I went to Orlando to do a presentation to about 30 traders a while back...let me know what kind of interest you see down there. Don
Do we detect below-the-sonar bait for an energized trade winds thread discourse or, was that some echo...? Absorbing another pro-trade firm could introduce the services of a third clearing firm - bringing Bright Trading itself among the most competitive for trading fees. Plus, other positives gained through acquisition: strength of even larger numbers - more traders international, more ace poker players, pairs and groups of all types; additional select office locations, additional choice of another trading platform, etc. One lure: SunGard assenting to divest its stepchild by/before the acquisition anniversary? C'mon, there's gotta be some genesis to the BT founders' latest cruise-confirming plan, right?
Things are preliminary at this point. The thing is, as with the latest Schoney/ETG "deal" - is simply that the traders can go anywhere they want to go anyway...it's not a matter of "buying" anything....there was simply nothing to "buy" - and just the opposite, the taking over of expensive leases seems kind of silly. We have avoided retail traders, no reason to to simply add a "non-revenue" group, when the traders are likely better off at IB or even Scottrade. We end up with groups of traders anyway, which is just natural movement within the industry. In the current case, however, leases are relatively cheap, and not too long term... Traders need capital to trade, and we aren't near "capacity" yet for overnight carrying $$, and we don't need to "hold" money.. and all this seems to be pretty attractive to existing traders. I'll post more when I can, either way. No need to add any more fuel to the rumor mill, LOL. Don
Some firms, though not many these days, will reqire your to keep your initial deposit with them for one year before you can withdraw it. Don has been pounding this drum for years....insisting that all other firms are going under soon. (about two years ago he cited some accounting rule change that was going to force many firms out, including assent, echo, etc) The fact is, in the past 5 years, only one firm has gone under, the others still remain. In fact, I would argue that there are more firms,more choices today, than two years ago. A good bit of advice is to take whatever Don says with a grain of salt....
Most firms use their traders money in their "net capital calculation" - and are supposed to keep traders funds for at least 12 months (to avoid people faking balance sheets by taking money on one day and returning it the next). We don't need to use our traders money for capital needs, so we don't need to keep traders money. You might want to read this: http://www.stocktrading.com/reasons.html If you have further questions, feel free to call to discuss. Don 702.739.1393
Mike, I'm not trying to be confrontational...Echo is now Merrill, ETG and Heartland and other "older" firms are now Schoney, Andover is now Assent/Sungard, WorldCo is gone...Etrade Pro is gone, Generic is split up in smaller pieces...I try very hard to keep to the facts, because as you know, everything we say is reviewed by Compliance. I speak well of what Jeff and Rob did with Echo...competitors of sorts, but friendly competitors. And you know we are all in a very small world of professional traders and firms...better to stay friendly than ruin it for everyone. We never know who is going to be trading where....do we? All the best Mike, seriously! (No grains of salt needed, LOL). Don
For the record: Hedged (Paired positions by dollar amount, long and short, within 20%)... 6 times your equity is free. 6-12 times = 2 percent per year 12-18 times = 4 percent per year 18-24 times = 6 percent per year. 30 or more times, we discuss. Large naked positions (foolish for the most part), can be 1 percent per month. Two or Four percent per year is a pretty good price these days. FWIW... Don