Donna, don't tell me you are calling your iron condor strategy trading? Selling 5 delta option spreads is not trading.
Hey Pabst. I enjoy reading your posts as always, they are very informative. And I would have to agree with your examples. I could see why someone who was a floor trader for 20+ years may consider remote if their local office is in south Florida. This is the type of guy who could easily run his own shop or firm. He's a highly valuable asset. As someone who works in this industry I would like to add that 20+ year floor traders are rarer than rare. I've met a few that have done it for 5 or 10 years, but 20 years+? There are guys who can't put down 20+ years doing anything on their resumes. For example, Peter Lynch started with the Magellan fund in 1977 and resigned as manager in 1990. A period of around 13 years. You might say that's different, and it probably is. My point is your example is rare. There aren't a lot of floor traders out there, especially nowadays, and there aren't many that have done it 20+ years. And if there was, I could see why they may want to trade at home. They have a huge edge in regards to experience. Just as I could see why someone like Peter Lynch would want to trade from home. But boy would everyone love to trade with him in an office! He's written about his fascination with speculation so I wouldn't doubt he'd consider it. Being sarcastic of course. I think it just depends on your background and if you can gain from an office or not. Some guys will have nothing to gain from an office. They are a book of financial knowledge that anyone would be lucky to get a few pages of information from. But I would state based on the guestimate of successful traders out there, regardless of the official percentage, there is a large group of traders that geniunely want to learn and soak up as much information as possible about trading. To be honest, that is why most people get into the financial industry. Not because they enjoy opening up accounts or taking shit from clients/customers. To be honest, that is why I work in institutional trading. I get to see and hear about what hedge funds are doing with their trading strategies. This is an excellent education. Just as a floor trader job would be an excellent education. Some would say my line of work is nothing compared to being a floor trader. And I would agree. I would admit that floor trader experience trumps institutional trading experience. Just as institutional trader experience trumps retail trader/broker experience. (No offense to the retail brokers on this board.) So there is somewhat of a food chain of information. Retail traders could probably learn from me and I could probably learn from floor traders. I think the credit of the office environment is you never know who you are going to get in there and you never know who is going to be managing the office. And once you find out this information, it might be of interest to you to participate in their discussions and to observe what is going on. Years ago when I was a retail trader, let me just say I did also observe what clients did. I would watch clients blow out their accounts and see why. I would learn from the constant examples around me. I would hear about a trade and would watch afterwards to see how it worked out and learn from the strategies. Clients tell you why they are trading a certain way just like any trader in an office would. "Did you catch that news, that's going to be big for this stock." Then I would see how the correlation infact played a part and sometimes it went either way and I would bank that in the back of my head as a reference point. So if there is a true learning environment and you can benefit from it, an office seems logically the best way to go. There is always someone around that you thank God that they are around. In your average day to day life, they are your friends and family. In your trading life they are anyone who have significantly contributed to your experience and knowledge as a trader. For the floor trader it was probably his colleagues and clients. So it would seem contrary to discredit the exact thing that got you there in the first place. There is a saying that I can't recall exactly, but it goes something like "no great man births himself." Which basically means you owe everything to what's around you and what you have the good fortune to participate in. Anyways, I hope that solidifies my point at least.
Cause I keep going! I know I'm not the only one though. Bob, Don, Cash, Maverick, you guys are there too! Don't lie!
Is that a coincidence? Sounds kind of like pair trading? Too bad you can't invest in strippers and football players!