why does everyone who knows nothing about trading look at PROP shops like they are the end all be all? look. if you have a track record and it is good and you can prove it. then you call them and get an email and send over a small paragraph about you and the type of trading you do. you do not spill the beans of your strat just yet. they will want to know the kind of risk you take on how long you have been doing it and how scaleable is it. if you ave a winning strategy that has been traded by you for awhile then you are good. they don't place bets on traders to lose money. they bet on winners. they all have a criteria. anyway you are making them money if you are good. so what they put up a bunch ofmoney for you that is what they do all the time. as long s you keep performing they keep giving. when you suck they reduce the money flow and if you blow out.. by bye. it is a simple formula. MOST want proven track record and do not want to teach people how to trade. they dont have time for that nonsense. TRY GLASSDOOR and prop firms.. disgruntled traders love to try and get back at them and there is linked in and facebook or you could start at the mrc whihc probably has a list the most a CME prop can take is 20 % so theworst split you can get is 80/20 not bad but then there are fees and such for teh desk quotes etc. it is the entire package you need to look at to make sure you are a good fit. typically what happens. is a good trader has 1 or 2 people who have amde a bunch of money and they want out because they think your lucky streak is over..so they quuit. then you go to a prop firm. or you just lost big but you were a winner. some props like this because they can help you not do it again possibly and you did have a winning strategy. I saw lots of guys come and go at prop firms and most had their own unique way of playing the mkts.
Real Prop not a HF or proprietary trading firm. Mostly center in five buildings - so you are going hike the entire building - also very dependent on products you trade. 440 South LaSalle which is the building attached to the CBOE has a few real prop firms left, 200 So. Wacker and the old Archelon still hosts so prop folks mostly in CME/CBOT debt products, 311 So. Wacker and you will do a lot of walking, 175 and 141 West Jackson is a target-rich environment. Security will be an issue - the old trick is to schedule a job interview with the accounting/consulting firms in the building, however, don't do anything illegal. Lot's of doors will be buzzer entry and I would be very cautious about trying to bullshit your way in. It really depends on your experience and products. TJM on West Adams could be worth a look and there are a handful of folks in the West Adams corridor around IIT. Optiver is a MM firm - not prop, but the like new blood. Located in The Prudential building - the madness of modern communications. Rarely is anyone to looking for Euro or volatility skills, but it all depends on you. The burbs have lot's of prop shops most West and North, but that is where the money is in Chicago. Landscape changes if you want to go to HF or FO. Money is materially better at the HF and FO offices, but your going to need a track record and your style needs to be scaleable. There is much more money around than there are good people.