Everything riding on one strategy
A single approach in a single market condition. When the environment changes, there is nothing behind it.
Automated Futures Trading · Est. Experience Since 1999
Automated futures trading, engineered over 25 years.
ELSE Markets builds and operates automated futures systems for private clients. We match a system configuration to your capital, objectives, and account type — cash, IRA, Roth, or a 401(k) rollover — and it executes in your own StoneX account.
- 25+ years in automated futures markets
- Systems matched to your capital and objectives
- Traded in your own account at StoneX, a US-regulated broker
No obligation · No account funding required to talk
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
25+ years
Automated futures experience
StoneX
US-regulated futures broker
Your name
Accounts opened in your name
CFTC / NFA
US-regulated futures markets
The problem
Why most automated trading fails.
It is rarely the idea. It is the absence of research standards, professional execution, and a configuration that actually fits the account it runs in. That gap is the work we have spent 25 years closing.
No research standard
Retail systems are sold on highlight reels. Without one consistent testing and documentation standard, there is nothing meaningful to evaluate.
Desktop-grade execution
Software running on a home computer and a home connection misses fills, misses restarts, and misses the moments that matter most.
No fit to the account
Capital level, risk tolerance, and account type — cash or retirement — all change what should be traded. Off-the-shelf software ignores all three.
The firm
A quarter century in automated futures.
ELSE Markets is not a software shop. It is a futures automation practice with a long track record of building, testing, and operating systematic strategies for private clients.
Decades of development
25+ years designing and running systematic strategies across CME, CBOT, and NYMEX futures markets through multiple market regimes.
One documentation standard
Every system we operate is tested and documented the same way, with drawdown and risk characteristics presented alongside the applicable disclosures.
Live oversight
System behavior is monitored while it runs, and your configuration is reviewed as your capital and objectives change.
25+
Years in automated futures
CFTC
Regulated US exchanges
100%
Mechanical execution
Experience figures describe time active in automated futures markets. They are not performance figures and do not imply any particular result.
Why futures
Serious automation runs on futures.
This is not about which market pays more — no market does. It is about market structure. Futures were built for systematic execution in a way that retail forex and equities simply are not.
Where it trades
Futures
Centralized, CFTC-regulated US exchanges (CME, CBOT, NYMEX)
Retail forex
Over-the-counter, dealer by dealer
Stocks
Regulated exchanges, fragmented across many venues
Price transparency
Futures
One public order book with real, reported volume
Retail forex
Quotes vary by dealer; no consolidated volume
Stocks
Public quotes, but volume split across venues and dark pools
Counterparty
Futures
Trades cleared through a regulated clearing house
Retail forex
Your dealer is often the counterparty
Stocks
Cleared, with broker intermediation
Capital efficiency
Futures
Exchange-set margin; notional exposure with less committed capital
Retail forex
High leverage, dealer-set and inconsistent
Stocks
Reg-T margin limits, PDT rules on small accounts
Hours
Futures
Near 24/5 — systems can run around global sessions
Retail forex
24/5
Stocks
Core session, thin and gappy outside it
Fit for automation
Futures
Single deep contract per market, clean continuous history for system development
Retail forex
Dealer-specific data, inconsistent fills
Stocks
Thousands of symbols, splits, halts, borrow constraints
Structural differences only. None of the above implies higher returns, lower risk, or any particular result. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor; leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and you can lose more than your initial investment. Tax treatment of futures differs from other instruments and depends on your circumstances — consult your own tax advisor.
See the full picture on a 30-minute access call.
We walk you through how we operate, what fits your capital and account type, and what the next steps look like. No obligation.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.
The technology
The infrastructure private traders never had access to.
For decades, systematic futures trading lived inside firms — dedicated research, institutional platforms, disciplined execution. ELSE Markets operates that stack for private clients, in accounts held in their own names.
Exchange-grade execution rails
Systems run on professional platform infrastructure with direct exchange connectivity — not a desktop script on a home computer.
Fully mechanical execution
Entries, exits, and risk rules execute automatically. No manual intervention, no hesitation at the moment it matters.
One internal research standard
Every system we operate is developed, tested, and documented against the same internal standard, with the same disclosures.
Risk allocated at the account level
Position sizing and system selection are set against your capital and stated risk tolerance, not a one-size default.
A suite that scales with the account
As capital and objectives change, the configuration is reviewed and adjusted within the same relationship.
Infrastructure and process only. Nothing here implies any particular result. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.
Account types
Trade automated futures in the account that fits you.
Not every client trades from cash. We work with individual and joint accounts as well as self-directed retirement accounts, and the system configuration is matched to the account, not the other way around.
Cash / individual account
A standard individual or joint futures account at StoneX, opened in your own name and funded from cash you can afford to put at risk.
Traditional IRA
A self-directed retirement account held with a qualified custodian, with the futures account in your name. Eligibility is confirmed before anything is opened.
