after reading a few posts, i've noticed that people assume trading is getting more competitive because the number of traders is increasing... i was wondering if anyone has any data about this. <u>questions</u> ( any leads, or estimates on any of these would be appreciated ) <b>how many individual prop traders are there? how many big, institutional traders / trading groups are out there? how many hedge funds are out there? how many Ameritrade , casual day traders are out there?</b> thanks
IMHO trading is not competitive at all. All you do in trading is just dealing with your own problems (assuming you have ones) , everything else: other traders, brokers, market makers, and markets in general are irrelevant...
i see what you mean. really, i'm more curious about how someone could even arrive at an estimate of answers to the above questions? does anyone keep a record of the number of active trading accounts?
The competition is 50% to 50%. It is always YOU and the opposite party. It would not matter how many traders. YOU always require an opposite trader to take your other side. You cannot make a trade without the other side. You sell, he buy. You buy, he sell. The two sides can become imbalance but it is still not a competition. Some trader always win. Some trader always lost. The competition is in market making, the bid and the ask. The market maker must compete with other market maker with tighter bid and ask.