in my book, success is becoming a self capitalized trader and keeping 100% of what u make. the prop stuff is great if you turn out to be a big swinging dick throwing around huge volume, taking big risk and can do it year in and year out. everyone wants to be one and from my experience those guys often blow out.
First of all you can't assume guaranteed profitability. The vast majority of traders fail... regardless how bright and they dedicated they are. It's a numbers game and few will succeed. That 5k of initial contribution will likely disappear. So yes, for my situation... it makes more sense that I give up $5,000 out of $10,000 profits... in the event of being profitable. It's makes more sense than just losing 5,000K of my own money... which the probabilities are higher. I can understand if I was financially secure and just wanted to play the market after a decade of experience. Then 100% is worth it, because the financial risk is irrelevant. For a newer trader coming out of college, it would be absurd to put up $25,000 at a firm like Bright, regardless how respectable it is. I also don't like the 100% payout shops because it seems that many firms encourage to trade bigger size so they get their commissions.... doesn't mean that all firms operate this way, but it does happen. Another thing about a firm where you get lower payout and have zero financial risk is that they are more invested in you having a profitable P/L.