The WSJ is working on a Vic story. Key elements: Matador has lost 93% of it's funds. Vic's clearing house forced liquidation of his position. Vic was short 15,000 Mch08 1000puts. Vic is in "hiding" somewhere in NYC.
The clearing house or broker ain't going give him any profits cause they know the funds positions. and yes they will screw you. it's call fair play in the street.
he messed up or got robbed by the clearing house who was on the other side of the trade...ain't no tuition... he ain't no student. these are professionals.
Yeah, robbed by the clearing firm. Imagine selling >$20 million in puts before the index takes a 170 point dump.
A description I found on one of his books: :Victor Niederhoffer, a trader with Soros affiliations, wrote Education Of A Speculator as a homage to himself and "lessons of his life" type of book about one year before his trading firm blew up. Unfortunately, Victor was heavily writing out-of-the-money S&P put contracts and got caught margined big in the steep (and of course temporary) decline in the US market during the fall of 1997 (related to the initial Asian crisis scare). Despite his untimely trading meltdown, the book does lead the reader into typically unconventional territory. In recounting his experiences, Niederhoffer explores the interdisciplinary relationships of trading, art, music, sports, and gambling. There are no magical or hard-core trading secrets here. Far from it. It's the process of self discovery we're after. Whether intentional or not, Niederhoffer opens the door to the question "What lessons from life can I bring to trading/investing?".