no views.. i dont know much about gelber but jane street is suppose to be a nightmare.... can anyone tell there experiences ?
Gelber Group in Chicago let most of their prop traders go the past several months. Peak6/Breakwater, TMG, they've all downsized.
gotcha.. but these prop firms.. i dont really understand the concept. Is it just so the bosses make money out of the traders.. but what is it that a trader gets apart from leverage.. as theres no career...etc am i missing the point.
Well, of course the leverage is the big deal with the Chicago business model but the real gem is Member Rates. Pure and simple. They all own multiple exchange seats. You can basically trade Nymex for about a buck a round turn and Eurodollars for less than 50 cents a round turn. For me personally, being a size spread trader the implications were huge because I could easily have several thousand buys and several thousand sells over the course of a trading day. It's also the reason why a big independent trader will buy or lease a seat.
so its basically so you can do size on the cheap. .. but why is it gelber and jane street have so many ex big star traders.. they could go to other places.. they could stay in the banks.. what i want to know is why they take this option. ??
Well, I can only relate my own experience and guess at the others. Typically, everybody starts out at a 50% profit split. When you reach a certain profit milestone (typically $1M or its discretionary) you get bumped to 65 or 75% split if you keep some skin in the game. If they are giving you serious capitalization to begin with and member rates on top of it then it really can be a very good business proposition for a performer. I am personal friends with David Ellis at DE Trading/ITG and Ray Cahnman over at TMG. If you have more detailed questions a PM might be a more prudent approach. Suffice it to say that they know how to try and keep a good trader. The traditional Chicago Prop business model has changed quite a bit recently, and most of these firms have downsized substantially.
Msg me if you have any questions regarding Jane Street or its competitors. I think it is a bit different from the others you have on your list.
they know how to keep good traders. I seem to hear off alot of turnover.. whas the longest people stay at the firms as it seems to be a year or two and thats it..