Roth IRA
Self-directed Roth accounts are supported the same way, through a qualified custodian. Contribution and eligibility rules are set by the IRS, not by us.
401(k) rollover
Funds from an eligible former-employer plan can be rolled into a self-directed retirement account. Whether your plan is eligible depends on the plan itself.
All accounts are opened in the client's own name; retirement accounts are held with a qualified custodian. Eligibility and suitability are confirmed on the call before anything is opened. Retirement account eligibility depends on your plan and custodian, and tax treatment depends on your circumstances — consult your own tax advisor. Trading futures in a retirement account involves substantial risk of loss, including the loss of retirement savings.
Process
How working with ELSE Markets works.
Five steps, starting with one call.
- 01
Book your access call
A short conversation about your objective, your capital, and the risk you are prepared to carry. No obligation.
- 02
We map systems to your situation
We review which of our automated futures systems suit your capital level, objectives, and account type — cash, IRA, Roth, or a 401(k) rollover.
- 03
Your allocation is set
Position sizing and system selection are documented against your stated risk tolerance, with the research and disclosures in front of you before anything runs.
- 04
Open your StoneX account and complete setup
Your futures account is opened in your own name at StoneX, a US-regulated broker — retirement accounts through a qualified custodian — then we handle platform and technical implementation.
- 05
We monitor, review, and adjust
Execution is watched while it runs, and the configuration is reviewed with you as your capital and objectives change.
The access call
What happens on the call.
One conversation, no pressure, no obligation. It exists so you can evaluate whether working with us makes sense for your situation before anything else happens.
Your objective and capital, reviewed
We walk through what you are trying to build, the capital you are working with, and the risk you are prepared to carry.
How we actually operate
A direct walkthrough of how our systems are developed, documented, executed, and monitored — and what our 25 years in this market changed about how we do it.
Which configuration fits your account
We explain how system selection and sizing differ across capital levels and account types, including IRA, Roth, and 401(k) rollover accounts, so you can evaluate the fit yourself.
Your next steps, if it's a fit
Account setup at StoneX, technical implementation, and what happens after. If it isn't a fit, we tell you plainly.
Ready to see whether this fits your situation?
One conversation is all it takes to find out — and we will tell you plainly if it isn't a fit.
What's included
What working with ELSE Markets includes.
A working relationship with an automation practice — research, implementation, and oversight — not a one-time software purchase. It is not a promise of results.
- Access to our automated futures systems, matched to your account
- Complete research documentation with the applicable disclosures
- Allocation and position-sizing guidance against your stated risk tolerance
- Account setup support at StoneX — cash or self-directed retirement
- Full platform and technical implementation, handled for you
- Ongoing monitoring of live system execution
- Periodic review as your capital and objectives change
Fit
This is not for everyone.
We work with a specific kind of client, defined by capital level, objective, and account type. We would rather tell you now than on the call.
This is for you if…
- You have investable capital you can genuinely afford to put at risk
- You want a systematic, rules-based approach instead of discretionary trading
- You are trading from a cash, IRA, Roth, or eligible rollover account
- You are prepared to review drawdown and risk data, not just headline results
- You want your account in your own name at a US-regulated broker
This is not for you if…
- You are looking for guaranteed or predictable returns
- You need the capital you would be trading with
- You want someone else to have discretion over your account
- You are shopping for the cheapest piece of trading software
- You are not willing to accept that losing periods are part of the process
Trust
Your capital does not come to ELSE Markets.
Client accounts are opened in the client's own name at StoneX, a US-regulated futures broker. ELSE Markets provides system research, implementation, and oversight. We do not hold client funds and we do not guarantee investment performance.
Brokerage: StoneX
US-regulated futures brokerage
- US-regulated futures broker, part of a publicly traded financial services group
- Your account is opened in your own name and your funds are held at the broker
- Trades clear through regulated US futures exchanges and clearing houses
- ELSE Markets never takes custody of your capital and never trades at its discretion
Accounts in your name
Your futures account is opened in your own name at StoneX — retirement accounts through a qualified custodian — never at ELSE Markets.
Research and disclosures
Performance information is presented with the applicable disclosures and labeled actual or hypothetical.
Implementation handled
Platform setup, technical implementation, and client education are handled by our team, not left to you.
25+ years
Automated futures experience
StoneX
US-regulated futures broker
Your name
Accounts opened in your name
CFTC / NFA
US-regulated futures markets
FAQ
Questions before you book.
Book a call
Speak with a 25-year automated futures firm.
Share a few details and book a short call. We review your objective, your capital, and your account type, then explain what a fitting configuration looks like. No purchase is made on this page.
- How our systems are developed, executed, and monitored
- Which configuration suits your capital and account type — cash, IRA, Roth, or rollover
- Risk considerations before anything is implemented
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. ELSE Markets does not manage client accounts and does not guarantee any result.