I recently found out that if you are a prop trader at my firm and want to trade from home, someone from the firm must come and inspect your home office because it is legally treated as a satellite office. Is this normal procedure or is it just my firm.
Never heard of such a thing. Totally unusual. You should ask your firm the legal basis for doing that. Telecommuting does not turn your home into a "satellite office."
Geez, I hope not - I like to travel, but to go from China to Dubai to check out traders homes would be a bit onerous, LOL. We do ask that our traders be "reachable" quickly when they are trading....and most actually like to be "attached" to the main office during the day. Don
Interesting question, each time I set up as a professional from a satellite location (1991 and 2001) that indeed was a requirement from NASD and NYSE as my office was considered a satellite location. I think the issue had to do with dissemination of quotes and information, and of course exempt credit. Of course that was still the age before Wi-Fi, so indeed I wonder if the issue has simply been forgotten.
IF you are acting as a broker then you would be considered a sat office. That is why many of the larger wire houses allow their brokers access to the system remotely, however, no trades can be placed outside of their designated office. As for trading, I have never heard of this as an NFA type of rule, but as you know, your prop firm can make their own rules regarding this. Look at the larger prop firms, you'll see almost all allow remote access trading.
Once registered, and since you don't have "customers" - you can trade from the beach in Maui if you like. We have well hundreds of remotes. Don