Those are some huge commissions they charge also. You can start out with minimal volume at .30 cents a side cheaper these days. $1.20 is a nice profit for them on top of the split.
The principle seems to registered with the NFA, but the trading group isn't. That would seem to be a little odd to me. I think I would ask for references to traders currently with them.
Even with the disadvantages mentioned here, isn't this a good way to accumulate a track record? Pass their Combine criteria, trade with them for a year or two with decent results, and then move on. Having a 100% equity partner isn't a bad way to go. I agree on the T4 platform - it's a neanderthal compared to what's out there. I demoed it once with another firm - couldn't believe how inefficient it was. Does anyone know someone who actually passed their Combine criteria and is working for them? Would be interested to hear their experience. I'm going to enter the Combine next month when I have a full month to trade without interruptions. I'll trade it along with my own account - which probably means a lot of moving around the chart - but I'll give it a shot. Would like to hear from anyone who is working for them.
Jerry, Not really. If it was even a half-way decent deal I'd be there. See my own hypothetical record here: http://predictor.collective2.com. The deal they offer is no good. No money there or again I'd be there. You don't get a track record that way. You need someone to audit you preferably with a real money but hypothetical is better then nothing. To be taken serious, they'd have to relax the risk controls and provide at least 7-10k per student. It is quite clear the whole objective is not to risk any money on the students while the profit center is in the trials. I'm not saying it is a bad idea but not any way to make money. They don't offer enough, rules too tight, trials setup in a non serious fashion, doesn't pass the smell test. If I'm not clear the rules of the combine and live account are set deliberately to make it difficult/impossible to pass. This is for a good reason too. The good reason is that 1 month result will be pure random. Even if you go live, they put you back to test mode when you lose a ridiculous small amount. It is no way to make money. If I'm wrong I'm sure they can produce student track records with real trades and profits over a fair period -- say 12 months.
A shot?...Why bother..Really There is no track "record" Just a P&L for a MONTH!. The platform does not provide any trade performance data. The platform is cheese.... overpriced cheese. Look at the commissions...ridiculously high..must be platform fees in there They used to offer CME membership rates, after you net 80K...Not Anymore! If you make their required numbers consistently, you deserve more than 50/50 split....after commish that's what 60/40 becomes. EVEN If you're making their #s, All they are willing to risk on you is 2K, before they force you to rewind to demo. In fact, I don't know why THEY bother, Really.
Good points in the last two posts. I also wonder why they run this type of operation - perhaps gaining potential students for their up-coming training course? Who knows. As for the track record, it's pretty easy to download your demo trades every day and plug them into an Excel sheet. But you're right - one month is random. I'm just curious to hear from someone who actually passed their criteria and is working for them.
Training? That requires talent, tools and time. ..oh and $ But If a company requires a high level of performance but doesn't readily provide the tools to easily and effectively, trade, monitor and analyze the trading performance on the fly, intra-day, trade by trade or strategy by strategy to a mass some cohesive data sample, even if it is miniscule...then they're promoting trading in the dark, beyond the simple daily P&L factor. Maybe thats all they or their trials are focused on If Daily P&L is all that matters, not how you got there or how you might begin to improve it, besides by just levering up, then one could potentially some burn time and that $.
Patak is not perfect....and it appears that there is some focus on premiums in commissions....and in paying for software.... But it is way ahead of the rest of the pack...in concept.... Definitely going in the right direction...unlike most of the pack... Hats off to Patak..... ....................................... Different subject....but another firm headed in the right direction is Hedgefundlive.com.... This free live channel shows small size to decent size traders "live" all day....ie was $29,000,000 short during one session recently.... ....................................... In short ....Patak and Hedgefundlive are breaking new ground.... ................................. Kudos to both firms.... ............................. You can bet on this...there will be others like Patak and HedgefundLive....coming soon.... ........................ Off topic but pertinent.... Also another firm changing the landscape is freestockcharts.com by Worden...If a paper trader function was added to freestockcharts.com.....this would provide a dominant share size of future prospective business...... Kudos to these three up and comers....
TheWilling, interesting comments. What do you think is the intrinsic value of Patak's new trader program? Is it a genuine effort to identify exceptional traders or simply to accumulate a lot of wanna-be's who might pay for a training course? I'm curious because, from my perspective, if a firm has good traders and is making money, why bother with a program where most likely 99% of the participants have little or no ability to trade?