期货与远期的区别,主要是:

期货与远期的区别,主要是:
  1.期货是标准化的合约,标的物的品质、数量、交割日期，等等均是标准化的，交易地点是在交易所采用集中交易的方式进行，发生违约的风险非常低，甚至几乎没有。期货合约的流通性更好，因为吸引了投机者的加入。
  2.远期合约是合同双方当事人根据需要商定标的物、品质、数量、价格、到期日等等。交易通常只在场外交易，由于合约非标准化，所以流通量不如期货，如果其中一方违约，则另一方会因此而承受违约风险。

Fundamentally, forward and futures contracts have the same function: both types of contracts allow people to buy or sell a specific type of asset at a specific time at a given price. 


However, it is in the specific details that these contracts differ. First of all, futures contracts are exchange-traded and, therefore, are standardized contracts. Forward contracts, on the other hand, are private agreements between two parties and are not as rigid in their stated terms and conditions. Because forward contracts are private agreements, there is always a chance that a party may default on its side of the agreement. Futures contracts have clearing houses that guarantee the transactions, which drastically lowers the probability of default to almost never. 


Secondly, the specific details concerning settlement and delivery are quite distinct. For forward contracts, settlement of the contract occurs at the end of the contract. Futures contracts are marked-to-market daily, which means that daily changes are settled day by day until the end of the contract. Furthermore, settlement for futures contracts can occur over a range of dates. Forward contracts, on the other hand, only possess one settlement date. 


Lastly, because futures contracts are quite frequently employed by speculators, who bet on the direction in which an asset's price will move, they are usually closed out prior to maturity and delivery usually never happens. On the other hand, forward contracts are mostly used by hedgers that want to eliminate the volatility of an asset's price, and delivery of the asset or cash settlement will usually take place.