Why do you hate Hold Brothers so much ? They are and have been a reputable firm for some time. Don't you think that becoming an NYSE member, lends some sort of credibility. And before someone says .... "oh he's just promoting his firm"... I am not. The URL's below do the promoting. I am just providing the links... Banker http://holdbrothers.com/openingbell/index.htm http://holdbrothers.com/bellvideo.html JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Gregory F. Hold, CEO, and Steven J. Hold, President, of Hold Brothers Execution Services LLC, rang the NYSE Opening Bell(SM) on Monday, Oct. 2nd, 2006 to celebrate their new NYSE membership. Related trading firm Hold Brothers On-Line Investment Services LLC was started in 1994 and has been a leader in direct access equity trading and high-speed trading software. According to Steven Hold, "With NYSE floor access we'll be able to give our traders an edge with more market color and trading options. Having direct circuits to the Exchange will minimize trade transmission latency." On Sept. 21, 2006 the firm hit another important milestone as it self cleared its first customer trade. Says Gregory Hold, "We have attained tremendous pricing power with customer self clearing and having our own proprietary software. NYSE membership is the icing on the cake, taking us from a price leader to perhaps THE price leader. Besides regulatory fees our variable cost on a trade is now near zero. By the time our competitors pay a middle man for clearing, software and NYSE DOT charges they are not in the race. We expect our volume to increase significantly." To commemorate the NYSE membership a large sailboat with a picture of the NYSE and the Hold.com domain will sail around Manhattan in late October. Hold Brothers currently has over six hundred traders and staff in various offices throughout the world. Hold Brothers' proprietary trading software, Graybox, specializes in high- availability, high-speed market liquidity access. Graybox has various smart keys that specialize in grabbing market liquidity. Graybox maintains its own direct connections to all of the major ECNs and liquidity sources in order to compile its own ECN "books" to see a complete picture of the market.
As far as I know, Hold is a perfectly fine firm, like Assent, Echo, etc. Low commissions, fast execution platform, good leverage are what keep these firms competitive. It's the large number of dodgy sub-LLCs and groups that sully the industry, which everyone knows.
The largest section of the Series 7 exam involves options, actually. Very little involves tax data. As far as laws that pertain to trading equities, how would a knowledge of the laws not be beneficial to equity traders? Practically speaking, it's more a matter of registration, increasing SEC scrutiny and business models than the actual information covered on the exam. Nowadays, many firms are operating in some gray space between prop and retail causing the SEC to review them on a case-by-case basis. If you are trading on a bona fide retail account than you are a customer of the firm. There's no need for you to be licensed. Of course, it never hurts. Although passing the Series 7 probably won't make you a better trader, it does cover some useful information and it looks good on a resume. The link below covers the registration issue: http://www.greencompany.com/PropTraders/PropTradersIndustryNews.shtml
I know this doesn't factor into your elaborate scheme, but we are a BRANCH of Hold Brothers, as the site (which you used to call me a shill) suggests. We are not some dodgy sub-LLC. Rather than latching on to pieces to support your paranoia, you should try viewing the whole picture. You do everyone a disservice by posting agressive attacks that have absolutely no merit.
I'm not implying you are a dodgy sub-LLC. I'm saying you're trying to get bodies in the branch (as in, I don't buy your story). I'm sure you are much better than the chop shop groups out there with limited market proficiency. Just let it go, dude. What some trader out there on the net thinks shouldn't bother you THAT much.
I never attacked you but why couldnât you be smart enough and end this. Whatâs the different between you and an LLC? So you opened an office and you put up a little money with Hold Brothers so what. Itâs not like you put up a half million dollars or anything close to it please. Then you hire traders asking them to put down maybe 5k and make whatâs left over between your rate and the rate you gave them. There deal is with you not Hold Brothers directly and you have no past record since your branch is new. You came on this site saying Echo was an ok firm but had compliant issues well I am sure Hold Brothers had some in the past or even now its not that uncommon. I surely would put big money in Echo before leaving it in your hands. Then you have the audacity to say you only hire professionals. Come on lets be damn real your not turning down anyone willing to put down money and has a 7. I would love to know what hard work you put into turning out good traders because it sounds like bullshit. What are you resources lets be real. Why canât just be honest you have a new office in Chicago and would like to have traders. Nobody really trains honestly and say we offer a little help but success will rest in you. Nobody is claiming youâre a shill but honestly its shady how youâre promoting yourself. I wish you the best but donât blow smoke up peoples assâs either.
I find it funny these days when people say how great Holds rates are. Have they really traded for Hold Brothers?? Do they know about the hidden SAI fees (about 2 cents a share) when shorting a stock?? YEEEEEEEEAH other than that their rates are outstanding!!!!!
I do want to say Hold isn't a bad firm. But when it comes to rates they really aren't any better than many of the other firms out there. They may give you a great base share rate but they will always make up for that in other areas.
You are either completely clueless or a pathalogical liar. You have certainly attacked me, and you continue to make idiotic statements. I think the better question is: Why can't YOU be smart enough and end this?" If I am "promoting" myself or the firm, you are certainly giving me the spotlight by which to do so. I will defend against this ridiculous assault for as long as I must. You, like Fractal, have no idea what you are talking about, but you do have the audacity to make statements that have absolutely no merit. I have a track record from trading elsewhere that I am certain would shame anything you've accomplished. Furthermore, I have a lot of money in the firm, certainly well in the neighborhood you are describing. The reason I stated that ECHOtrade had compliance issues has everything to do with the post to which I was responding. I also mentioned that they are a solid firm. I am hardly on here to promote the firm; as we have marketing people to do that. I have certainly not spoken poorly of another firm in an effort to promote my own. There has only been one firm that I've bashed; and, if you believe them to be a quality firm you are sorely mistaken. The firm has indeed turned down applicants. It does take a lot more than a Series 7 and 5K to get in our door. You would certainly never make the cut. We have brought in people from the CBOE, the CBOT, the CME and hedge funds to work with our traders. Often we have experienced traders from outside Hold come in to do additional training. We try to give our people an advantage in the market. Lastly, I simply manage the branch. Our traders have a direct contract will Hold Brothers. So, the "deal" is certainly not with us. It's so funny how you morons continue to speak with such authority on matters to which you are completely ignorant. Be an adult for once in your life and drop this. The only one "blowing smoke up anyone's ass" is you by pretending that you actually have a clue.