I would like to ask the people that pay (out of their own pocket) for a Bloomberg Terminal how it has contributed to their profits. I read that the average BT user has income of $300,000 yearly (I forgot where I remember this from), so the $1,500/mo fee is clearly affordable, but then again so would a $50 starbucks cup of coffee. How are the pros using BT to profit? I have used BT for a year, but I feel I am not taking full advantage of it. Thanks for the input.
as a pure US equity trader, i do not believe that bloomberg offers anything special. reuters station / trader is actually better than BB at one quarter of the price. BB is great if you trade different asset classes and needed special fixed income pricing stuff. OLiver
If you run with the big dogs, you need every edge you can get. If you're a sniper, no need for a bazooka. All depends on your level of play. If you make $1,500 on a trade cuz of bloomberg, isn't it worth it? OTOH, if you do not need all of their features, why bother? The bloomberg is sooooooooooo much more than a news wire, fixed income tool, etc.... I doubt most users use 30% of the features. *If you swing a big line, yes definitely get it, it's worth it. You'll figure out soon enough what features are the most helpful.
I have been a bloomberg user since they first rolled them out, so I have become so comfortable with it that sometimes I feel I would not be connected without it. The newsfeeds, charting, and best of all the msg function for me justify the costs. (which now run $1701/ month without live data).....a seemingly small price to pay for a vast information source!! IMHO
This is exactly what I was thinking too -- what are some of the features that you think are being overlooked?
I'm not sure if they still offer this, but, the best way I found is to setup a series of training sessions with them. They used to send an acct rep for onsite training sessions on how to use the terminal to best suit your needs/mkts. Or you can visit them at their offices on Park ave. do it there. If that's not available anymore, then I would go through some of their sample desktops. I think they're still there to browse. Of course don't forget the F1 key - probably one of the most overlooked keys on the terminal board. As far as details on how to profit from the dizzying arrays of features... Well that's where testing, losing money and then finally making money comes in. No free lunch here bud. Sorry. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck.