a room full of traders can be a bigger distraction than children ever could. with a small number of high quality people you could enhance decision making instead of diminishing it. until that situation presents itself, i'll work from a home office. it's quite nice. nitro, have you tried a squawk?? the constant "half bid @ 70" can be a great companion......lol
It's reasonable to take trading seriously if you're going to make serious money. Most of my trading is daytrading where I need to devote 100% of my attention to the market fluctuations, and distractions during that small timeframe can be costly. Besides that I needed and industrial strength and reliable internet connection. I chose to go with a t-1 line in the office because dsl was not available in my office of my home. The only option I have is a cable modem which isn't reliable enough. The reason that cable isn't reliable enough in my area is that the cable company is continually installing and testing their lines during the day which causes many interruptions during trading hours.
i visited a local trading room and it was depressing. it reminded me of a low end slot oriented casino or off-track betting parlour. one of the poor souls looked like he lived there, surrounded by bags full of stuff, novels, and cd's for a giant headset. other guys just looked angry. it was truly a sad sight. i'll take trading from my house anyday ! best, surfer
One day, I had TWO on at once trying to compare them. It took me a couple of days to recover from that. nitro
Not all of us have the technological needs of a trader where we live. Where I live there is no dsl and the cable internet is still being upgraded. On the other hand, the trading office has the necessary tools ... which i'll call an edge.
I tried both, home and office and there is no doubt that "home sweet home" is the best choice for me . As I live in Paris(France) my experiences on "offices" is very very small because there is(or I found) only two trading rooms in Paris. The costs are craziest and the atmosphere really doesn't suit me .Or it looks like there is a bunch of "daddy'is rich" throwing daddy's money through the window just to have their parents/familly proud to say "he is working in the financial industry" rather than "he is a pathetic casino player wasting all our money unable to do something with is two hands"; Or it is people with a decent level (from breakeven to profitable) but their talking joking, kidding etc just make my trading as hard as possible. When I'm home it's me and the market, when in the office it's me and them then the market and my results just suffer from such a situation. You feel like somebody is watching above your shoulder and judge you..I hate that feeling. When one of the best and veteran traders of the office yells "I know that the one at 2202(or whatever) is just bluffing, he is just trying to fade!" and you've just traded the opposite it is one more pressure you didn't need at all!(no matter if you are right or wrong the fact is that you are not as comfortable as you were before you heard him). My favourite place is home because the only one I can hear yelling is me, the only one I try to beat everyday is me. When I trade from home it's like a sport team playing home...I'm best from home than outside. Ihope it was not too hard for you to read my french english style
spread, i traded for years from a 56k modem. i have just been on DSL for 2 years, my area just offered DSL 2 years ago, so i know what you mean. if the office is cool, go for it ! just make sure there is not a serious negative vibe. best, surf
I find trading from an office much more conducive. I do have a home office setup where I monitor the mkts at night etc, but my toddler son and his nanny are somewhat of a distraction. When selecting an office, I like shared office space. I make it a point never to share an office with other traders, the last thing I need is to be influenced by others opinions. So I make it a point to share office with artists, not necessarily painters/photographer types, but one is a freelance writer, other independent film and tv documentary show producer. They are very bright and we have some good conversations during the day. I really like their creative energy. If you look into it there is a big mkt for independents looking for shared office space. http://www.craigslist.org/
... An issue with nearly all of the trading rooms I have seen - except for some of the big financial trading operations of the largest Wall Street firms and one of my "beach" clients. I highly prefer a quiet, focused trading room with highly qualified traders. A small group is best if the goal is to actually work in some type of cooperative team fashion. IMHO the notion of a "team" becomes an artificial construct once you get beyond about 10 people and even this number is a bit high to maintain a truly useful collaborative environment - the best number is something like 4-5.