First off Gene is in charge of his own firm Leiber and Weissman in NYC. Check out www.stocktrade.net for info. As far as price structure, I would beg to differ just a bit. Our "medium to big" traders pay about .075 with no ECN fees and get rebates for rent and all of that. 100% payout, and you save 15% of your profits by paying no FICA or Self-Employment tax. We are, of course, well capitalized and very stable (been with the same clearing firm since 1978) , and I like to think that we have a good reputation in the industry.....but enough about us. There is so much "consolidation" (nice word for going out of business or struggling) in this business as of late, that I just warn you to be a bit cautious about who you throw in with, and make sure that they don't need you more than you need them (at least money wise).... In any case, come by the expo in two weeks and say Hi!!
Don, Thanks for the info on Gene. Unless I have it wrong, up to a million shares at Bright gets you .9 per share (with rebate). The next million, you pay .85 (for the 2nd million, but not the first). Where I trade now, I pay a flat .7 for all my executions, regardless of my volume. There is no rent, or any other charges. You guys at Bright have a great firm, financially very stable, but can not compete on price in the NYC market, which I guess is the reason why there are only 5 traders in your Manhattan office. Almost every other firm in Manhattan has 20, 40, 50 or more traders in their Manhattan offices, and many firms have more than one office in Manhattan. Without being "self-clearing", Bright will be hard pressed to be competitive. Regards, trader4life
Don, this is not meant to be an attack, but you are incorrect when you state that a trader saves 15% of one's profits by not paying any FICA or Self-Employment taxes. It is actually much less then that depending on your income ... at least according to IRS Form 1040SSE. You pay Self-Employment taxes on 12.4% of the first $80,400, plus an additional 2.9% of your total income. You also get to deduct 50% of the total amount of Self-Employment taxes paid, from your gross income. If you made $80,400 trading, you would pay approximately $10,800 in Self-Employment taxes (assuming your tax rate is about 25%). As your income increases, the Self-Employment tax rate rapidly approaches about 1.9% of your gross income. Paying the taxes, and then being allowed to establish a tax deferred retirement plan, would probably be more beneficial to high income traders. I'm not an accountant, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/forms_pubs/forms.html Regards, Slave2Market
trader4life I pay a flat .7 for all my executions, regardless of my volume. There is no rent, or any other charges. Which firm gives such a good deal? I really would like to know...
"trade almost exclusively Listed stocks, trade 1.0-1.5 million shares a month, and am consistently profitable (have not had a losing month in 2 1/2 years)". Heee heeeee heeeee heeeee
Stay tuned!!! ---- As I mentioned before there is a lot of consolidation going on in the industry. The "multi-level" marketing (franchise) days are coming to an end in my opinion.... You're right about our Manhattan office, and we don't plan on making a big play there (we will maintain a presence), since we plan on adding a much larger office in NJ this year, and are bringing our "temporary remotes" back into that location. With the addition of 250 new "Bright-at-Home" traders, we will probably drag a bunch of people away from Manhattan to join the group who have already opted to trade "proprietary remote".... You have a good deal, and keep up the good work, you never know which firm you may become a part of without knowing it.
Don or Donald(bet your mother use to call you Donald)-Could you go into a little detail about remote Prop trading. Does it work the same way as trading at one of your offices?. I hope you don't have to pay a $400 a month desk fee. That would be funny paying $400 per month desk fee and it's your desk to begin with. Serious how does this model work.
I think you have to rent one of those special "Bright" desks for $400 a month... You don't get to use one of your own...
$400 would have been great back when i traded remote with bright. plus you had to pay "Cash"(person's name) $500 just for the priviledge!!!! they had me paying $600 a month and literally supplied nothing!!!! i used my own computer, quotes, connectivity, and they supplied REDI. Don where can i get a refund????
We have been authorized to add 250 new "Bright-at-Home" traders in 2002 by our regulators (new risk technology, etc., has opened this up). After training, the traders are put under the supervision of our remote Manager, and are provided full Redi Plus access, use of capital, same low costs, etc., for only $200 month. No other data feeds are necessary, since during training we give you some solid basic software to take advantage of the Redi dde link and Active-X technology. I really want this to be a success, and we are doing everything we can to make it so. The actual "roll out" will be in NYC at the EXpo. We already have about 50 traders taking part so far. You can provide your own desk and chair Feel free to call me to discuss. 800.249.7488