This thread looks more and more like soliciting business for some hedge fund. I'm totally disgusted here by the notion that hedge funds are professional as opposed to prop firms that are scum of the earth. Don't kid yourself. Hedge funds, big wall st firms and prop firms are all of the same breed, I wouldn't trust anyone of them. My policy is look for the best deal that lets you take home the most money, period. Paying higher commission or letting your firm giving you a payout less than 99% is the f*** dumbest idea I hear all the time. Think about it. Many firms only require you to put up $5K and let's assume you make another $5k every 2 weeks (for an average trader, I'm sorry if you are a much bigger trader and I'm not making any sense here) that puts $10k of your money at risk at that firm. Firms do blow up as we all have witnessed but just how often? If I get to save $2k a month in commission and payout, I'm willing to take the risk with a supposedly lesser firm rather than pay up up front to some professional looking crook and hope he'll treat me nice. I visited quite a few prop firms when I was looking for a deal. Some offices were better than others, but none of them ever made me want to pay extra ommission because "the environment is nice". How many daytraders really make it big and can afford to spare a few grand a month on nice trading environment and professional looking management. Most traders I know are making a decent living but nothing to write home about. The funny thing is traders that are good rarely talk about things like tech support or office space. They are focused and make do with what they are offered at best price. They DON'T EVER COMPLAIN. They JUST MAKE MONEY!!! BTW, my trading floor has about 30 guys and you can hear pin drop during trading hours. I believe there are loud and rude traders out there but I also believe most daytraders are better human beings that your so called Wall Street professionals.
Liesure, you's ingnant! Based on what you said, you must buy your close at K-mart, drive a used Kia and eat all your meals from the dollar menus of Macdonalds and Taco Bell! I traded at a firm with sketchy management who constantly lied to me, my checks were always short of what they owed me, leaving me constantly argueing with management to pay me what they were supposed to. This was a huge distraction from my trading and took a toll on me mentaly and emotionaly. After I finally left and started trading at a another firm my PnL tripled. Because I was able to focus on my trading and not constantly worrying about the management screwing me and always having to be on guard. You get what you pay for! I completely agree that it is not worth paying higher commissions for a pretty office to trade in. However it is worth paying a little more, which will end up saving you more money in the long run for honest management and a good positive trading environment, and also to ensure that they are paying enough to keep the software stable and up to date. I don't want to be at a firm that uses a platform that is only updated once every 4 years. Where I am now I know some very successful traders who have been around for a long time and have been with this manager for 2 years now and talk very highly of him and how honorable he is. That means a lot more to me than paying a tenth of a penny less on my commissions. Your management probably recoups that tenth from you by charging a whole bunch of fees. I don't pay a software fee, or margin interest on my overnights.
This is a great thread I am thinking about trading other peoples money again. I am battling whether to go prop or to hold out for a Hedge Fund. I do not get many offers but I have one that sounds interesting and I lean toward the Hedge Fund route. But I do not know why? It seems that there are so many Prop Shops and besides I trade Retail Spot Forex at Oanda....Now Wait! before you laugh read here: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=48230 I think I do not get the offers because I do not have a track record and the instrument I trade and system that I wrote are rather matched to Oanda. It seems that if I want to trade OPM then I will need to go the Managed Account Route and use the Power of Attorney forms at Oanda. Funny, I called the NFA and the CFTC and there is no registration, licensing or disclosure Doc's requred for Retail Spot Forex. Michael B.
I am trading thru a hedgefund now which gives some traders who are intersted leverage. Some people on ET have asked for contact info for the fund and I gave it to a few. So they recently learned that I post on here and have asked me not to mention the fund's name in an open forum, so I am not gonna state the name here.
That did it! Now you are going to have people filling your mailbox, camping on your doorstep, BEGGING you for the name of this hedge fund.
To answer some of the PM's that had the same questions: No you do not need to be licensed to trade thru the hedgefund. And yes an experienced retail trader can get the leverage like me without being licensed. I've been given 20:1 intraday and 4:1 overnight leverage. I can get my leverage increased after I show them performance and that it isn't a big risk to give me some more leverage.
I just want to add that when I was developing my trading models initially I: 1. Bought my clothes at K mart 2. Drove a Scooter and a 30 year old mercedes 3. had a small office where I sometimes lived. 4. And I worked nights as an auto parts quality control engineer. I actually look back on those days with some of the fondest memories of my personal drive and productivity. I still have the Mercedes (its now being restored to mint condition, and its 37 years old). I live in a nice house. I sleep early most nights and spend about 2 or 3 hours actually working now. I caution those of you who think you need a nice office, perfect firm, and other (non-essential) benefits to your trading business. Never forget that the two things that matter are your bottom line and how your treat those you work with. Most people will only remember the latter.
Congrats and of course you got what you deserved...good job! I have a 1990 Plymouth Voyager with simulated wood grain siding...