OK...It's interesting that I did not get any response to the libelous remarks about Bright Trading being "bailed out" when I set that straight. I answered all the questions about costs, data feeds (including adding that our F/A rep was here and we needed to guide them through some much needed additions, that you all will benefit from nx orders for example). I explained that we don't charge 'pass through" ecn fees, and that even makes our nasdaq costs lower than echo, and I even agreed with the person who says that Redi was 400 milliseconds faster than F/A. I explained our payouts, I let you know my feelings about nasdaq based on facts from our history. I agreed that we all have problems with technology, and that we all must continue to upgrade. I explained about our clearing firm, their acquisition by Goldman Sachs which puts us in a great position....and I will even add this current (up the this exact hour) bit of information. Goldman has said that they will spend "whatever it takes to insure that Redi dominates the marketplace"....and this comes from a Board meeting with SLK, FOC, and GS. What the hell difference does it make about satellite vs. T-1 (we use whatever we find to be better)...is that the problem? I am not trying to be a martyr...and I didn't compare everyone to 3rd graders (some are just too sensitive)...I would like to do some cooperative promotion of the whole industry....Why put major league baseball on strike, just because we root for the Diamondbacks instead of the Yankees (or vice-versa, don't want to hurt anyones feelings).... Some of our traders put in over $10,000,000 worth of opening only orders apiece, and I know they cannot do that elsewhere...why? Because we have great risk control and enough confidence in our people and their trading skills. We don't charge people haircut for conversions up to 6 times their equity,....we have lowered overall costs year after year. We have fostered several spin off firms, we have given hundreds of traders a leg up on their trading skills, and we have over 70% of our experienced traders (1 year) profitable. What else really matters? As Gene said, we can all charge less, and some people still won't make it. I really don't think other firms want to start a pricing war that would "thin the herd" by about 90% (of current firms, that is). So, we can waste our time nitpicking, or we can focus on things that really matter. If you have a specific question that I have not answered (that is not some made up, "baited" query that you already know the answer to), let me know. And for God's sake, lighten up a bit everyone. Let's have a good Halloween with the kids! Note to Aly: What is the purpose of the "WizeTrade" reference in your manual? I see that they are spending a ton of money here in Vegas selling some type of software....what do you know about it? Just curious!
Thanks for asking a legitimate question. Our people are doing very well with their Pairs trading. We have implemented a firm wide method of effective risk management that allows for the individual traders to trade as many as 20 or more different pairs, and have given haircut relief for approved stocks. Taking the more advanced step of using acive-x programming via our dde links, we can automate a lot of the trading. This gives us real time p&l, position and entry exit points from our Redi...actually really cool! (I guess I am not "heading for hills"...and I survived more than a decade in the trading pits, I think I can survive some of this). What other strategies are people using these days? Anyone solve the problem of trade throughs with their trailing stop strategies? Is anyone having any luck with inter market pricing differentials lately? Has anyone seen the bids/offers fade on ARCA when hit....? I called one of their VP's and have not gotten a good answer yet. If they're an ECN, and totally electronic, how can they fade? Oh well, time to go home for now. I will attempt to get back in the trenches tomorrow!
you have got to be kidding me, Don. besides being the cheapest and worst solution for data feed needs, not everyone lives in the desert(vegas). heavy cloud coverage interferes with the satellite signal, therefore "other" cities with more diverse weather patterns experience multiple periods of down time.....and another thing, you know better than anyone on this board that redi is over-subscribed to and consistently effects performance on order entry. (not to mention the horrible customer service of their employees, i.e. FO or SLK) and speaking of opening order's, you forgot to add that when these guys send 1000's of order for the open of which most get cancelled, this bottlenecks everyone's orders. do you explain this dynamic to your traders? i hate to come down hard on you but this is an open forum and when i hear crap i call it crap. so i guess i'm taking the low road huh? and here is a little FYI, there are a lot of nasdaq traders on this site that consistently make money, just thought you should know.
Bryan, you're right, and that is why we are having dedicated servers set up for our individual needs by SLK. And for the gentleman who wants to trade from home...Good News...you can have the best of both worlds starting in 2002! Bright is setting up the best "remote trading room" available and "slashing costs" ....and initial deposit amounts. We are listening to traders, and we are responding. So "look out Etrade, here we come!"
Don, Can you go into any specifics about the Bright Remote Trading program that is starting in 2002? Sounds pretty good on the surface... Leland
>We are listening to traders, and we are >responding. > >So "look out Etrade, here we come!" If Etrade is your target, you're even more deluded than I remember from your seminars. JB
My reference to WizeTrade is no different than my referring to other indicators such as Trendlines, Tick and Stochastics. I bought WizeTrade 6 months ago after reading an article in Stocks and Commodities Magazine. Now that you bring it up, no I did not clear it with them nor do they even know I exist. By the way, I also use TradeStation for charting purposes and First Alert for quotes. I thank you though for all this free publicity, but we must stop talking about my book, I'm running out of printed copies. P.S. As promised, I FedEx'd you a signed copy yesterday.
1. Thanks Aly, and thanks for the good words. 2. Re: "delusion"...that's what I heard in 1975, when told no-one can make money playing blackjack for a living (my brother has proven that wrong). I was told that when it came to trading options, futures, and all of that in the 1980's. I was really told that when we said that we wanted to compete with the "big boys" and open offices around the country, and to execute billions of shares every year for professional traders. I hope that I am deluded again. Kind of funny story: When Schwab bought Cyber, they paid somewhere around $500 Million (give or take a few million), and Cyber does much less volume with a much, much higher overhead. E-trade has reduced volume by over 50%, we have increased at the rate of 40% per year, so at some point we may cross. And, BTW...I am trying to lighten things up a bit around here. And when I finalize the details, everyone will be aware. We are setting up a whole new platform and access for remotes, with their own management, lowering costs below anyone out there, and we have finally worked out a way that we can allow traders to come in with lower money to trade with. I don't want to "glamourize" it, but I do want to thank those traders (even from this board) who have sent me personal emails with some great suggestions...and we are doing it. This is working out much better than I had hoped. I am getting great feedback (albeit sometimes in a nasty way), and with all the main "Bright People" here, yesterday and today, we have made some important changes. Thanks, and keep the ideas coming!!
>Wow - It was beat into me by Bright that it was >impossible to make money from home as a >"hermit" trader. Exactly...As a new home Naz trader I was practically ridiculed by this bunch. Now, as a sucessful home Naz trader I laugh at this bunch. They tell it like they want it to be. JB
Another good question: Why the change in philosophy about remote "hermit" traders? I still feel that it is easier to make money from within an office environment (generall cheaper, too - since remotes have to pay for data feeds, etc.). I also know that by offering remote access that we will be able to offer more people the opportunity to become successful traders. Many will end up in office locations when they find out that other traders are perhaps doing better, working together, etc. Our growth has been due (as I have said in the past) to "attraction" rather than simple promotion, and if we attract a bigger audience of sincere traders with conviction and discipline, perhaps by working with them, we can improve upon their chances for success. And, hey, if they are going to do it anyway, why not try it with us where they may have a better chance, and have 40 or more locations to fall back on.