Ever considered trading the MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) instead of the ES (E-mini S&P 500)? The price action is the same, only the MES is regarded as more affordable. That’s because the value is 1/10th the ES. Some brokers, such as NinjaTrader Brokerage, allow you to fund an account as little as $400. We recommend practicing first, and then when you feel comfortable, start off with a small amount. The $400 amount to fund an account is a bit on the low side in our opinion, as you would probably want a bit more than that to absorb some losses (a part of trading). This video explains further…
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Recall from prior videos that the ES (E-mini S&P 500) is worth $12.50 per tick. A point is considered four ticks, therefore one point = $50 USD. Because you now know that the MES is 1/10 the value, we can use some basic math to determine each tick of the MES. $12.50 (ES tick value) * 1/10 = $1.25 (MES tick value). $50 (ES point value) * 1/10 = $5 (MES point value). Make sense? Great!
So, the main appeal of the MES is affordability. Stock trading can require an account size of $25,000. That’s out of range for many people. The E-mini S&P 500 can be traded with $3,000 or more (even less with some brokers). The Micro E-mini S&P 500 can be traded with as little as $400, as mentioned previously. If you decide to start off with the MES and find success in growing your account, you may want to switch over to the ES or trade with more MES contracts.
