shortee, i've read numerous posts of tony's and never has he said all you need to do is read his books. he's given some great insights and has been very responsive to questions. some people trade just fine from home, others prefer an office environment where they are surrounded by other traders. why give him such a hard time. as far as technology, no one these days has an advantage. fact is from what I see, most prop/prof firms offer many of the same direct access products that are available to those at home. those serious about trading, should invest in better internet access (T1 at home will be just as fast and probably faster since you are not sharing a line with others at an office) and find the best equipment to suit their needs. in the end it comes down to a matter of preference and to find the way that will put the most cash in one's pocket and maximize their personal desires (like spending time with the family etc).
I just wanted to weigh in and say I'm glad to see a well known successful trader speak up for the "Darkside" in regards to NYSE/NAZ and Prop/Home retail. And $20 a month for scans?? Whaddya tryin' to do? Help people make money or sumpthin'? ( I use 'em everyday!) Mike S
Have a great weekend to all. By the way, Tony OZ-I agree with you 100%, you can now trade at home-systems, connectivity has gone down in price. I will say this however, for true professional traders, I like the L.L.C. structure- there is no "margin" calls and if you can trade matched pairs ,synthic puts etc. and have access to bullets. There is no minimum share amt. at most prop firms and your average size order is closer to 500 shares, than 10,000. Tony, I would disagree with you that fees are lower per ticket. A per share amount is usually better because 70% of fills are partials and ticket charges can really add up. Every major hedge fund and pro trader I know of pays per share. There are true professional traders at NASD firms & L.L.C's . The L.L.C. structure makes alot of sense for efficient use of capital. I try to be objective in my posts , see L.L.C. margin at www.stocktrade.net/services/portf_hedging/hedg_requir.htm and www.stocktrade.net/services/portf_hedging/hedg_exmpl.htm I never would say that in house traders are superior to remote traders. I find it hard to trade at home myself. We have traders that are successful in house and remote. Tony you would be welcome aboard with us anytime. Gene Weissman Lieber & Weissman Sec., L.L.C. gweissman@stocktrade.net
Just got back to this thread (hope you all missed me)...Pej..if you make $500K per year, why pay your firm an extra $100K (and higher costs)? The use of capital is the same (at least in our case). Tony: I think I didn't get one point posted (new computer, had to transfer files, etc.). The $9.95 per trade cost is fine if you trade big size per trade, and have plenty of capital (like you do). But for the average trader who trades 400 shares at a time x 100 trades per day, they are paying $600 more per day in costs. These are, of course, our numbers...but I feel that our "universe" of traders is pretty typical. Tony, you also mentioned 10,000 share trades...how often do you trade 10,000 shares of a Nasdaq stock? Not often. I want to point out that you are absolutely right when it comes to your personal trading...from home, retail, without need for capital...but you are an extreme exception to the rule. Anyway, just more "fodder for the fire".....Have a good weekend everyone!
As for how to trade, home, prop, etc. It's all part of the game, like choosing what to buy and sell, and when. Wise decisions make money and foolish ones loose it (to the wise).
Question about your firm. will you allow a trader to buy a million dollars worth of stocks if he has 30K in his account, assuming he's at your firm for a long enough period of time and is profitable, if he nets big previous year. Let's say, 20 stocks 1000 shares each, at a given time in the morning, assuming a 50 dollar stock price. Another question, will you allow a trader to buy 20 stocks, 3000 shares each, at a given time in the morning.. assuming the same price? stone roses
Well said. I'm willing to bet that those that do the most complaining and attack and question others on their motives and trading skills are just the frustrated traders who are losing their **s. If they spent as much time studying the market and learning how to trade, as they do searching this site looking for some to attack, they would probably be great traders. Boy has this site changed over the last couple of years. I know I don't check it much anymore due to all the nonsense. I'm sure others who could have actually contributed something have already gone. One good thing about it is that the complainers aren't here long. They blow their account and go back to their old jobs because they spent all their time here attacking others instead of spending it learning to trade.
Do you know of anyone who can write nice market commentaries ? I am required to search for volunteers who would have their commentary posted on a very promissing website, so your help would be much appreciated. Please email me at bono@rome.com
Give me a break, Don ... 'average' traders don't trade 100x a day so your example is straight out of cloud-cuckoo land... a Bright Trading universe cannot be regarded as typical ... but of course its your wish that 'average' traders do 100 trades a day, cos commissions are your primary income. Tony Oz seems to be one of the few bastions of sanity on this thread.