What are you guys talking about? Did something happen to MF? Haha They should switch their clearing to Bear or Refco
Full Disclosure: I trade with Maverick Trading. Great Shop I have heard good things about the other two as well.
As in futures or cash? Not sure why anyone would want to trade cash FX prop if you can get 50 to 1 margin in a retail account.
No, I don't think you understand. The futures prop shops are high frequency shops with huge infrastructure and access to cash markets to trade the basis on various markets. It's night and day. You CANNOT trade the way a prop firm trades futures in a retail account. If you are simply a directional FX trader, there really is no edge or reason unless you are doing HFT strategies or trading OTC swaps. Completely different things.
Futures prop shops are also employing directional futures traders, I spoke recently with Marex in London who confirms this, you are not gonna tell us that futures prop shops only do HFT.. There is always place for profitable directional futures and forex traders, no ? NO one is going to trade with crazy leverage 300 eminis in a retail account, that's where the futures prop shop with it's capital comes into play
I will say that about 98% of all prop futures traders are non directional. And the guys that are directional did not get hired as directional guys, they got hired to be spreaders and made enough money to be able to trade how they want primarily because they have enough of their own equity in the firm. I have talked to or know someone at just about every prop house in Chicago and I found this to be the case. The same is true for most of the shops in London, Marex included. No firm is going to let some guy come in and put 300 e-minis on punting on direction. If you have 500k in deferred capital in the firm sure, but then again, you could do that at home if you had 500k in a retail account. I'll tell you what though, you post one ad for me of a firm looking for directional futures traders (true prop) or an e-mail from someone in HR from a firm looking for that and I'll eat my words. I'll say it again, once guys have deferred equity at any of these shops, they can do whatever they want since it is their equity they are trading. But no firm that I'm aware of is going to hire a guy off the street and 100% back him simply to trade direction. And why would they? Directional traders eat up too much of the firm's margin and expose them to too much risk. I'm willing to be proven wrong, but you have to prove me wrong. Saying you know a guy who knows a guy that said something is not going to work. I'm just trying to be helpful here. I get 50 e-mails a month from guys looking for exactly what you are and I tell all them the exact same thing in private.
Hi Mav... good point, glad you brought this up and help to clarify the fact that most long term successful traders tend to be arb types of some sort. I guess we all get long or short in the process, from time to time, but all do better knowing we're hedged. We may not agree on the best way to hedge, but prefer to hedge nonetheless. This weekend is our Retreat, and we have our very top traders (who flew in from as far away as the Netherlands) to share with our other traders. Everyone single one of them has a way of arbing, from the simple basket vs SPY to elaborate programs using currency valuations.... the point being, making money with deltas is FUN, and can be immediately gratifying, but doesn't work for most people. As you say, if you have that extra $500k in bank to go for it, and you have great indicators I guess, you can try it.... but...... Anyway, going back to the 70's, I have noticed that pure directional players don't seem to last too long. (For other readers: Don't get me wrong here.... I will "fade" big moves, go long or short based on relative strength etc. for short periods of time, we all do I think, but just not as a trading plan). All the best, Don