Retail trading of futures is harder than equities, ETF's and pairs IMO. I have nothing against technology. All I've ever said is that there is no "system" that will work, at least not for long against HFT IMO. My $1million traders use great technology, I have no idea where you got that idea. Our traders can write to API, use the Goldman Auto Trade System (GSAT), whichever is cheaper for them. I do question those who come to me with "systems" - I have seen hundreds over the years, and most, after a short conversation, have easily seen flaws in them. Other than that, I simply say "well, come aboard and try it." Some have their own, some pay $$ to outside programmers, some use our programmers. Why would I care how they enter their orders? No "luddite" here. Not sure where that came from, maybe some sort of definition of "program"?? What would have me "offer" people? We have API capacity, we offer FIX Protocol, what else would you need. Traders use whatever they like. Something is wrong here. I've never had anyone take any of this stuff so personal with me, that I can remember. I may have upset you at some point, but with the hundreds of people I chat with every year, I doubt I said too much to hurt your feelings, if I did, I'm sorry. All the best, Don edit: We don't do HFT or sub penny trading, is that what you mean? Who the hell does, not Echo or G2.
Good proposal Volente. If Bob truly has a great track record, then I think the pricing is too low. Pricing should be 500-1000$ pm for such a class/combine. I would also signup and pay. Don - you know that I am the most ardent critic of combines who started all these combine discussions. In my view, this product has real value for traders to learn. Even if a trader watches Bob trading for 1 year, he pays only 500*12 = 6000$ or 12000$ depending upon pricing. But the learning will allow the trader to make 6-7 figures over the years. Go for it Don!
OK, Don, I was trying to stay out of this but then you said this. That statement is patently false. And your brother is 100% proof. Don, there is nothing mystical about futures. They are EXACTLY the same as ETFs. They simply have more leverage via their reduced margin requirements. Trading SPY and ES for example are the same. As YOU stated. Your brother trades them both. Same goes for USO and CL. Or GLD and GC. It's the SAME thing. They are arbitraged for Christ sake! The one benefit to futures vs trading ETF's are the 24/6 trading hours as well as tax benefits. And for the retail guy, he can get the SAME margin that Bright offers without the series 7 license and bullshit regulatory fees. But that statement really irked me because you know better. I feel compelled to keep you honest here. Stop talking your book. And btw Don, if your still listening, there are far more pair traders in the futures world then the equity world. And they make far more money. Why? Because their spreads are exchange traded and have far more liquidity. Trading is trading Don. It doesn't matter if you are trading options, stock, futures or whatever. You and I both know what makes this business hard is not the squiggly lines on a chart, but the psychological battles every trader has to fight regardless of their chosen product to trade. Alright, I'm off the soap box. Carry on..
To All Not To Don... Bright Trading is Fine... They have solid balance sheet, good remote setup for outside traders, knowledgeable trading managers, solid (not the greatest but solid) REDI trading platform, good accounting system thru GS Web interface and other solid stuff... but... but... but... Training... LOL... !! Bright Training Intro Class and Bright Boot Camp is TOTALLY COMPLETELY UTTERLY WORTHLESS... and this has been posted about by many people on ET and other forums... who have taken them... Don... is a 'great' salesman... but the fish keep signing up for it... ) thanks...
So, as the thread title asked - in your experience, which prop firm offers best training in the equities world?
How does Balance sheet of Bright compares with that of Echo? Anyone has numbers for both - just to understand the financial stability of these top 2 firms. Thanks. Don - you want to comment on this?
I can only offer a little help by critiquing what i know... by being positively expressive about the extreme inadequacy of Bright's Training... This Helps By Telling You/Others That You/They Can Scratch Bright Off Your Search List...for Training... Good Luck on Your Journey... Have You Read or Seen The Book... One Good Trade ? http://www.amazon.com/One-Good-Trade-Competitive-Proprietary/dp/0470529407 I found parts of this book were very interesting thanks...
Regarding expectations - I don't expect them to spoon feed me, however they should be willing to answer my questions. My aim is to just shorten the learning curve involved in equities trading understand basics like routing, dark pools, sectors, liquidity during news, behavior during earnings, pre market, post market behavior, setting up watch lists - things like that. Fyi, I am a successful futures trader but never traded equities. Don't want to spend 6-8 months getting just set-up for equities trading. Rather would pay if it cuts down the time required and helps to set myself up in 2-3 months. IMO, The ideal way would be if in a prop firm, I can sit next to a consistent equities trader or in middle of a profitable team for 2 to 6 months, watch him/them trade, pick on their brains during and after market hours. Will be willing to pay a special seat fees to the prop firm/trader. Its a given that the group needs to be profitable - otherwise, whats the point. LOL.
I would be signing up with a prop firm few months down the line. So, I really appreciate your candidness in giving a balanced view of good and bad things about Bright! After reading this and other few threads about Bright, my impression is that for a high volume trader, Bright is un-competitive on rates vs echo (There was a thread in which EricP and Dustin confirmed that they couldn't get good rates with Bright . EricP even said he saved 1M$ on commissions by not going with Bright over 18 months - but thats another topic). However, for a primarily swing/pair trader with overnight holds, Bright is better than echo - this is my impression, I could be off here. It is said that Bright balance sheet is solid, but I haven't heard any numbers, so a comparison against Echo would be helpful. No one can deny that Bright have been in the business for 30 or so years and Don appears to have integrity and that Bob is a highly successful trader. These are ++. However, as far as training is concerned, scratch Bright. Yes I read that book couple years ago. I didn't like it because I thought there was some blatant marketing in that book. However, I will give it another read based on your recommendation. Cheers. Btw, are you a profitable equities trader? Who do you trade with? I just want to be extremely careful when I start equities trading with a prop firm since the failure rates at shops like Bright is probably north of 95%. So, a lot of things that are being offered at these shops do not work.