Entities trading Futures need three specific pieces of data, which can be populated using Create/Edit Entity or Add/Change Entity.
Lot Selection Method (27): multi-lot Future positions are often closed using
Modified FIFO
(MFIFO), which is a variation of FIFO that closes lowest cost lots first when relieving multiple open lots from a given dateIf Futures are going to be comingled with other securities, you may have to set up a Mixed Cost Basis Rule to enforce MFIFO specifically for Futures, as described
hereRegular FIFO only considers the Event Sequence (126) when relieving multiple open lots from a given date
Details about MFIFO and other lot relief methods are available in Understand Lot Selection Methods
Margin Price Source (18041): this price source is used for VM processing and can be different than the price sources used for URGL
If an entity has multiple bases, this must be the same across all bases; when adding a secondary basis it will default to the same value as the primary basis
Futures & Options with Margin Transaction Fees (3889): this only affects Futures with VM and allows the commission and fees to be either included or excluded in cost for gain/loss calculations
Net Futures Positions (632)
Yes
: long and short trades are netted to a single long position (all trades are considered long, with negative units if a position or trade is short)This is allowed even if Tech Short Eligible (57) =
No
, which would typically prevent negative units
No
: long and short trades create two separate position rows (trades and positions are considered long or short, always with positive units)
Futures Clearing Broker (634): there can only be one Clearing Broker per futures trade
The trade panel will automatically default to this value, but it can be overridden if necessary
Some clients have a requirement to process the same Future with VM in certain funds and without VM in others. This can be accomplished by using a Variation Margin Override Rule. Refer to Override a Security's Variation Margin Setting for an Entity for details.