Hey, I'm becoming consistently profitable, but i'm swing trading forex and metals, exclusively of daily charts, with maybe 5-6 trades a month. Is this sufficient for a prop firm? By the time I leave univiersity however (4 years) I should be able to trade the lower timeframes (4H H1) which coul bump that up to maybe 3-4 trades a week, again is this sufficient?
Sounds like your on the right track, "consistently profitable." Your trading in highly leveraged markets. You don't need a prop firm. Most prop firms are equity only shops with no over night position. It will be hard to find one for fx and futures. Even harder for swing trading. Maybe you should consider becoming a CTA with your track record?
Becoming a CTA would be difficult; I doubt I could raise enough funds. The problem is in the UK I need FSA authorisation, which would be hard given my age, you see I have to trade under an 'umbrella' i.e. a prop firm. POA only gives me the right to trade someone's money but not actually make income from it, pointless law I think but it's just how it is. Is it possible to make an agreement with a prop firm to allow you to trade someone's money under them? I ideally need to speak to an accountant/securities solicitor as people I have asked about the same issue seem to have got somewhat contradictory advice from the FSA.
Look at http://www.futex.co.uk/ they are a prop firm/hedge fund based out of UK They are the real deal. Take college grads and you can do mostly what you have already mentioned. Please give an update on how you turn out. I subscribed to this thread.