yr kidding, it puts firms at risk? How does even 20000 <$25k noobs in one stock (maximal capital of $499,999,999) put a firm that is TBTF at risk?
you can think any way you like it,but i believe that the MORE participants is better.... i use to believe that exchanges are thinking same way,but not anymore..because they have "new" source of income now..they not interested in our pennies..they selling all sorts of data for those,who pay more..the result? a flash crash is just a little example. every day i'm struggling to unload any decent size position,because THERE IS NO REAL LIQUIDITY on US markets. and partially because there is a lack of real participants.
Bob, if you ever take the time to truly get an understanding on futures trading, I bet you would make the switch. For many years, I wouldn't even look at futures trading. My mind was made up and closed. Then, I opened my eyes. I plan on never trading stocks again.
What is the difference between someone with $1000 sucking at trading, or someone such as yourself, with $25,000 who sucks at trading? It's a matter of principle, not a matter of "scrounging up $25,000".
We know that this alias is the same person as noob_trader so please stop the charade and post under one name...
Excellent post, and it's important to understand the concept of "settled" cash balance. If you buy a security using your cash balance in a retail account and hold overnight, you CANNOT "churn" the cash once that security is sold due to Reg T rules, which makes you wait for "T+3" (trade day plus three days) in order for the cash to become settled. I found this the hard way when I got a warning letter from my broker indicating that I had used "unsettled cash" to buy and sell stock, and was in a trade violation. I ignored it and kept trading, and then got another letter, stating that one more violation and the account would be "restricted" for 90 days, where I would not be able to buy any more securites, even though the balance was well over 25k. There is no way around this "settled" vs. "unsettled" cash rule, regardless of your balance. So even if you have $100k in a retail account, you cannot buy and sell $1 million of stock in a day, as you'd be using "unsettled" cash once you go beyond your net cash balance. However, if you join a prop firm, then you can lever up your capital contribution as it's cominggled with other traders, hence giving you the ability to go in/out several times with your cash without having to pay attention to whether the cash you're using is "settled" vs. "unsettled." And I agree, the retail trader is irrelevant in today's market. The HFT algorithms control the majority of the volume, not granny buying 100 shares of Coke.