I found a way around the Portfolio Manager conundrum in the 90s. Once you get well into 6 figures Net Capital it becomes an issue. I was offered a Portfolio Manager apprenticeship in 1995... By a guy who now manages about $2 billion under the name of Acuity Funds... But did not want to be his Serf for 3 years... It's just my independent nature. So I became a US broker-dealer based in Canada for 6.5 years (1998-2005)... (Probably not an option today)... But the amount of compliance and regulatory filings... Especially since the new laws in response to 9/11... Made me a slave to NASD examiners that would harass me for no good reason... And issue conflicting rulings, etc. Now I'm managing over 7 figures as General Partner of a Limited Partnership... And am ** free as a bird **... Falling back on the "friends and family" thing... Which in Ontario is a "gray area"... Because you can't stop people from managing the Family Money. Securities Regulations are FULL of "gray areas"... And arbitrary decisions made by examiners... Especially when dealing with cross-border issues. As long as I keep a low profile... And DO NOT EVER try to advertise or deal with the public... I should be able to build my business up to the $5-10 million Net Capital range and do perhaps 1,500 trades/day... Which will be quite enough for me... and make me happy.