assent on lexington avenue in nyc is very good. there is also a new group at 30 broad st. i have a friend at chimera capital and he speaks very highly of them. he has been with them since he left jasper and likes the guys at chimera alot, i'm partial to lexington ave becausae thats where i traded. you can also try avatar.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of trading through a group or trading prop. Other then the fact that you have to get your licenses for prop which is a bit of a pain in the ass, what are the other major differences assuming the group in credible. Both let you trade with little capital. Both give you usually at least 20-1 or more. Which generally will give you the cheaper commissions?
an llc/prop will give you 20-1 and sometimes alot more with 5k and sometimes less. i know guys who have 1k and get 100k buying power. a licensed prop will give you plenty of buying power as well but you are sipc insured whereas an llc you are not. also at a prop,you shares your profits whereas an llc/prop you don't. with the exception of getting health insurance i don't see the allure of going the prop rout witha series 7,it just does'nt make much sense in today's market.
As far as I know you are not SIPC insured with either. Only retail accounts are SIPC insured. Payout is 100% with Prop. At least with Assent. And the health insurance plans offered by LLC's are paid out of your pocket. You just get a group rate which is slightly lower than if you would have gotten it on your own. Anyone please feel free to comment if any of this info is incorrect. I still cant see what the major difference is outside of liscencing. I can understand if you are inexperienced, some groups offer mentoring, but for an experienced trader, what is the best route and why? Comments from those who run LLC's, people like Don Bright, and traders who have traded with both are greatly appreciated.
There's no reason for any real trader to only put 1k up...and there's no reason for a firm to give 100-1 on a measly 1k. It's simply not worth it. That is a horrendous business model.
the 1k 100bp rout is given to very few traders;its rare but i have seen it with no problems. 2500-5k with 20-1 seems to be the norm.
A trader trading with a licensed firm IS NOT protected by SIPC insurance. SIPC is for the protection of retail accounts in the event a firm blows up. A licensed trader who has funds, at say a Bright (the most ubiquitous of the firms mentioned here) does not get this protection. YES, a b/d pays into SIPC, but unless you got a retail account you are still SOL. from someone with experience: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1489149&highlight=SIPC#post1489149 Actually, I think you might be better protected trading with an LLC in case the broker you trader with (Genesis/Assent/Merrill/GS) blows up because the LLC is using a retail account, not a true trading account. They're just manipulating the numbers to give you your leveraqe. Of course, this won't protect you if the owners of the LLC decide to go on a weekend bender to Vegas with money from that same account.
You make a good point there. If the firm does blow up, your money is still protected through the LLC. whether the LLC is going to give your money back is another story. I would think most likely a serious LLC would go to another broker to continue there own business. But when referring to the bigger firms like Assent or Genesis, I would think the LLC has a better chance of blowing up then the firm, though anything is possible. Anyone else have any comments on the LLC/Prop debate. I really should have started a new topic for this. Im very curious to hear some more ideas on the topic. What are some other differences between the two?
Just using them as prop examples. BTW, Genesis is not that large. If you could peak behind the curtain you might be surprised that there is no "wizard" so to speak. While I like their software and business model, I could easily see Genesis blowing up. If you could compare the financials between them and Assent, its like a night and day.