There is a big difference between stock index futures and margin trading.
(1) Stock index futures are different from margin trading.
Although there are also short selling and short selling trading mechanisms, stock index futures are aimed at stock indexes, and margin financing and securities lending are aimed at funds, stocks and bonds that meet the requirements of the exchange. The rise and fall of individual stocks are often not completely synchronized with the index. Therefore, the trading objects of margin financing and securities lending business are more extensive.
(B) Stock index futures and margin trading are different.
Margin trading is still a full credit transaction in kind; Stock index futures are traded by margin credit.
(3) Stock index futures and margin trading are different participants.
The requirements of margin financing and securities lending are very high. The customer must sign a margin financing and securities lending contract with a securities company, which contains the necessary clauses stipulated by the Securities Association of China, specifying the amount, term, interest rate (rate), calculation method of interest (expense), margin ratio, maintenance guarantee ratio, types of securities that can offset the margin, conversion rate, scope of secured creditor's rights, etc. It can be seen that the short-selling mechanism generated by the securities lending business belongs to the one-to-one over-the-counter trading mode similar to interest rate repurchase. For ordinary small and medium-sized retail investors, the securities business department will not provide margin financing and securities lending, which is only the privileged business of institutional investors. Different from stock index futures, the counterparties of stock index futures investors are all futures exchanges, that is, the exchange is the seller of the buyer and the buyer of the seller. Investors are faced with the same futures contract. From this perspective, stock index futures trading is more efficient than margin financing and securities lending. As long as your funds meet the trading margin requirements, you can enter the market for trading, so the participants are more extensive.
(D) The risk control systems of margin trading and stock index futures business are different.
According to the rules of margin trading of Shanghai Stock Exchange, when the margin of margin trading of a single underlying securities reaches 25% of the market value or liquidity of listed securities, the exchange may suspend its short-selling trading on the next trading day and make an announcement to the market. The risk of stock index futures is controlled by compulsory liquidation, price limit, position restriction, large-scale declaration and forced lightening.