Hi: Does anybody know of any proprietary futures trading firms where traders can trade firm money and receive a percent of the profits? Thanks for any info.
There are a few hedge funds I know that provide capital to trade,you must have a histroy of reasonable performance and they typically offer a hight payout. As far as any mainstream prop futures firm I have no idea......
Did you ever get your answer as to whether there are proprietary trading firms that offer what you are looking for?
There are private trading firms and some banks trading futures, options, currencies, etc. that hire traders on the payroll but their primary comp is from bonuses based on how much profit they produce trading firm capital. But they're not like the firms you're probably thinking of in the equity market (doesn't mean there aren't any, but I haven't heard of any operating like that in the futures market) and these guys usually only hire traders with strong, proven, multi-year trading records and typically aren't out soliciting new traders like equity market prop firms do. But successful traders can make big $$$s. Little margin for mediocrity and no margin for failure though. Some may hire trainees but given the environment at a most of these places, it would probably be mostly churn and burn for relatively low pay for a long time. Good luck. BTW, Barry - is there a reason you replied to your own question (which was presumably directed at "vikesfan"?
From what I have seen regarding the futures end of the business...Alot of the guys who find a way into trading proprietarily are in touch with the members of the exchanges...Typically alot of them will start out in a smaller capacity and then be set up with an account to trade for themselves...I have searched around over the years for the same thing, a prop trading firm for futures traders... The closest thing that I have seen to this might be something like LaSalle Trading Group(now FfastTrade, LLC) in Chicago...They do not "back" traders, but require the upfront deposit and then give you a high end trading platform and negotiable commissions, but after talking with them I did not feel that I was getting any sort of deal...
It is possible to get backing in a true "prop" room. We have people we do this with. Very few make the cut. Those that do have very strong recommendations and very solid, verifiable results. The screening process is strict. There are also other rooms that essentially look to fill desk space and make the money off commisions. They are much less selective. We are purely focused on the trading end and as such, very selective. Contact me if you fit the profile.
Given the advent of Eurex, LIFFE, CBOT A/C/E, Globex, Cantor E-Speed, and Matif there are Prop firms all over the place in Chicago and the North suburbs. Typically, the commissions and desk fees are pass-through costs, and the profits are split 50%. Very successful traders get a 75% split. Hint: Look at the Eurex Non-clearing member list.