiveCattleversusLeanHogs.Asmentioned
above,botharelivestockbredforhumanconsumption.
Ononehandtheyareinterchangeablefoods.Ifthepriceofporkchopsistoohigh,youmaybuybeef
steaksinsteadforexample.However,therearealsosomedifferences.Pork,forexample,isusedto
makeprocessedmeats.Theseporkproductshavedifferentdemandcharacteristicsfrombeef
products.
Assuch,wehavetworelatedbutdifferentfuturescontracts.Thereinliesthetradingopportunity.
Forexample,duringtheUSsummerholidayanddrivingseason,demandforprocessedmeatspicks
uprelativetobeefproducts.Conversely,duringwinter,demandforbeefproductstendstobe
stronger.
Itstheshiftinrelativedemand(orsupply)thatcreatesaseasonalvariationinthespreadprice.
Generallyspeaking,thefuturescontractswillstartpricingintheseendproductdemandpatterns
wellaheadoftime,butwithawelltimedtrade,itispossibletomakemoneyfromthesepatterns.
FactsAboutInterCommoditySpreads:
Intercommodityspreadstendtobealittlemoreriskythanthekindofbullandbearspreads
welookedatearlier.
Marginsarestilllessthanoutrightfuturesmargins,butmorethanbull/bearspreadmargins.
Thereisgenerallymoreprofitpotentialfromanintercommodityspreadsthanabullorbear
spread.Thisisnotalwaysthecase,butitismoreoftenthannot.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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GreatMarketsforTradingInterCommoditySpreads
Metals:
GoldSilver
FinancialSpreads:
Combinationsof5yrnote,10yrnoteand30yrbond.
Grains:
CombinationsofWheat,CornandSoybeans
SoybeansCrush(Soybeans,SoyOilandSoyMeal)
Livestock:
CombinationsofFeederCattle,LiveCattle,LeanHogs
EnergyMarkets:
CrackSpreads(Crude,HeatingOil,UnleadedGas)
SUMMATION
ThiseBookpresentedthreespreadtradingstrategies.Thesearepopularstrategiesamongmany
professionalandveterantraders.
Despitethelowriskprofilerelativetotradingoutrightfutures,veryfewnewcomersknowofthese
strategies.Theglobalfinancialcrisishoweverisdrivingchange.Privatetradersarestartingtolook
beyondtheequityandpropertyinvestmentsandfocusonopportunityinsteadoftradition.
Thisiswherespreadtradingcancomealive.SpreadtradingofferssomegreatopportunityandI
hopethisshorteBookwillwhettheappetiteofsomenewtradersoutthere.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
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ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
Guy Bower has been involved in the financial markets for
nearly 20 years. He has worked as an analyst, broker, author
and was a director of a managed futures fund. He has started
and owned a commodity broking business and trading
advisory service. He has also been a CEO of a stock broker
and funds management business.
As the Publisher of the PTD newsletter (www.ProTradeDigest.com), Guy uses his
research, knowledge and experience to identify spread trading opportunities in the
market.
He may be reached at guy@guybower.com.
ThreeLittleSpreadsWentToMarketGuyBower.com
Page13
Chris Mahlmann
The markets volatility has made it more important than ever for the
trader or investor to be educated, and TraderPlanet is the one community that
brings all of us that education. It gives me the opportunity to share my
experience and insight with other traders around the world, and learn from
them to build my knowledge base. Having so much educational content
from so many providers, in so many dierent forms like the videos, webinars,
and blogs, all in one place that I can trust, helps me ultimately become a more
successful trader! Keep up the great work TraderPlanet.