Can you join a prop firm if you are not a us citizen?

I am interested in joining a prop firm. I have capital around $35K but I am a citizen of the uk.

I dont want to move to america but prefer to trade us markets.

If I cant join? Does any one know if there is a way around this rule e.g opening a us company etc.

I heard many prop firms are know styling themselves as hedgefunds is this true?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

Propfirms will not allow US citizens. IF you are a citizen of UK thre is no problem.

 

Thanks for your help.

What are the best prop firms and what sort of leverage will they let you have?

 

Firms that are U.S. based and registered with CBSX require you have a Series 56 license and be a U.S. citizen. Access to firm capital is usually 20x your capital contribution, with a one year lock up on funds, as per SEC net capital rules.

If you are from the U.K., then the "workaround" is to join an offshore firm, here are a few firms to look into, which you can find easily via a web search:

Suretrader (Bahamas)
Nevis Trading (Island of Nevis)
World Trade Securities (Cayman, not the domestic based WTSprop, this is a separate entity).

I don't think you can simply open a U.S. based company to trade with a U.S. prop if you're from the U.K., however, I know of a U.S. trader who set up an offshore firm in Hong Kong to trade with an Israeli based firm, but it cost him about 2k to set up and the reasons for doing this was to collect overrides on his Chinese-based traders. In your situation, it's probably best to contact one of the firms that are incorporated offshore.

Always conduct your OWN due diligence and remember that your capital contribution is at risk if the firm fails to meet its net capital obligations, regardless if it is U.S. based or offshore.

Ok, hope that helps.

 

Correction: CBSX registered prop firms are now members of the PHLX as their SRO (Self Regulatory Organization). Apparently, this change was effective in August 2014.

 

@ScalperJoe you seem to be familiar with the whole prop firm scene as well as the SRO transition. I posted my concerns earlier and it seems that all is kosher. I wouldn't mind a second onion from someone that seems aware of this. Thanks in advance.

http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index.php?threads/wts-alliance-with-t3-trading.287437/

 

I traded prop for awhile and now I'm back to retail, as I can hold overnight and play options, so more flexibility. However, I have some buddies still in the prop game and they mentioned the transition. It seems kosher as you said. I actually was not aware about the CBSX no longer being an SRO for the props until yesterday. It seems the props migrated in August.