We have many Canadians trading with Bright Trading. We have an office in Vancouver (actually, Langley BC), and will be in Toronto very soon. Many trade in Detroit as well.
But you guys require capital upfront. That's what I lack. I'm looking to be "hired" and trade the firms capital completely. You know, I understand a firm needs some security to ensure that the person will stay. What about if I accumulate a "buffer" zone from my profits that you can hold onto for a certain period to ensure that I won't leave.
That business model of "hiring" traders has proven to be a disaster for both traders and firms (more so in the last couple of years). Since traders are entrepreneurs at heart, not employees, they tend to do better when they have something at stake. I totally understand the lack of capital, and there may be some firms left that will hire successful traders with track records, but I am not aware of any in Canada (and only 1 in the US, and I am not sure if they are still doing it that way). Many of us took jobs on exchange trading floors, or other positions at trading firms to work up to being a trader. That is certainly a good approach. To jump right into trading is pretty tought without any capital or experience. You may want to call our Langley office, to see if someone there wants to take on an intern/trader. Call Rob Friesen at: 604.539.8700. Good Luck!
Hey Don, doesn't Bright have an internship program? And are you still funding some interns or have you backed away from that too?
We have internship programs is many Universities, where you can get course credit (at most anyway), and perhaps qualify to trade with zero money. We are testing with "low cash" programs, and will be adding more traders on these programs during 2002.
How does an intern qualify Don? Is it their attitude? Do they actually do some trading? Is it GPA like Worldco? I'm sure any info you could provide on this could benefit a lot of college kids on this board (and I'm sure there a lot). Also, is "low cash" a loan program? Or are you just allowing people to start with 10K like Echo? IMHO a loan would be better with Bright taking 50 percent of profits and offering some kind of draw.
So far we are batting around 50/50 with the "low cash" program. I am aware that ECHO let's people trade with $10K, but according to their agreement that I have in front of me, traders must stop trading when they drop to $5K (understandable)...and $5K is a pretty slim window to allow for fluctuations IMO. We let our people trade even after the money is gone if they are showing promise (based on their overall performance and skill level). Our people who put up $10K, can draw 50% of their profits until their account is up to $15K, and at that point they draw 75%, until they get to the standard amount in the account. If we make a few bucks from their trading, it helps offset the losses we take from other "low cash" traders, and we have another "win-win" situation. For now, we want the traders to have the best possible chance for success, so we have them trade from my office in Vegas for a time, until they are doing well ...at which point we can let them trade from their home or office.
Is there an interview process for the "low-cash" trader program? On the topic of interns, who decides which intern gets backed? The branch manager, you or both? Thanks for answering my questions.
The "Low Cash" program takes place in Las Vegas. At the end of the 5 day training program, the potential trader speaks with the Vegas Manager, muyself, and my brother. We discuss current plans, history, and all the rest to decide if it makes sense for us to back that person. The interns are evaluated during their tenure at College/trading office. The "overall picture" is reviewed (family situation, goals, etc.), and then their abilities are reviewed with us here. That's pretty much it.
Since we are going to be able to add a bunch of remote traders in 2002, we are exploring the initial cash requirements for remotes. We may have some "betas" come on board (if they're trained and experienced) with lower cash.