I started trading 4 years ago, out of college and have consistently been profitable with 100% of my trades being short positions in a market that “only goes up”. I’ve found a very niche strategy that works for me but feel that I am limited, shorting in a market that it is designed to go up. I am confident that I can be more successful If I could learn to trade from the buy side. Are there any prop shops/firms that do more than just provide capital?
Well, if you expect a firm to give you profitable buy-side strategies, consult a psychologist. That's like giving away a good fishing hole, gold pocket, or hunting spot. Unless Daddy runs the firm, it just does not happen. Those strats are the crown jewels, top-secret, and often only the fund owner has full knowledge of them. My best advice would be to read read read... read books. That is where the answer lies, but it will take time, dedication, and hard work. You will find nuggets of truth in all trading books. I would point you to these two for starters: 1. Reminisces of a Stock Operator (Edwin Lefevre) 2. Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street's Champion Day Trader (Martin "Buzzy" Schwartz) This, of course, in addition to voraciously reading the news: BB, WSJ, FT, and (imnsho) The Economist. Once you've developed your style and demonstrated profitability, they might give you a 100k try with lots of fine print. They'll probably hire you just to learn your strats.
This guy is a real bore, and always "going for the gold" each time the market drops by 10%. I did not learn much from his book quite frankly.
Unless you found the Holy Grail, why on earth do you want to short a market that "only goes up", when you can easily double or triple your profits just by staying with the trend and buying the pullbacks?!?
"Buy side" means that a firm manages money (like a hedge fund or asset manager), as opposed to "sell side" (like an investment bank), which is a firm that makes a market and provides liquidity. In an institutional context, legit prop shops like Jane Street or Timber Hill, use their own money to provide liquidity or make markets. Those prop shops will teach you a lot, but they typically seek top tier talent (programmers, quants, or traders) and don't recruit much (if at all) from the retail space.