How does GCI make money without charging a commission?
The same way that banks have made money dealing in foreign exchange for decades without commissions – GCI is a primary market maker and seeks to capture a portion of the bid/ask spread (the difference between the buy and sell price). The same costs of trading apply to traditional futures trading, but there are more parties involved: the futures exchange and floor brokers profit from the bid/ask spread, while the FCM keeps the commission and shares it with any Introducing brokers. GCI does not use an exchange and therefore does not need the extra fees to be profitable.
