Does having a good trading record in your personal account helps in getting a position in trading at FNYS ? Thanks.
I'm a UK retail trader, but would like to move to US to trade professionally for a bank/prop firm. What kind of qualifications do I need to have?
they don't even care about prop anymore from what i understand. If u can manage $20M (million) than u can give them a call.
I thought Gekko said it pretty well... "Most of these Harvard MBA types - they don't add up to dogshit. Give me guys that are poor, smart, hungry - and no feelings. You win a few, you lose a few, but you keep on fighting."
In the UK there are firms known as arcades... where you put up you're own capital and receive leverage from a firm. You also pay them for commissions and possibly quote fees... you are essentially trading a leveraged retail account. In the US, many prop firms are nothing more than arcades. Anyone can get into these type of "prop" (arcade) firms. All you generally need is to put up 5,000 initial contribution. You don't need any credentials aside putting up some capital. If payout is 99% or 100%, you're probably trading at an arcade. The firm only makes money from your commissions, so it doesn't really matter if you are profitable (although it might make them more commission dollars). For experienced and profitable day traders, 100% may be the best route. There are other firms that give 60% - 85% payout (depending on which bracket your P/L falls into), and are usually the higher quality firms. You can get better commission rates and have greater access to capital. Sometimes you can also get better access to technological features and help with automating your system. These firms have a greater interest in you being overall net positive. They will probably make more money of a positive P/L than from commission fees. Even for experienced prop traders, this may be better than getting the 100%. Many of these firms ask for audited results of at least 6 months of trading history. You obviously need to be profitable.... that's the only credential that's important. On the brighter side, you will probably not be responsible for your loses, where at the 100% firms if you go through your initial contribution you will get cut off. There are also firms that give even lower payouts but where the trader has no financial risk. Payouts can range as low as 40%, but increases with growth in P/L. This is geared toward trainees. Payout is also low because the firm accepts all the financial risk of the trader. To get accepted to one of these firms, you need to have a B.A. and maybe have some experience in finance (not trading necessarily). Some firms like FirstNY prefer MBAs. I wouldn't think to much about prop divisions at banks or hedge funds. It's very difficult to get into and is a whole other game. I know at IB banks, prop means more like portfolio managers trading 20% in stocks, 60% in fixed income, and 20% in various other instruments. These guys are not normally day trading. Prop could just mean revenue $ traded.
Monty21, that's a really fantastic post, thanks for your help. I wasn't quite tuned into how it worked before, but understand now. Thank you.
No. Series 7 is rarely required. As long as it is not registered as a broker-dealer, then you do not need a Series 7. There is a trend whereby firms are dropping their broker-dealer titles.