Which companies are left? As far as I know Assent & Hold Bros are there. Anybody else know who else is in SF? Anybody trade at Assent or Hold Bros in SF? Any comments appreciated.
Vtrader, I traded with them last year. Good guys. Min 25k accounts though. They do alot of options and you get haircut margin. Risk management is handled by seperate firm which is a good thing. Very good guys who started it, I know em all personally and I recommend Vtrader.
The Bright office in SF was great when I was there. That was several years ago though, and I'm not sure if you'd consider Bright prop, as they are really just an arcade. Jay
You are not trading your own money at a true prop shop. If you want to put up $25K, and trade your own, via their technology, etc, then I'd say Bright would be a great way to go. If you are not confident enough to trade your own, then maybe you shouldn't be in the biz anyway according to some. I don't necessarily subscribe to this as there is something to be said for training; however, landing a "prop" job isn't all that easy (their money). Walking into a place like Bright pretty much just requires that you have the money. If considering Bright, check to see if Dale Pitt is still running the office. Great guy to work with, and he won't give you any bullshit about what they are offering. If you need training, you can do the Bright "school" in Vegas. They will charge you for it. Imo, trading equities via a shop noways is pretty damn tough due to lack of volatility and overhead. I believe making money trading futures, if day trading, is far easier (due to volatility and overhead). I don't wish to start a big argument on that issue here, as it has been done ad nauseam elsewhere on ET. Just a statement that trading via any of the equity shops is very tough as can be witnessed by the empty seats most of them now have. Jay
I agree. VTrader is a good group in my opinion, though I am not affiliated with them. Pete Cadwell is the man to talk to. Most of their traders are remote. Lundy, are you still in SF? -segv
Dale is not with Bright anymore. He is over at Trac working on data or selling some screens to others. He was the guy that also taught me to read he tape. Good guy. VTrader is opening up a new office on the ninth floor with 20 to 25 new desks. There are about 10 office traders now so there will be room. Market Makers and Futures traders are also being recruited.