Futures are often thought about in the same category as alternatives. While they are both derivatives, in that they acquire their value from some base safety and security, there is one very crucial distinction. While options give the right, but not the responsibility to buy or offer the underlying safety and security, a futures agreement is a lawfully binding obligation to purchase or market that same commodity. tradingfutuers.com Thus, while options restrict your loss to the price spent for that alternative, futures trading might lead to a loss of your whole financial investment and also even more to satisfy that responsibility.