Hi, im currently working in intitutional equity sales at a major sell side firm. i am currently interviewing with a number of Prop firms in NYC. any advice for a newbie as far as places to avoid and quality firms. also your opinions on the following firms that i do not see updated reviews on. Hold Brothers Accent Barkley Etrade Pro thanks in advance ron
dude sorry but what u did has nothing to do with real trading. something closer to what you did, would be being a cold-calling broker.
I wouldnt go as far as nothing, but it really depends on what you did. If you just sat on phones and searched for matching orders, that has nothing to do with real trading. But if you ever had experience actually getting large orders filled, that would be a plus.
What's wrong with your sales position?Just curious,what kind of commissions are charged to institutions for stock trades?
no one said that what i was doing on the sell side had anything to do with trading... i need advice as far as reputable firms in NYC as listed previously. as far what i did included finding naturals for order flow, generating short term trading ideas, also working institutional block trades. we charged good accounts 5 cents a share, in active accounts 10 cents... granted they werent using us for execution, rather for order flow, product (syndicate) and research... the problem with Inst Sales lies in the fact that a major firm is a corporation and therein lies a profitability obligation. thus to increase profitablity what better way than to cut payouts to sales people.... any help regarding any firms in NYC would be greatly appreciated thx
There aren't too many prop firms left that are stable enough, so your options are not plentiful. Don't know whether you want to be a retail customer or not. I would prefer to abstain from mentioning most prop firm names in spite of possible arguments about whether the firm is really stable or not and blah blah. Plus you never know, look at Worldco. Just try to look for solid financial backbone so that you dont see the firm dissapear 2 weeks after you join. One firm I know you can try is First New York, which is not really prop but somewhat of a hybrid between institutional and prop. Seems like they are still kicking well. Your experience should be a big plus if you emphasize on real trading. But the whole 1-year training BS for 40k is a big turn-off to me. I would possibly suggest Schonfield but rumor has it, that firm is near BK.
an inspiring clip from the first ny site: <a href="http://www.fnysllc.com/faq.htm"><img src="http://www.fnysllc.com/images/faq.jpg"></img></a>
Ron, Just curious, why do you want to leave the current job. I am asking b/c I speak from expereince. I am an x-market maker for an IB and our firm was downsized and we were let go. I have been prop since, and it is very tough, andf nothing like I was doing even as a market maker... The bottom line is you need some sort fo an edge/system that separates you from the crowd. otherwise you WILL lose $$$$.... If you have that, by all means do it. So my advice, dont leave. If you have your own reasons for leaving, that is cool and I would reccomend ECHOTRADE. I am with them and they are good people, and are helpfull. At least look into them if nothing else. Bright trading as seems like they have their act together. I havent spoken to anyone who works there though. First new york sec. doesnt require capital (they pay you and train you) but it is very hard to get an interview and I get the impression alot of teh managers there are total assholes in the interview process... They are really into this "were you a college level athelete?" thing from what I hear. (As if THAT is the only thing that determines a competitieve nature..
well the thing is... if you can trade u dont need a prop firm. a prop firm needs you to get commissions. and if u dunno how to trade, chances of getting taught at a prop firm are slim (correct me if im wrong).