Hello, Seen this discussed on another thread and thought I would start a thread on this topic. Is it harder to be a successful trader from home versus a prop firm? If someone is a profitable trader, I believe they will perform in any setting. Just curiuos as to how many home traders we have and if you thought it would make you a better trader or more profitable one to be at a prop firm. Tony Oz made some good points about the positives of being a home trader and by his setup what is he really lacking that a prop trader has. Maybe if someone has traded in both enviroments, you could tell us your thoughts. Also, is it harder to succeed as a home trader versus starting out at a prop firm? I have read where Tony Oz will head to the golf course sometimes during the trading week, so I would have to say Tony is doing well with his home setup. I believe he is one of the best home traders IMHO. Best regards, Trapper
Trade your personality... if you need to be around people go Professional... if you like the tranquility and inner peace of your own company, stay at home... bear in mind that Pro Shops are better placed to make you churn (since you are physically on their site every day and they want to juice their seats to the max)... at home, there are no compulsions to overtrade. In both cases, find a mentor to help you through your first 3 or 4 months... its definitely easier to find a mentor at a Pro Shop, since you are surrounded by people. As a home-based trader its tougher to find a mentor, but forums such as Elitetrader and its private messaging system definitely facilitate the process of mentor exploration. You may also be able to find someone on Siliconinvestor.com ... other mentor proxies for newbie traders would be REPUTABLE chat rooms such as Vadym's Realitytrader.com ... for a newer trader, their chatroom may be worth it for the first 3-4 months of a learning curve. Whichever route you take (home-based or Pro Shop), you must ensure that you are living, breathing and sleeping trading... if you don't have a total fixation with and addiction to the trading game, your odds are low before you have even made your first trade.
If you are starting out you definitely go prop. I started out with a firm called Block Trading in 1998. And what I found is if you are reatail the firms don't care if you make it or not. They just want commission if you are doing something wrong they just tell you keep trading. When you trade at a prop firm if you start to blow up they will stop you. One thing about learning to trade is learning to take a loss. A prop firm will make sure you get out of your losing positions where retail they let you turn a small loss into trading. Learning to trade takes years and money lots of money. With a prop firm you might have to work part time at night but your odds of making it are a lot better. The big difference if you losses a ton of money they also take a hit. Retail is a churn and burn situation.
candletrader I like the thought of turning terrorists into tiny pieces of dog food. But I would not want to feed them to my dog. I think it would make him sick...
ROFL! Maybe we should feed the minced up, bombed terrorists to the alive terrorists we are holding at Cuba ... that's what I call effective recycling of waste! Candle
Candletrader, GoodMorning, GreatPost....I wish them well too... http://www.tasp.net/pigmissile1.jpg ....as always, GoodInvesting, Rocky
for me would be to go with a prop firm and spend anywhere from three weeks to three months at one of their offices...one that, hopefully, has a great manager who can take some time to help you learn their methods, etc. Plus, you'll be under their watchful eye and won't be so likely to blow up in your first months. In the short term, survival is key in this business. The big downside with trading from home is the potential for distractions. Phone calls, Fed Ex delivery, kids, etc., can raise hell with the ability to concentrate on the trade for some folks. That can cost ya! Best, Jim
the two main factors in deciding to trade out of your home are imo: 1. do you already trade profitably or do you need to be around other traders who are successful to learn. 2. do you have the personality that enjoys the solitude and quiet at home or do you like the "action" at a firm If you don't have enough funds (> 100k imo) you probably should go pro to get enough leverage to make a decent living. In that case they will likely insist that you work out of one of their offices for a while.