Commissions and fees in your trading account

Every trade you place — whether on a cash account or a prop firm account — has a cost attached to it. This isn't something Vector controls; it's a structural reality of trading on any market. Understanding what those costs are, and where to find the exact figures for your situation, helps you set realistic expectations.

The categories of cost

When you execute a trade, the total cost is typically a combination of several layers:

• Broker commissions. Per-contract or per-share fees charged by your broker for executing the trade.
• Exchange fees. Charged by the exchange where the contract or stock is listed (CME for futures, NYSE/NASDAQ for U.S. equities, etc.). These exist regardless of which broker you use.
• Clearinghouse and regulatory fees. Smaller per-trade fees that go to the entities that settle and oversee the trade (NFA fees for futures, SEC fees for equities, etc.).
• Market data fees. Some real-time data feeds carry monthly subscription costs, depending on the exchange and your account type.
• Slippage. The difference between the price you expected and the price you actually got. Slippage is not a "fee" in the billing sense, but it has a real effect on every order. (See: Slippage.)
• Margin interest (stocks/cash margin only). If you're trading on margin in a stock account, the broker charges interest on the borrowed amount. Futures margin works differently and does not carry interest in the same way.

Where to find the actual numbers

The exact cost of each layer depends entirely on your broker and your account type. Two clients on different brokers will pay different commissions for the same trade. Two clients on the same broker may pay different rates depending on volume tiers, account size, or specific agreements.

For accurate, current figures: - Check your broker's official fee schedule or commission page on their website. - Review your monthly statement — it will itemize what you actually paid. - Contact your broker's support with specific questions about your account's pricing.

Vector does not set, control, or have authoritative information about broker pricing — those numbers are determined by the broker and change over time.

What this means in practice

• Costs always exist. Every executed order carries some combination of the above. There is no setup where trades are completely free of all friction.
• Costs are part of the strategy's net result. When you look at your account performance, what you see is already net of these costs. Strategies are evaluated on real net outcomes, not gross gains before fees.
• Vector strategies are not designed to be sensitive to small commission differences between brokers. That said, if you're considering a broker change for cost reasons, that's a decision made on your side based on the broker's own published pricing.

Related

• For supported brokers, see the Supported Brokers article.
• For an explanation of slippage and how it shows up in your trades, see the Slippage article.