I am relatively new on the scene.. I am about to get my bachelors in finance and I have been working for a financial services company for a few months now gaining experience...and I absolutely hate it. I got into finance because I love trading and studying the markets however my experience in doing so is very limited. I had a scottrade account but I can not have one right now because of who I work for. Im really at a crossroads.. I could continue working at Northwestern Mutual and probably keep making pretty decent money, or pick up a small part time job until I finish school while I trade with my discount broker. This is how I came across the idea of prop trading, and it seems like the perfect thing. I really need help finding a firm that will be perfect for me. I have gotten calls from T3 and feel they might be a scam, however, I do wish to trade remotely and get quality trading. I can probably come up with 5k for risk capital but it would be a stretch and very difficult. So if anyone on here could please help me out in finding a firm I can trade with remotely, while going to school, with little risk capital to put up front, and is not a scam it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
I don't work for T3 but I would not call them a scam. I also think that using your last $5K is not a good idea. It's just not enough, IMO. And, you should have some back up cash to live on.
What kind of trading are you looking at? Vanilla equities, Futures, Options, Forex? If you spend enough time studying the markets and paper trading, you could take the leap and see if it works out. You won't know until you trade live. Losing money is one way to learn. Only invest what you can afford to lose. No to prop firm just yet. First you should trade on your own and learn.
The only reason to be associated with any prop firm is when you need leverage (even that is debatable since there are other ways of getting leverage). Do not expect them to provide you with anything more than that (do not look to gain an edge because of a prop firm; it isnt there); and for that be prepared to pay a "service cost" - so if all you've got is 5k then it will be churned in no time and you will get nothing out of it. Better to put it in a brokerage and trade real small while you learn the game. -gariki
This doesn't jive: "I could continue working at Northwestern Mutual and probably keep making pretty decent money" "I can probably come up with 5k for risk capital but it would be a stretch and very difficult."
5k is not much. Maybe it would be better to focus on working, *getting ahead* and earning real income from your job (which will pay more over the long term than what you will make with 5k capital). In the mean time you can practice occasionally on paper trading to get a feel for how executions work. And if you get really 'bored' you could spend 100$ here and there on risk-free call options to get some 'experience'. But honestly, you'll earn a lot more from working hard (i.e.: over time so you get promoted and bigger salaries) than you will with worrying about 5k capital. After a few years if you are good at what you do you should be looking at banking nearly 50k+/year. Going up to 100k+/year after your in the career for 10 years. If you do not like the daily activities of your job then just work hard at it till you find another position that perks your interest more, or see if you can use your present job to get your foot into the door of another position in the same company. But 5k.... you're one click away from a bad margined futures trade before a flash crash to put you into debt for years
Yeah, like Maverick says... why wouldn't you finish your studies and work to make money and in a year or two you'll be able to put more in your account... Or, try applying at a Market Making firms...
Just because you love something, that doesn't necessarily mean it's worthwhile or the right thing to do. What do you trade, and how, risk appetite, expectancy, etc etc variables -- if you don't mind discussing it. You mentioned you have very limited experience, then how do you know you enjoy it You should have an absolute minimum of two years seriously studying/following the markets, if not actually trading in your own account.
Northwest mutual has a nice trading floor. See if you can move into that role. Trading at a deposit prop shop with 5k, no experience, no extra capital, while rejecting other more stable and lucative opportunities is stupid.
If you're looking to trade full time, know that unless you're a lucky gambler it takes a few years to learn the markets and lose money along the way and learn from those mistakes.