Splat You can study, read, learn, virtual trade, paper trade, back test, test out systems, devise methodologies and create outright and arbitage strategies, learn simple and complex fundamental and technical analysis, until you are blue in the face - and all you are doing is following the same route as the 90% or whatever percent it is - the only way you will make money is by trading the lowest value you are allowed and sticking with that value for a year and learning to trade and learning how to match trading to the important elements of my list above - and then you will start to make money
Such places do exist (sort of). LIFFE has a list of those that trade its markets: www.liffe.com, under How to access the LIFFE market and click on Trading Bureaux. Generally you're look at 1000gbp+ per month fees for desk space, PC +screens plus execution software. Futures commissions are very competitive: Eurex sub 2 euro RT; LIFFE sub 2gbp RT. Most if not all or futures based. Most of the people at these places are ex-LIFFE themselves. Its not a strongly growing market is the impression I get as unless you've got several traders doing big volume (100s RT per day) the sums don't really add up. Internet from home with no extra overheads is actually very competitive. On of these places (ICA) went bust in late 2000, GDD "consolidated" its position by focussing on the internet-based traders and another called something like Traderhouse doesn't seem to exist anymore. Be careful!
Further to Quiet1's post, the costs at the places in the City of London are more toward 1,800 a month, but they do offer direct access to the futures markets, and they are into the scalping methodology, with hundreds and hundreds of trades a day, mainly in bonds, at really low brokerage fees. However, they are big places and are all in the City and they have been started by ex-liffe, but have all sorts trading there. There are other places outside London which have been started by, and for ex-liffe, and they have lower charges and are more relaxed enviroments for all types of futures trading. GDD is no longer in this business, and just operates now as a broker in Switzerland. My interest would be to start up a futures/securities operation in the west end of london, as i personally am interested in intra-day futures and arbitrage with securities, but not scalping. This does not have the potential for large scale round turns, but combining a number of traders may get the volume high enough to reduce costs significantly. I would be interested to know if anyone is trading on large scale through a phone/adsl line in the UK, as from what i have heard about its reliability, I know I would not do it - so having dedicated lines would be a key advantage in a combined operation.
Does anyone have an opinion of Macfutures (www.macfutures.co.uk) ? I was considering applying to train/trade FTSE Futures with them.. They seem like an ex LIFFE setup. Ta, UKS
Re: MacFutures They are probably the biggest and there is no downside for you. They'll train you and then may give you the money to trade - whats your downside! But you will learn a certain way to trade, and that will be your method for life! Make sure its one that works for you.
Stevet, thanks for replying... I hope I hear something back from them as they seem a professional firm judging only by their website and what you have just said.... and the downside does look rather good when you put it like that!! I have had no formal training so far so I doubt anything they teach me will go against the grain as it were. regards,
stevet its not so much that it will be going against your grain - but that you will be learning to scalp, and you may find that you end up buying from or selling to the trader sitting next to you - with volatility or enough noise - this may work out - but sooner or later....!
There is a Prop firm in London called Cervalue. You can trade US equities with them. You would need to have Series 7 and maybe 55 but thats all I think.
Do you have an URL or email address for Cervalue? I searched the web and got no hits from any search engine. Thanks. Ron
you should need any licences of any type to trade since you are trading the companies money and not the publics