No traders trade thru Merrill, they trade thru Echo wich clears thru Merrill Clearing, just like a bunch of other firms, Bright and Generic clear thru Goldmans Sachs Clearing. Take this with a grain of salt, but I hear rumors that Echo might get closed down after the deal goes thru, again they are only rumors and I know nothing definite, but you should at least think about the probability of the rumors before you make a decision
Let me tell u hedge funds are much safer.. lol. If i had the option I would rather go with a prop shop. What happens if there is liquidation in the fund... or the performance overall stinks and the fund closes down. Why would a hedge fund even bother with some trader if they are only going to keep 5% of profits.. waste of time and resources. There business model is not designed to collect commisions and fees from traders.. they have to perform or else they face liquidations. How much money does this hedge fund manage. If its not over $50mil then I wouldnt even look at them. You can practically open up a hedge fund from your basement and manage a few million dollars from relatives and inheritance ( talk to the people in Cali that are cashing out on their realestate). --MIKE
Let me tell you re-read the first post dumbass. The money is SPIC insured. Safety is not the issue, there is little 'safety' in this business of risk. The issue is dealing with professionals in a professional envirnment. I've visiting a prop firm that blasts tecno music during lunch time. I know of a firm at which lunchtime is poker time. I've traded at a firm where there're some guys that scream like girls everytime a position goes against them. On the other hand there are a lot of really brilliant guys out there who treat this like a business and they don't want to be in that kind of envirnment.
I didn't expect ETrade to shut down their prop division with no advanced warning, I thought is was the most secure firm to be at. But one afternoon they just said we're closed no more trading!! I didn't get hurt and now I move on to another place to trade. No harm no foul.
The deal is already done and Echo ain't going anywhere. Merrill is not just a clearing firm to Echo. They bought Pax Clearing, which owns Echotrade. Echo has already implemented Merrill's shortable stocks list. They have the largest base of retail holdings of any firm and the available to borrow list increased by 50% after the merger. It might not matter to how you trade, but the point is that Merrill isn't just a clearing firm to them, they OWN them.
I've read from a number of posters here and I heard from a guy last week that Merill does have a retail office near wall street that a number of hedge funds and llcs trade through. You can trade retail thru an llc with greater leverage, better rates, etc. They use ML Pro platform, clearing, and support. I'm not refering to Echo, not sure though unless echo uses ML Pro, and Merill clearing and support too.
where are these deals, NYC? I am aware of the deal Neal Berger was offering, is this what you are talking about here?
No, I am not familiar with Neal Berger? They are headquarterd in NYC or you can trade out of an office in San Francisco also. I am not sure about other office locations, but they will also let traders trade remotely. However I like an office environment, as long as the traders there are professional and there is a profitable atmosphere.
What are the rates and for what type of volume. All you mentioned was leverage, which doesn't sound that great anyways. Also, 95% percent doesn't sound all that great either, prop pays 99%. So, if you make a mil, your going to give the hedge 40K a year besides all the commissions that you will pay(which you haven't stated either)? No thanks.