I totally agree with you. I have worked for Deutsche B. (that is why I mentioned it: I know what comes now: No, I quit because life has more to it than kissing up a.... to move up the ladder). I have seen countless setups at other institutional firms, including IBanks and Asset Managers. I have not seen once anything that would remotely remind me of IB or TWS. IB is indeed a power house when it comes to market making derivatives and prop trading, but as a brokerage catering to institutionals it does not even need to be counted among the many brokers that actually offer products worth to be invested in by well capitalized banks. Those who have got the biggest mouthes (Not always, but often the ones with most posts here at ET, maybe because they spend all their time talking because trading would make them lose more) do not seem to know a thing about IB's core business. It is market making, period. Their brokerage they utilize as a side dish, earning some commission and monitoring money flows by the small-trader public. Those who are the best in big-mouthing should learn to read financial statments and quarterly reports (in this case of the IB partnership). But no, they hang around in every single channel and spend hours and hours bashing some poor guys who should rather be ignored. Poor!!! (BTW, its my first handle and I read about Walter the first time last night) ;-) Nononesense, I guess it should be clear why TT Tech. (X-Trader) is reluctant to opening their interfaces for APIs. Strategy Runner is an excellent tool to automate trading. Besides that I see no single reason why I would need an API connection to an execution platform which in itself is an excellent frontend. And I sincerely hope that they will NEVER EVER open it to other apps, except some high profile data vendors (esignal and the like). Data Vendors should provide such links not execution platforms. Those guys who believe they can set up their system, have it execute trades automatically through a broker and go and get some coffee, go to work on their sun tan and exercise a bit, come back and see a nice profit: DREAM ON!!! But I wont hinder them, its their losses that I and a few others love to pick up!!!
bbmat, You just gave us your view of ATS. You probably have Deutsche Bank engraved on your eyeballs and can't see anything else. Enjoy your dreams, I'll enjoy mine. nononsense
When did you work at DB? I sent you a PM to see if you know a person that I have watched trade who used to work at DB. Chris
what is it that guys like you start bashing users as soon as you hear the word IBank or Inst. Trading? Are you frustrated that you never made it for an interview or got kicked out after the first or second round? I dont get it. I am confident enough as I made it and as I decided all myself to quit due to my own personal reasons. So what? What business do you have with that? I merily mentioned Deutsche B. as an example. Fill in Credit Suisse, Morgan S., UBS, Goldman, Merrill, and all the others. Fill in all the institutional asset managers, bigger than a one-person shop in the forest of northern Montana. Noone has every used TWS nor will use it. So, calm down from your proud cloud and talk facts instead of laughing at people who have worked hard and attained something of value. Otherwise it may be that you are in the end the one being laughed at. But maybe not, cause you dont need to reveal yourself, your success in trading, your market skills. You enjoy the comfort of annonymity. If you enjoy your game, go on. If you need it for your self-confidence do it. I for one can only say that most guys I worked with in New York, London, and Frankfurt are great guys, cool to be around with and far away from being pricks. You seem to believe some of those who could not make it and now spread wrong stereotypes.
Hey pompous little bbmat, Who started bashing whom? Also no need to send me PM's in the same, somewhat expanded style. Who is calling persons being pricks? In fact bbmatt, you certainly did not pick up gentleman-like manners at your former DB desk! Calm down little fellow, nononsense P.S. You would do ET a favor if you could once in a while push on your little spelling checker button.
I used to know some equity-derivative traders and equity-derivative sales guys that worked for Ralph Reynolds and Rick Goldsmith at DB. They all came over from having started the Morgan Stanley program trading desk, and after a brief and not-so-successful year and a half stint at Nat-West, they were bought out by DB in late 98 or early 99. I'm not sure if they are still trading the same way, but they were a VERY aggressive desk, and did a lot of "facilitative" trade. I remember one of the head traders on the equity derivative desk of DB making the desk $45 million when he took the other side of Victor Niederhoffer's liquadation of then, in-the-money S&P futures puts that Niederhoffer had sold "naked" in the Fall of 1998. Niederhoffer had taken a bath over in Asia with some trades, and then blew-out his hedge-fund when he sold S&P futures puts that were way out of the money, and never covered them as the Dow was tanking several hundred points a day. His clearing firm finally came in on a Tuesday morning to buy back all of the naked puts. The volatility was so huge that anyone who sold these puppies were bound to make a fortune, even if the market simply treaded-water for a few days. Instead, it was the dead-ass low. And the Vulture Trade worked once again!
couple houses/prominent traders went down the last couple years. Agreed. Now ask yourself: How many thousands/tens of thousands of small traders where killed by the big houses. Don't even start counting. That is why one should care. They are more competitive because they eat from hedgers, but also from small traders. Read the book "The Futures Game". It talks a lot about statistics and research performed in the field of futures trading. Those statistics do not lie: The small trader is the loser almost all the time. The big speculators (with reference to floor trader) and brokers are the big winners, and always were. Its because they are on average more intelligent (to do the math and stats), they got the better execution systems, and lower commission. That is why we should care. Now, I talk about statistics here, of course there is a handful among the small traders who make it, but its about 2%. Its funny, small traders were once asked in a study: "Do you count yourself among the 2%?"; 80% said, "yes". Go and figure..... ;-) One should always strive to be one of the best, but also respect the forces in the market and pay a tribute to the facts.