US-listed options and futures trading

Why trade US-listed options and futures with us?

* Futures are only available in a margin account.

Trade US-listed futures with low commissions¹

Below are our futures commission rates per contract.

Which US-listed options and futures products can you trade with us?

Our streamlined platform gives you access to US-listed options with stocks, ETFs, indices and futures as underlying assets. You can choose to trade these pure-form options using a cash account or a margin account on our browser or mobile app version of the platform.

You can also get exposure to pure-form futures with indices (including volatility indices), forex, interest rates or commodities as underlying assets in a margin account.

Trading options in a cash account

A cash account lets you take positions with the funds that are available in your account. You cannot access leverage in this account type and you’ll be restricted to a selection of permissible strategies.

Trading options and futures in a margin account

It’s vital to understand the risks and complexity of trading in a margin account as it may not be suitable for you. When you use this account type, you’ll typically trade on a leveraged basis, which gives you magnified exposure. To open a position, you’ll only need to pay a certain percentage of the trade’s total worth, ie notional value. However, pure-form options are non-marginable – even when trading them in a margin account.

Leverage enables you to open a much bigger trade at a smaller initial deposit and gives you amplified potential for profit. But it also magnifies your possible losses, and you could lose money rapidly. Any profits made or losses incurred are calculated based on the full value of the trade.

When trading in a margin account, you’ll have more options and futures strategies available to employ, eg selling naked call options, defined-risk options spreads, and buying and selling futures and futures options.

Trading using a margin account carries increased risks compared to a cash account and can result in your losses exceeding your deposits. You can find detailed information about this in our risk disclosure notice.

Support

Our pure-form options and futures are based on tastytrade’s award-winning platform.² tastytrade is part of IG Group. We’ve combined our experience and skills to ensure that you have seamless access to expert support that’s just a phone call away.

Here’s how we support you:

Inspirational content

Watch and learn, live and on demand; access news, insights and more, courtesy of our friends at tastylive

Accessible support

Reach out to our knowledgeable team, 24 hours a day from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday (UK time)

Innovative technology

Use an award-winning platform with sophisticated tools,² including intuitive ways to manage your risk and superior analytics

About tastytrade and tastylive

tastytrade and tastylive are brainchildren of options traders who wanted to empower ambitious and self-directed traders. They started out with the content brand – tastylive – in 2011, and then launched the brokerage service – tastytrade – in 2017. Both joined IG Group in 2021.

Offering options, futures, stocks and more, tastytrade enables the pursuit of personal independence and financial freedom. You can access the award-winning broker’s options and futures products, using fast and reliable software, straight from the My IG dashboard through our streamlined platform.²

tastylive is an authentic, original and free online financial network with over 100 original shows. It’s grown so much that a catch-all term was coined to refer to its team, viewers and listeners – ‘the tastynation’.

With 40 hours of live programming each week, there’s something for everyone – inspiration, live trades, education and so much more. This global community has garnered around 27 million YouTube views through its fun and engaging content.⁴

What is options trading?

Options trading is taking a position as a buyer or a seller in a contractual agreement to exchange an underlying asset at a specific price by a certain expiration date. The holder of an options contract has the right, but not the obligation to buy or sell the underlying asset. If they choose to exercise their right, the counterparty is then – through the process of assignment – obligated to fulfil the terms of the contract (ie to sell/buy the underlying to/from the holder).

Options are standardised and you can choose a call or a put to speculate on a financial instrument's price movements. Possible profits and losses don’t depend on direction only, though, as options are non-linear – they’re also affected by factors such as implied volatility (IV), time to expiration and location of the strike price in relation to the underlying price. You can combine calls and puts to employ a variety of strategies across different market environments.

What is futures trading?

Futures trading is an agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price by a certain expiry date. You’ll exchange the underlying using a futures contract.

Because both parties are obligated to make the exchange, the trade will happen automatically upon expiration at the agreed-upon price if the holder doesn’t do it before the expiry date. This is one of the differences between options and futures.

Comparatively, options allow for more flexibility as there’s no obligation for the owner to exchange the underlying. But these contracts are also similar in ways, eg both are standardised and traded on regulated exchanges.