Is that really all that's needed for such a contract? How come anything I get from the bank has pages and pages of terms and conditions?
I've not found any examples of shares or futures conrtacts on the forum thus far, lots of mentions of shares but nothing in terms of a contract.
There is no need for a futures contract to be complicated. All it needs to state is that Person A will pay Person B, X amount for thing Z, on Date Y.
As for a share, when it's created by a company the rights and obligations that come with it are spelled out in the offering document. If you want to buy it from the company you give them the price and they give you the share. A transfer of that share to another party is just another agreement for A to pay B, X amount, and doesn't really have anything to do with the company other than them needing to be kept apprised of who actually owns the share so they can send dividends/notices/whatever to the right person.
You get pages and pages from the bank because you are purchasing a service from them (ie: a bank account) and they are spelling out the limits on their obligations and liabilities to you, as well as telling you what they can impose on you, or the limits on their services or whatever.