A: HedgeStreet is the nation's first person-to-person market that gives online investors the opportunity to trade innovative financial instruments based on economic risks in their daily lives - like the price of gas at the pump, changes in real estate values, and the rise or fall of interest rates. Until today, only large institutions on Wall Street have been able to trade these types of instruments. HedgeStreet is subject to regulatory oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is both a Designated contract Market and a Derivatives Clearing Organization.

A: The HedgeStreet proposition is simple: We list unique financial instruments, called contracts, and offer access to all traders. Individuals and entities can apply for membership, and once approved, can trade contracts to hedge or speculate on a variety of economic events or price movements. Detailed information and sample trades are provided for each contract to help you learn about the underlying market, as well as how trading and settlement works on HedgeStreet. To access this information, please visit the contract Details page for each individual contract.

A: Yes. HedgeStreet is subject to regulatory oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency created by the United States Congress to regulate the commodities and futures industry. For more information about the CFTC, visit www.cftc.gov.

A: For most of its instruments, HedgeStreet has market makers who buy and sell contracts by placing bids and offers for other HedgeStreet members to fill. HedgeStreet provides a forum in which members can trade.

A: HedgeStreet is a retail derivatives exchange with small contract sizes and fees, enabling traders large and small to participate. HedgeStreet offers unique and easy-to-understand financial products that limit counterparty and settlement risk and clearly define the amount of gains and losses traders may incur.

A: Yes. As on all other exchanges, speculation is permissible on HedgeStreet. In fact, speculation is the cornerstone of all financial markets because it facilitates price discovery and liquidity. HedgeStreet's financial contracts allow traders to hedge on a full spectrum of outcomes where there is a risk with an economic consequence. Speculators who are willing to take the other side provide the necessary liquidity to the market.

A: Many of the financial and trading terms used on our website are defined in the various FAQ sections of this Help Center. Additionally, clicking on a trading term that has been formatted as a link will enable you to view the definition for the specific term in a pop-up box.

A: The HedgeStreet Exchange is open for trading during day and evening trading sessions. Day session trading hours are weekdays from 8 AM ET to 5 PM ET, except on Fridays when trading ends at 3 PM ET. Evening session trading (which will be considered part of the next day's "trade date") occurs from Monday through Thursday from 6 PM to 9 PM ET. The Exchange is closed for settlement between day and evening sessions from 5 PM to 6 PM ET. Trading hours on settlement dates are subject to a contract's expiration schedule. Please see HedgeStreet Trading Hours for more information.

Customer Service is available from 8 AM to 9 PM ET on weekdays, and until 3 PM on Fridays. The Exchange is closed on certain observed holidays.

A: We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Account Related and Technical Assistance sections of this Help Center. These sections outline the basic requirements for opening and maintaining an account on HedgeStreet. Then, you can proceed to open an account.