Would you take a market making job with a small european firm or a prop trading job with a firm like refco? your input and reasons please..
Is this options or stock market making? If options is it on the floor or electronic? Is the prop trading with Refco for futures?
Wow that was quick.. It's electronic derivatives market making and the prop trading is Refco for futures...
Yes I am very quick. It only caught my eye because I have talked to Refco recently along with some other firms. I was weighing and considering similar options. For me I would not want to trade on the floor so that is why I asked that. I think the future and where I would want to be long term would be trading in some kind of electronic fashion then start on the floor and have to switch over down the road. For me I would also look at upside vs risk. I don't think anyone gets into trading to make 40K or 50K salaries with little upside participation in profits. The option market making firms that I spoke too did not interest me for that reason. Most had training programs but focused the majority of their training on floor trading. I don't know where you are located but I heard good things about Refco futures program since they had acquired a fairly good firm in that area. Also there are several other firms in the prop trading futures department that offer all different kinds of deals that specialize in different kinds of trading. I don't know what their program is geared toward at Refco. At least at Refco if you figure out what you are doing your upside could be a lot greater then at the market making firm a lot quicker. At the market making firms I spoke too their seemed to be a lot more hurdles to jump before being promoted to trader status.
Market making is not what is used to be, reform has made it very difficult. Unless you will be trading against orderflow on size desk, your upside may be limited. I made markets for a few months on a small desk before I joined the SOES bandits. There have been more market makers migrating into the prop arena, not the reverse. One can argue and say become a better trader with someone else's money. However, you may have better flexibility as prop first. Ask what the desk's major profit centers are, then take it from there. Good luck to you.
take the MM job HANDS DOWN.. 1) you can always go prop, MM jobs are hard to get.. 2) MM pay a salary, most props dont.. 3) The MM game has changed, but you can still make $$$ if you work for a firm that has good flow (customer base) Now many will argue my #2 point with the "unlimited upside" with prop which is true, but unless you want to buck incredible odds, you wont be joining this crew, at least for a few years... And the learning curve for these months/years = lost $$ or breakeven periods with no pay.... so you decide.. remember you can always go prop...
I agree market making is not what it use to be. Just a day ago, I got an email from the CEO of a large option m/m firm; he said its the worst its been,his margins are zero,and he thinks he'll need to do something else soon. I have traded equities ,off floor, for 6 years also... decimilization has killed that business.. Why go the futures side? less regulation,minimum tick size allows more chance to make $$$$. No BS rules as to order priority; futures upstairs, you get in queue, it trades enough, you are filled. It is a much cleaner,more equitable trade. I am seeing many equity traders going to the futures shops... look for a place that has trader managers,hopefully from different trading backgrounds,as this enhances your learning curve. I f you can learn to trade futures well, then you can trade anything. I have heard many good things about Refco also; I will be calling them soon....