Just curious...........how many of you career traders out there used to work on an exchange floor? And why are you now an off floor trader? I have never traded on the floor. However I have 18 yrs in the brokerage industry. My first job was at the Phila Stock Exchange as a margin clerk for the specialists and floor traders.
both upstairs and downstairs for an FCM mid 80's - early 90's been upstairs since , though the allure of the pit is unique
In the late seventies I traded as a local on some of the commodity exchanges (originally to save on comissions). One is limited in what one can do, for example one would have to leave the pit to make trades in other markets or even to call a broker to make stock transactions. With the convenience of the internet, good liquidity and instant communications there is no reason to be on the floor any more, specially if one trades many markets.
9 years a floor trader....MUCH easier than screen trading...IMHO...... left because of a combination of reasons.... 1. felt electronic trading would take over sooner or later.... 2. Had a hard time tempering my intensity and suffered burnout 3. had the need to feel the sun on my face and the sand in my shoes on a more regular basis! Loved floor trading....the best years......
hi there, i did trade 3,5 yrs. on the exchange floor futs and options. floortrading did stop in amsterdam thats the reason why i'am off-floor. rgds.