There have been several cases where traders got stuck "holding the bag" when firms have gone belly up. I won't focus on the negative possibilities, but this is as good a place as any to mention (again)....that every trader should ask for balance sheets from their firm, and don't take "no" for an answer....and don't fall for the "we're part of xyz firm, so it doesn't matter, etc.".... We volunteer our balance sheets, and show each member that there is (at minimum) $10Million of our (Class A, Firm's) capital in between the traders and the firm. Understand, that a trader would have to lose all their money Plus $10Mil of ours before they had any risk whatsoever. FWIW.... Don
Tradecast was actually bought out by Ameritrade 2 years ago and from what I understand, the original owners made a killing when they sold their company. http://www.amtd.com/html/amtdpr04042001.html
This could be an interesting thread ... I am sure there are traders here who know the details much better than me ... but I find this subject interesting ... There was Block Trading - when it failed it seemed the branches all started other brokerages. Did Momentum come from there? All Tech is gone, replaced somehow with a new name, forget what it is. OnSite is gone, rolled in AB Watley. Ameritrade quietly shuts down TradeCast after getting Datek. Didn't the Bass Brothers put in $30M, so not sure how the deal when down for the founders. Tradescape - could never figure that one out. Claimed huge amounts of trades - yet no one in the industry seemed to believe it. Seems to have disappeared since e*trade got it. Would like to know the story there. We all know the Cybertrader story since Schwab got it. Nextrend seems to have survived a near death after declaring bankrupcty. Lots of strange stories about Harbor - don't know what to believe there ... who else? Chuck
you just couldn't resist plugging bright trading on a forum discussing defunct firms, could you don??
This thread brings back "fond" memories. I can't think of any names to add, but I was in CA when Go went under. I knew the story pretty well... yes, their compliance director did take off to be with a Raider coach (can't remember which one, though). And, the whole Block/Cyber feud was hilarious. Block (or, was it Bloc?) actually "created" Cyber, then Cyber broke free (long story) and made millions on the buyout, while Block went under. You know, they used to charge a $50k franchise fee to open an office!
On-Site Trading is gone. I believe they were bought by AB Watley. Most of the their independent offices went to Carlin...
Sometimes I just can't help myself, but I prefer to think of my comments as helpful, not simply a "plug." (But, hey, I've been accused of worse).......lol... and hopefully we can help others to avoid the pitfalls before they happen. On a serious note, it is bad for the whole industry when firms go by the wayside, especially when they adversely affect the traders involved. If we're going to have some competition, I would prefer that they be solid and reputable. Don
When Block blew up many of their traders went to Momentum. All-Tech moved prop, ATTN and NOCI to Domestic Securities. They're doing quite well. Harbor is gone, and they recently resurfaced when an alleged Russian mobster put money there. Tradescape and their platform Lightspeed was folded into Etrade along with Momentum. ....by the way, 7.4 looking good Chuck.