I never traded equities before so I couldn't really give a completely educated reason of why futures vs. equities. But from the trend that I've seen, it seems that trading equities are becoming a lot tougher (elimination of bullets, etc. - you can short just as easily as buy with futures). I started out trading futures so its basically the only thing I know and I'm not that familiar with margins, etc. but based on previous posts its seems that the top producers for these equities firms really aren't making that much. Where I work (futures prop obviously), our top top producers are bringing in 1mil plus for themselves, 2nd tier top producers bring in anywhere from 200k to 800k per year. It also seems a lot of equities guys are moving over to futures prop.
There may not be any capital requirement, but before you sign your soul away (yes they do have a tough contract you must sign) make sure to read the fine print. From what I understand, and I do not and never have traded at Zone, they charge a very high Commission rate and they keep ALOT of your profits (assuming you have some). Good luck in your search! bullet