May they rest in peace: dead firms

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by javaboy, Sep 12, 2003.

  1. question about ASSENT????.........WHICH legal entity are the true owners hiding behind now?? like a game of brokerage CSI.....
     
    #31     Jun 17, 2004
  2. ....both very small, both in NY....

    Sharpe Capital (which ultimately had other problems)
    WJ Bonfanti (NYSE floor broker who tried a day-trading desk)

    ...so the good ones left are ??

    Bright
    Echo
    Schonfeld

    ???
     
    #32     Jun 17, 2004
  3. How about brokerage firms. If they go under, what would happen? Will it be similar to prop firms?
     
    #33     Jun 17, 2004
  4. Here are a few that are gone (as far as I know):

    Blackwood trading - They were a Wall st prop firm doing 20 million + shares a day
    Broadway trading - Another Wall st firm that used to have a ton of prop guys & volume
    Tradescape - Bought out by Etrade
    Protrader - Bought out by Instinet for a bunch of money and then folded shortly after (Instinet kept the software)
    Castle Online - No idea, but they disappeared
    Shamrock - They've been gone a long time
    Execute direct - Small firm, but gone also
    Rom-bo - They're gone
    ETS Securities - Small firm

    There were many more, just can't remember anymore.

    My guesses for next to go:
    Cybertrader - Not really going, it will just be know as Schwab
    Sonic trading - I think they are going soon
    Trade Portal - Used to be cutting edge, now just gonna be cut
    AB Watley - Used to be a huge firm, now teetering on extinction
     
    #34     Jun 17, 2004
  5. Anyone know what became of the Navillus guys?
     
    #35     Jun 17, 2004
  6. Phlub

    Phlub

    Anyone know if Rapid Jet Trading went to TD Waterhouse?

    MyDiscountBroker.Com (I still remember those stupid commercials trying to cater to at home moms) looks like it went to Ameritrade.
     
    #36     Jun 17, 2004
  7. You forgot Worldco. Isn't AB Watley gone already?
     
    #37     Jun 17, 2004
  8. but BLOCK TRADING - gone -

    also a smaller office called Harbor Securities - gone -

    you know ... come to think of it

    there a few probably a few futures / commodity firms that

    have bit the dust too over the years
     
    #38     Jun 17, 2004
  9. Very soon you'll be adding a bunch of names to the list. I am waiting for full documentation, but from the NASD and PHLX releases that I read, most LLC's will be gone by the end of the year.

    Major Net Capital Changes, FASB accounting board rule changes. Statement No. 150 FASB.org.

    Say a firm has $500k of their own. They get $10Mil of traders money. Currently they can "use" all the money for trading purposes. Six and 2/3 times the $10.5 Million or around $70 million for the traders to trade with.

    New rule forces the Firm's to treat the traders money as a LIABILITY, thus reducing their trading "pot" to about $3Million.

    This gigantic reduction in trading capital will put many firms into immediate violation, and cause them to close all positions.

    Traders will likely start a "run on the bank" to get their money out, so they don't end up with a WorldCo situation.

    My guess it that the 3 major firms (Bright, Schonfeld, and Generic) will be fine...and the rest will have serious problems.

    As most of you know, we don't use the trader's money in our Net Capital computations.

    I don't want to start a panic...non-public firms have until Dec 15 to raise capital or figure a way out of this. Public firms have to comply immediately.

    As I said above, I am waiting for a more detailed report from Bob Green (GreenTraderTax).

    Don
     
    #39     Jun 18, 2004
  10. fredmont

    fredmont

    what about first ny securities ..how do they fare in this?
     
    #40     Jun 18, 2004