Why answer the same question over and over again by phone when you can just answer once here: 1. Who owns TopStepTrader? If you will not disclose their names please state why there is such secrecy. 2. Why do you hold yourself out as a CME Member Firm when the rules say you are not allowed to? 3. I assumed that you marked up trades because many people have stated that they can get better rates at Interactive Brokers....I guess I shouldn't have assumed. Can you please post a pdf of your billing from your clearing firm so we can see that there are no mark-ups. I definitely understand you are under no obligation to do this because potential traders wouldn't fall under the requirement that you need to if asked.
TST_Hoag Does this mean that all future combine fees are waived or just the first one? This is important because I've claimed that it is possible that one goal of the combines is to keep traders recycling through combines over and over generating fees for TST. If when a trader passes a combine then he is never charged again then this would provide some evidence against this claim. However, if only the first combine is waived but not additional combines then it raises questions and supports that the combine is setup as a revenue generation source. If one were really scouting traders then it would only make sense that either A. they were cleared (no more fees) or B. they were dropped (they didn't make the cut when it came to live trading). There is never a reason to charge a trader who passes a combine for subsequent combines for a legitament operation. The only reason one would operate that way is that if instead of trying to generate successful traders that one were trying to generate a steady supply of customers.
If a Funded Trader is sent back to the Combine, the deposit requirements are waived for ALL future Combine accounts. Funded Traders also receive a deposit refund for the Combine they successfully completed prior to being taken live. Additionally, if a Funded Trader is sent back to the Combine, and he meets the Combine objective again, the funded account's balance is RESET. The trader does NOT have to make any previous losses (Patak Trading Partners absorbs ALL losses below the initial account balance).
I will try to answer this to the best of my ability: Lucias-If you don't have 12 traders who've cleared at least 30k then doesn't that suggest that you may not be giving those traders the "tools" needed to reach consistent success? mp- Every trader in our program is given the very tools which many traders have used to succeed. Lucias-I think the problem is that your recruits have unrealistic goals and not enough capital. mp- We have heard that traders need more of this and need more of that to succeed. What it comes down to is the trader recognizing what is not working for them and putting in the hard work it takes to get better. For example- We have funded traders that build their accounts with ease and some that struggle right out of the gate. BOTH with the exact same capital. I have also seen traders build their account up past $10k in their first two weeks, only to see them change their thought process and end up losing all they added in equity and then some. We have seen what works and what doesn't and our model is set up to help those succeed who are ready and develop those in the Combine who need more time. Lucias you mentioned- Also, I'm one of the few traders who might both be able to pass the combine and produce consistent profits for you. The problem is that you don't offer enough risk capital to make it worthwhile. mp- Whether it is worthwhile or not is subjective. You might not feel it is worth it to you, many see it as a great opportunity. If you are able to add equity to the account and trade consistently, there is no limit to where you can take the account. Once you are proven as a live trader and a true partner in the account, there can are no limits to what can be accomplished. Lucias you mention- What do you say to the trader who says, you know what if I can find just $800 bucks to laying around then I keep 100% profits for myself and don't need to meet any objectives? mp- First we do not take your deposit when you are selected for funding or meet these requirements: http://www.topsteptrader.com/deposit So you do not have risk capital. Next we are providing you an opportunity to receive FINANCIAL BACKING (ie. someone to take a stake in you and believes you have what it takes to generate profits for both parties involved YOU and your backer) If you want to fund yourself that is your personal decision and someone you may or may not want to do when you get the call to from our scout team to trade for our equity partner PTP. Lucias you mention- again, I strongly suggest you raise the risk capital to the monthly profit objective or at least 5x the max risk limit if you are serious about producing traders versus generating Combine fees. mp- There are some good traders out there waiting to be found, we are going to find them. We know we offer a sound opportunity to many to have the accountability in their Combine account to truly make strides in improving their trading, and work toward a funded account. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have further questions or if I did not cover what you asked. I tried to sum up things the best I could. mp
Everyone we tried to answer everything in this thread today. If we did not get to you please let us know. Thanks for the great questions! (with a bit of back and forth banter of course) Trade smart, mp
This should put to rest that the combine is meant to just recycle people through the combine to generate fees and that it is a genuine opportunity. Would it be better to trade your own $50k account and keep all the profits? It sure would but not everyone has that. I also think anyone that has the ability to pass the combine also has the smarts to decide if the split is worth it to them. For some, there is a psychological difference between trading your own money vs getting backed, even if it is illogical. Others might not have the money to open up an account. There are reasons for doing it.
I'm surprised this question has not been asked. Michael, how many times will you actually let a guy come back and erase his previous debt? Say a guy goes goes live and loses 4k and goes back to the combine. Then he goes live again with a new account set at zero. Then he struggles again and loses another 4k. Back to the combine and live yet again. Account re-set to zero. I imagine there has to be a limit right? I know you will probably say it's a case by case issue but what do you think is fair? Are there any soft rules on this?
Hello Michael For a trader with a live account . If there managing there risk according to your rules & are consistently profitable we realize that after the initial risk ptp takes with a trader , Once they start building equity in the account your risk is very limited it seems like the rules are very strict for everyone within your structure , possibly even for those that prove themselves most traders that are making money & managing risk would prefer to be treated as individuals based on there own performance with ptp & hopefully be afforded some flexibility to grow together as in a two way street for a trader that is profitable & doing what is expected do you work with your traders to ease the restrictions on them trading is challenging enough without all the added stress , it's all about making money & controlling risk . right Is your firm ptp flexible with traders that have proven themselves with you ? Is the 1 year contract with ptp that is required negotiable ?