yeah- you have a lot to learn grasshopper. the # of traders a firm has doesn't mean jack. quality is more important than quantity. would you rather be in a room with some real shooters or around pikers trading 100-lots??
I just have to jump in here and post my experience, a different perspective. I was about to start with WorldCo, after a recommendation from a friend about the place (although he never really made money). I never traded before them. Met with a Team Leader, this russian guy Vlad (I'm Russian also wheee) at 110 Wall Street. Liked what he had to say, thought he seemed great as a person to teach me. They did try to ask for capital but we agreed that I pay for my exams and thats it. This was like April 2002. I finish school, I'm still working a full time job which more than pays the bills and start taking my exams. Took me quite a while with a full time job and all, but in Dec-Jan I'm done and I'm ready start. The recruiting bitches tell me that I have to speak to my Senior Trader again regarding putting up capital since the rules have changed. So I try for days to contact Vlad at work. No luck. I finally find out that he trades out of home now and I cannot have that number. Bottom line. This was the guy that was supposed to train me? How in the world does this firm actually expect their new traders to make money? I mean, realistically, you gotta give a new trader some instruction. After doing some research and reading around, I basically started looking for a new firm. I went to the Andover prop firm (Manhattan Trading) although it's just all Andover now. It's great for any new trader or any trader who is fine with being safe and consistently profitable. Not crazy lose 8000, make 10000, lose 20000 like certain prop firms. Oh and since WorldCo did license me, I had quite a hassle trying to get my U-5 from them so that I can file a U-4 at Andover. So basically, if you are a new trader, DO NOT GO TO WORLDCO. You do have to put up money and you will be nothing more than a retail client/commission whore. WorldCo is a retail operation, period. Not for new or not very experienced traders. It's mass hirings and firings. I guess they are trying to get the guys that are instantly profitable, as if trading requires no experience. What kind of a strategy is that? They put absolutely no investment in their new traders and this is has been a fact for year. Not just from my experience, but other people outside this forum. If you are experienced and profitable, WorldCo will treat you very good from what some of the guys at Andover told me (ones that were at WorldCo at some point). But if you are good, does it really matter that much which firm it is? Might as well go to a good retail trading firm and trade from home with high leverage. I think the guys on here asking what a good prop firm is, obviously are not good enough to just trade wherever and need some kind of an environment or direction (or you're just not good enough). Just know this, WorldCo is not the place to start.
Nice story there. I have friends who joined Worldco too in a new office that you would think needed to add traders in order to stay open. So he ended up paying for about $500 in licenses, ect. He was in the office a week on demo and then they canned all the traders except for the two that opened it. What I can't figure out is how they can dump someone who has not even hit a key yet. Good times over there. What I can't figure out is that they still advertise trying to entice new traders.
Just to show how unbiased I am, I'd have to agree with Mecro for the most part. Worldco as it is now, is geared more for experienced traders and not for new traders. If you are making money, everything is all fine and dandy and Worldco will treat you better than most firms out there with great commission rates and high payouts. However, if you're new, you have relatively little margin for error. If you should ever fall into the firm's money, you will be asked to contribute more. Then again, I'm not sure what other firm's policies are regarding this situation. On another note, the training at Worldco is not one of it's strongest points. I am not saying it is bad, but the level of training one would get is HIGHLY dependent on the team one is placed into. There are some teams where you can learn a ton from, others are not so great. So if you're a new trader, I would not consider ruling out Worldco entirely. Simply ask the team leader you would be working with many questions or better yet ask to watch the team for a day and I'm sure you can get a feel if he/she is someone you can work with and learn from. If so, then great. If not, there are other firms out there that may better suit your needs. Just compare all your options before making a decision.
Completely agree with everything g-man said. I didn't learn anything from anyone for my first 5 months there and I almost quit about 19 times. Then I got moved into a group where the leader actually cared and I completely turned around and started making respectable money. Until recently that is...having a little trouble these days. My only major problem about the place is the deferral account. I hate that with a passion. Does everywhere have the deferral account or is that just worldco? Whatever. I guess my bullet rates could be a bit lower as well but what are ya gonna do.
this company has been the most consistently bashed by aliases that only exist to bash this company and never post in any of the other forums. therefore it cannot be nearly as bad as they are saying, there is some propaganda going on here. Also I noticed Worldco doesn't pay for advertising even though they are talked about every single day.
having a defferal acount makes sense if you didn't have to put up any money. They have to cover their ass somehow. If you put up money then you are really just a retail trader with pro leverage.
There are a lot of people out there that only come to this site for a comedic release or to find out what is going on with firms and traders....myself being one of them. Rather than seeing a conspiracy, it looks to me like word of mouth spread about this site and frustrated traders are talking about their experiences. In the long run who really cares anyway. If you don't want to read the "propaganda" don't read a thread titled "Worldco R.I.P. 1993-2003 ? "