Single-stock futures - futures contracts on individual stocks - have been met with more fanfare than any other product ever to hit Wall Street. Single-stock futures are the most cash-efficient way to trade stocks. They simply cannot be matched for speed when positions need to be altered to match market direction. They also offer tremendous leverage. Rather than paying for stocks in full or the usual hefty 50% margin requirement, single-stock futures only require a modest 20% down, which means you could control $100,000 worth of stock for only $20,000.