Prop firm asking for source code and strategy??

Discussion in 'Prop Firms' started by WinstonTJ, Nov 16, 2010.

  1. I'm not going to name names - sorry... Its not Assent and its not Bright.

    I think its enough that any trader could read this thread and get the feeling that asking for source code is a major red flag.

    This business is too small to start pointing fingers and naming names.
     
    #21     Nov 17, 2010
  2. I saw something like that once, except the scenario was different. They didn't ask for anything up front, but had language that anything I developed while trading with them would become their property.

    Ultimately something else got in the way, and I never got around to work this particular issue.

    Just trade retail: start with IB, move to Lime if you're big enough. There's also Genesis through various firms, and Echo. All have good APIs
     
    #22     Nov 17, 2010
  3. it's not unreasonable when they're doing something they shouldn't be: using non-existent sec regs as leverage.

    to each his own though...
     
    #23     Nov 17, 2010
  4. Hmm? Interesting. So, you would le tme have access to your computers, your money, a direct line to all the exchanges, to do anything I wanted to do? With all due respect, that doesn't seem like a valid business structure. We have to actually unplug computers at times over the years due to programming errors. One so simple as as a "cut and paste" missing a line item.

    Anyway, we just want to know if they're sending in enveloping, retracements, etc. no "strategy" or anything. We get dozens each month, we just eon't want to hurt the trader, other traders, or the Firm of course. Other than that, we encourage all the trading we can, right?

    Don
     
    #24     Nov 17, 2010
  5. sws2179

    sws2179

    I guess you could report it to SEC/FINRA, also send a copy to the firm to let them know they are being watched; these dishonest firms must be stopped.
     
    #25     Nov 17, 2010
  6. i would let you do whatever you wanted to do within risk guidelines i set. orders per second, $ per order, $ per position, $ per acct, etc. these would be hard-coded into my risk mgmt interface which each of your orders would go through. this is how a real auto-firm handles things. it's called risk control. i wouldn't have to know what you were doing and i certainly wouldn't share it. if the brights idea of risk control is turning off computers when things go wrong, then you really shouldn't be in this business. i can't believe you admitted to that either, that's hilarious!

    my post wasn't about risk control though was it? it was about you stating that bright's general policy is that it's ok to share the strategies of your auto-traders with other traders in your firm. i don't think that's ok. i think that's unethical, and i think you're a fool for admitting it publicly.

    'we _may_ share your ideas', and 'we have to actually unplug computers at times' are probably things better left unsaid by someone billing themselves as a professional trading firm. unplug computers?!! ROFL. that's just scary. i can't believe gsec let's you jokers get away that shit.
     
    #26     Nov 17, 2010
  7. LOL, nice "mis-interpretation" and I'll address your thought about "risk" - not just financial, but of overloading exchanges with orders, which is what I was referring to....you may not be aware of penalties for placing too many orders vs. filled etc. - I simply mentoned that because of an "auto traders" failure to comply with proper risk controls, and an error he made, a zillion orders were being sent upstream....he actually unplugged the machine as a bit of a "aw shxx" kind of a show of frustration. Since we have dozens of auto progrms running simultaneously at all times, we obviously don't know or care about the code or the strategy involved ...just "what" they're doing, as I mentioned...are they merely responding, how many unfilled vs. filled orders (to stave off large financial penalties)...things like that. We've always taken risks with our trades, within reason...nothing sinister or invasive here.

    Our financial risk controls are great, provided by GS, monitored in several places. Anyway, "much ado about nothing" IMO. All the best,

    Don
     
    #27     Nov 18, 2010
  8. i don't misinterpret things. if you have traders that can do things that you don't want them to do, then you have sloppy risk control. period. passing the buck to the trader does not absolve you of responsibility. i gave concrete suggestions, but feel free to ignore them... they WILL come back to bite.

    "we obviously don't know or care about the code or the strategy involved"

    yea, sure, or the traders:

     
    #28     Nov 18, 2010
  9. Don,
    Does the SEC do this?
     
    #29     Nov 18, 2010
  10. Not that I have ever heard of.

    Don
     
    #30     Nov 19, 2010