"Unfortunately the contract has been revised for tower hill. 18 month holding period now." Any place that tries to hold your money for an 18 month period has a capitalization problem. A place can make up any reason they want to hold your money for any period. But there is no legit reason for it. 18 months is an unheard of holding period. I would assume a place like this isn't properly capitalized and has to lock up the traders profits to cover others. I would stay away from a place like this.
I've been in this business for 11 years. Partially deferred payouts, AKA 'golden handcuffs' are <b>very standard practice</b>- not a red flag at all, IMO. Backing rookie traders is a notorious money pit. 90% fail and 5% make petty pocket change. Perhaps 5% become successful traders, and most of them quickly realize they're better off ditching the backer and trading their own money. That's why, in order to give themselves a fighting chance of turning a profit on the deal, smart backers always employ golden handcuffs. I wouldn't back a trader without them. Even Schonfeld Securities uses golden handcuffs, and Steven Schonfeld is the most honest man you could ever hope to deal with. Just setting the record straight. I know nothing about 'Tower Hill'. They could be complete scumbags (or saints), for all I know.
I agree with you about Steven Schonfeld. He does have a clean reputation in the industry. Does anyone know the owners of tower hill and what type of reputation they have?
They are not scumbags. The technology is not what it once was and better deals exist - but not necessarily a better training/mentor program.
I worked there in 05-06. It's not the type of place you want to go if you're established and looking for the best deal. It's the perfect place to go to get started from scratch. They pay you a 2k/mo draw, teach you for a few weeks, and sit you down with a successful trader as his apprentice. From there, it's up to you. As has been stated, the contract is pretty clear about the money they hold back. As I understood it, the main reason they did it that way was because successful traders were given as much buying power as their trading success would allow - several guys trading GOOG had several million in leverage. And they never put up a dime to get it. So they kept that 20% to put it in the bank as leverage for the giant buying power they were giving people. That alone isn't that unreasonable. That they were never flexible on this even with people who had been there for a long time with excellent track records is another conversation entirely. Obviously, I was never good enough to have to worry about any of this. (Then again, I was told of a guy who had been established and successful, then got screwed by some busted trades that cost him well into the 6 figures, and never recovered. I suppose they have to protect themselves from losses like that.) Anyway, there are probably dozens of places that will give you a better deal as an established trader. But as a place to go get started, if you have the ability to live off a tiny draw, it's great. I scratched along for over 9 months, which cost them over 20 grand, and I didn't owe a cent when I left. (The only real problem is that I'm apparently blocked from trading with Assent now) Even though I was let go suddenly, after being promised more time (I was finally starting to get it together), I have nothing but good things to say about the place. Mostly I'm just upset with myself for not being able to capitalize on the great opportunity they gave me. That said, I know nothing of the new Tower Hill model. It does sound like it's not as friendly to the new guy. Still, worth checking out if you have the time and desire to learn but no cash to put up.
Creditability? You can believe me if you want, or ignore me if you want. I don't care. It's not like I signed up just to post that. I'm not sure what I said that's all that questionable anyway.
I mean you just admitted to the firm screwing you. They paid you a measly 20K which is a drop in the bucket for them. You were promised more time and suddenly let go. Doesn't seem to be too good of a deal to me to live in poverty for a year unless the knowledge you left there is "the best on earth". On top of that, now you are blocked? The post still just doesn't make sense to me.
I'm just talking about what happened. I talked about both the positive and the negative. I'm not sure what I could say for it to make any more sense to you. Should I use smaller words? I wasn't very good at day trading. They paid me 20 grand even though I never actually made any money. That's hardly unfair. I'm upset that they didn't keep their word, but it's not as if they totally screwed me over. I ended up with a much better job. I know that they're always hiring, though, so I thought it might be worth giving my input. I see a lot of people saying that it's a terrible place to work; it is, for some people, but for others, especially people just starting out like yourself, it's definitely worth a look. If you're confident that you're going to be that one-in-ten star trader, and you're right, you might eventually end up unhappy with the payout. If you're realistic about it, and know that going in the odds are against you, you get a free education and a bit of a stipend.