I've sifted out every grain of knowledge about Kershner/Zone trading from this forum. I'd like to invite any present or past Kershner traders to comment on their experiences at Kershner. What about the "classes" they offer to decide who they want to hire? Any information on this? How long does the class last? Thanks
I've not been a trader or anything at Kersner, but I knew Andy when he was @ Pro Trader in Austin. He's a top notch guy who cares a lot about his traders. By what I saw @ Pro Trader they had a very professional, close nit group. Brandon
FWIW, my communication with Andy has been great. In addition, I had lunch with Jason (Manager/Director) when I was in Austin. He has a great background, nice guy. Don
I just signed with Kershner very recently (don't start for a few months). I'm really looking forward to working there. I was very impressed with the office/staff when I went down there and I have heard great things from there coaching. I'm not sure about these "classes" you're talking about during the hiring process. The process for me was as follows (pretty much what they said on the website)... -Apply - Take a few basic aptitude tests/send resume. -Phone Interview - Basic interview that lasts about 20 minutes. You go over your resume/quals and they get the basic feel for your background. -On Site Interview - Interview with a few staff members and take a few aptitude tests. -Post interview - Take another online test (or two) and get references. The classes I think you are talking about are the classes you take when before you start trading by yourself. This is after being extended an offer to work with them. From what I understand, they are basic market training/strategy that give you a base to work with. Also, I am an out of state recruit, so the process may be a little different of you're from UT or something local. Hope this helps. Shoot me a message if you have any questions.
I have been to the Kershner office talking with a few traders I know there, and they seem to have a nice set up for the "starting out" stock trader. I have also been to the Assent office here in town, and that seemed like a great place for the more experienced trader who already has an edge.....just my $.02
Thanks, ARD45, I sent you a PM. AMT4SWA, yes I agree, Assent or any remote trading is better for experienced traders. I think Kershner is ideal for a beginner/intermediate trader who's committed to the pursuit of trading for a living.
Since we're adding our 2 cents worth here...let me gloat a bit about my Austin Traders, both in office and remote..... "these guys are good"- The Managers of the affiliate office, one an exCBOE member with plenty of floor trading experience, the other a super sharp trader/programmer....they just celepbrated their 10 YEARS WITH Bright Trading = consistently profitable, and now helping others. If you have an interest, just PM me with your contact data, I'll see that they invite you by. (This all said with all due respect to Kershner, just offered as an alternative plan, since we completely different business models). Don
Mom0, haha nice. My 2-cents are that if I had around a quarter mil., I wouldn't focus precisely on the hiring process at Kershner, and might trade fulltime at an arcade, or on remote, with half of my cash. Having less than that, I'd rather not quit my meager day job unless I can trade with OPM while honing my trading skill. Without Other People's Money, I think the wisest course of action is to continue trading part-time.
The actual "class" is very elementary, held by an awesome ex-trader who has probably made more money from OBA's than he has actually trading. However, the real learning starts after the "class", where you have the potential to learn many things from high performing veteran traders if you know where to look and what questions to ask. Kershner's clearing partner is Goldman if I recall correclty, so you could start out asking about disguising/hiding liquidity across sigma x or instinet etc. Utilize the tools they provide, ie hedging using riskless principal trades. Get on a good team so you have access to all the best custom tickers, and find out which ones work and why they do. Learn a bunch of tricks (some of them are borderline MRV). Their traders' knowledge pool is pretty vast.