1 I have the cash to trade retail. I don't need 50-1 leverage. Besides 4-1 leverage is a lot safer than 50-1 over the long run. 2 I like to do overnights - the big money and most favorable R/R ratios is in multi-day swings. 3 I'm mostly a futures player anyway. 4 I like earning interest on capital and I like SPIC insurance. 5 I don't want to pay all those extra data fees which can cost thousands per year if you have multiple broker accounts. 6 I don't want to send my prop firm all my statements from other brokers. 7 My PDT account cannot ever fall below 25k - so I can't ever blow the entire account. I wonder if there are any tax benefits too. Is K-1 income treated more/less favorably than capital gains?
I believe you must pay social security and medicare taxes on k-1 income. If you are retail and qualify to be a trader in securities, your income is exempt from these taxes.