Does anyone know what the good futures trading prop firms in Chicago are? Also, after trading in a prop firm, are your career choices in finance pretty much limited to just switching over to a different prop firm? Are there examples of people who move over into hedge funds, start their own hedge funds, move to a prop desk at an I-bank or get an MBA to do one of the former?
No traders from Chicago on this? And no one knows anyone whose gone to b-school or moved over to a hedge fund or i-bank?
by prop firm, do you mean day trading and manual scalping where you have to put up money or pay some fee? if so, then my opinion is that they all lose money. however, there are market makers, banks and hedge funds that you should probably target.
Rosy, thanks for your reply. I do mean those firms where you have to put up some of your own money to be able to trade firm capital. But I don't mean scalping - at least I hope they do more than that. I mean short-term speculating, holding things from a day or so to a month or so. As for working at a bank prop desk or hedge fund, I lack the credentials (liberal arts major in college), so I don't really think those are options. That is why I'm focusing on small prop firms.
ideally you can get on board with a good prop firm (trading derivatives/options) where you can learn a great deal about the fundamentals of a specific market and the strategies involved in profitably trading those markes with leverage. there are several such firms in the chicago area. this would typically involve no capital requirement. (any firms that require capital are questionable at best). i would imagine that this skill set would be transferrable within the biz. bottom line, learn the fundamentals of trading, risk management and strategy and be profitable. with those skills it won't matter where you work. good luck. pm me if you want more info on potential firms