Retail Bullets killing Pro Firms?

With retail firms such as Cybercorp and IB soon to be offering bullets, what will be the fate of Pro Firms?

 

I guess it depends on whether or not the availability of bullets are prop firm's major draw card.

Prop firms still have the massive leverage ace up their sleaves..
Prop firms also allow daytrading with less than 25k. So there's still reasons for them...especially for newer traders.

 

This might not be the best thread for it but I have a question

How do firms go about choosing their DAT platforms? Does anyone know?

It seems like none of the prop firms use realtick which I always thought was the most popular. Is it because the licensing fees for RT are more or is it because terra-nova owns them or what exactly?

The more I look around the more it seems like everyone is using something different.

Bright is using redi which everyone complains about, Lynx is using the hammer which i don't know that much about,

Echo seems to have a few two different platforms which I know little about, Worldco uses....well I'm not sure what exactly they use:

"The Worldco Trading Platform:

A fully integrated trading platform that incorporates direct access trading applications with order management and commission administration functionality.

Our advanced technology combines third party systems like, Watcher, First Alert and OASYS with proprietary software such as IE- Blotter, Idea Broker™ and Belzberg to allow traders to manage orders and self-direct trades to market makers, ECN's and ATS's, NYSE and other major exchanges."

So my question is how do these firms select their platforms?

Heartland is pushing their "watcher" platform for nasdaq but I am guessing it is mainly for nasdaq and not NYSE? But you can't download a copy so I don't know for sure.

I have played around with realtick and I have played around with rediplus. There was not much comparison. Realtick seemed to have a lot more functionality.

(I am using datek...so both have me beat).

The ratings on the software here are not very useful because according to most of them everything sucks.

Is there a consensus on what the best DAT platforms are. Not the best brokers. Just the best DAT platforms.

W.M.

 

Do you still get the "massive" leverage with less than 25K? Of course the price of executing the bullets will be important also.

Additionally, Cybertrader's lowest commish is 9.95 and that does not include ECN fees. I suspect that will have to change. IB has distinguished itself with low overhead, fast fills, and cheap commish. Tradestation is just $9 for the first thousand and $6 per thoudsand above that. But no bullets, and no one step reversal.

A disadvantage to pro is the pooling of assets vs SIPC and Supplemental insurance. No I'm not talking about AFLAC (Quack!)
That is my opinion only and clearly not shared by the many pro firm traders.

 

JW I would assume you would know.

What type of pro firm? The true prop model or the put your money in for extra leverage?

I don't think it would matter that much. Why would someone leave for a retail account? Besides the NASD is pushing users of bullets to be accredited investors so you may be safe.

 

Many firms use proprietary platforms for cost reasons. For example, TradeCast (which is a fantastic platform) used to charge $1.25 per transaction, you buy isld the prop firm pays a buck for using tcast as the order entry platform. Make your own and save money!

 

of course you do!

"massive" is defined in relation to your equity...so a $10k account buying $100k worth of securities is getting 10:1 leverage....beats 4:1 doesn't it??

 

I guess that is why schawb and instinet and everyone bought platforms for so much a year or two ago.

Is redi SLK's platform? seems like the clearing firm (slk, pax, instinet, etc. would spend some money and eventually everyone would standardize on just a few which the clearing firms own but I guess not. Or mabye they will in the future?

SLK =Redi
Schawb (are they self clearing) is cybertrader
Instinet=greattrade
Pax= (I don't know?)

etc.?

Or maybe that is why redi seems to have fallen behind because there was not enough incentive for them to innovate their platform because the customers were already there and the companies trying to bring in new traders were innovating faster?

I was just curious as to how things had evolved I don't have any experience with them yet.

thanks. that makes sense now why everyone would try there own thing. Also makes sense now why everyone here complains about their software all the time. If frims are trying to save a few bucks trying to build stuff in-house ofcourse it is going to suck compared to some of the retail type stuff.

Realtick seems like the best I have seen thusfar if cost does not matter. (like that ever is true) However I have only demo'd it. Anyone else got an opinion. Sorry to take the thread off topic.

Someone said somewhere that most firms use a seperate program for bullets? Why doesn't a firm just integrate it? It sounds like that is what the retail frims will do?

I don't know maybe it only takes an extra second or two to buy a bullet in one program then switch to another but it seems like seconds are like minutes when trying to get short quickly.


W.M.

 

That is my question...do you still get full 10:1 leverage regardless of the account size? When I was inquiring with a firm about initial money, the reply was, if you have 25K then you get full pro leverage. I took this to mean that less than that meant less leverage. I did not ask for a clarification however. perhaps a pro firm trader can reply to this.