I've worked with several firms and Patak is honest, upfront and they provide excellent resources to be successful. There are no surprises or hidden shocks, you get what you see. It is a firm which they spend a lot of energy to make sure you will succeed. For someone either starting out or dealing with another firm, I think it worth your effort to check them out. The system is very solid (i've never had an issue) and the experts they bring to help your trading is outstanding, FAR more than I have ever experienced at other firms, including a psychologist who has really helped my trading immensely. Some of the critism that they want you to make a certain amount before going live doesn't make much sense. If you have the money and want to put a deposit then there's no problem, but ask yourself would YOU back a trader who hasn't proven himself with your money? Wouldn't you only back a trader who has proven they can be successful? Considering you don't put up any money (don't tell me that $120 bucks is a lot when compared to a $5k+ deposit) it's a bargain. Honestly, I don't see why I would want to leave to another firm.
Does anyone know of any other program similar to what Patak is doing but for equities? I know a bunch who want you to pay thousands for their "class" and then you're allowed to work through their demo program until you get to a live account. I've paid for enough trading classes in the past decade to make you sick. I'mnot paying for another class!!!! What Patak is doing is great for experienced traders to prove themselves for a small amount (currently $160) then let let go on a live account. I'm just not a futures guy. Not enough flexibility with those contracts. Any program out there similar to this but for equities???
I see 2 options. Open an NT account and sim it till you are confident in trading for yourself, then deposit $ 5,000. This is less expensive then paying $ 120/month as long as you treat it like real money. Pay $ 120/month to demo trade with Patak, then once you feel confident in your trading deposit $ 5,000 to go live on NT. I guess if you become funded from Patak, you could then earn enough money to open your own futures account since it does not seem that their live account restrictions can let you stay profitable but maybe someone that is live with them for over 6 months can post here and correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks for reply oracle, what is nt account? Like i said , I'm not a futures guy. I am doing the Patak combine now but not my style. Profitable in equities. Don't have the money to deposit now which is why I'm searching for a program similar to Patak's but for equities without paying $4000 to $8000 for a class.
NT stands for ninja trader. It a free front end software for demo trading futures, stocks, or forex. Once you choose to go live as in real money, you do need to pay a fee. I think its around $ 180 for a quarter. They also have a $ 330 semi annual plan that I may switch too to bring my cost down to $ 55/month. As noted I believe most futures brokers require $ 5,000 to open an account. I think there are some stock prop shops that have a $ 5,000 min to open an account, but I don't trade stocks. What's the benefit you might ask of trading using NT? The benefit is that you can have good non-lagging indicators that you create or beg or borrow or pay for from other traders. You can have automation of both targets and stops including trend following with everything on your computer or a virtual server which I may switch to improve reliability and reduce down time. Once you achieve automation, you don't need to watch the market after you enter a trade. Also if you were to create a strategy to trade for you, then you can let the computer trade for you, and go do something else with your life.
The $8,000 was lowered to $6,000 to make it more achievable. As to the reason for 6k? That's an avg of $300 a day, something the founder had to go through back in the day. It's a decent living...not stellar but at least you could have an ok life. The number maybe a lil arbitrary there's no magic formula to it. TopStep is not meant to be the answer to all futures trader's goals. It's a means to an end. A great bridge btwn regular Sim trading and real money. How many of you done great on sim but failed on real accounts? I won't guarantee this won't happen with TopStep but it should bridge the gap. Just my 2 cents. If you have any more specific questions to ask please let me know
Dear Sarah, you say the combine may be "repeated as many times as necessary", but then you say "guarantee funding". Please be straight with us, you said two different things. Are traders guaranteed funding if they complete the combine? If not, it is unethical to falsely attract traders to do 10 days when you are really looking for 2 months-but then tell them it's 2 months once they have spent 10 days of their own time. Also I cannot find any "Patak" traders on LinkedIn so far. So either no one likes to admit they work for the firm, or no one has a Linked-In at Patak. I've been asked about tst and am curious about these questions myself too. Last, you do not advertise on Elite trader-the largest trading forum on the internet. Why is that? Can't handle the atmosphere? Did Mike get beat down around here? One more thing, Patak did not bring up any results on the CFTC or NFA websites.
Does the group trade options? I guess I would also like to know that if I were to deposit 200-300k, what would my haircut be and is it possible to get badge margin or close to?
I know a lot about the firm so let me jump in here and offer what I know. If you complete the combine you will absolutely get funded 100% if you meet ALL the objectives. ALL. They offer 10 day combines for the purpose of those guys (or girls) who just miss the objectives on the 20 day and don't want to have to trade another 20 days to qualify, so they offer this express combine if you will. It's generally not a good idea to start with the 10 day because let's be honest, most guys (and girls) think they are better then they really are. I have found many traders on linked in who trade with topstep. Patak LLC is just the shell that owns topstep. No one trades for patak, as far as I know. I looked up michael patak on nfa and found all his relevant info. It's there, try again. Any other questions? Fwiw, they currently have over 40 traders they have backed that are "currently" live. All their info is listed on their site and most of their live interviews are posted on youtube. As far as advertising on elite? Come on, was that a serious question?