I hope all is well. I'm looking to return to the prop trading and currently shopping around. I will appreciate any feedback regarding this deal. Good, bad, ugly? Thanks in advance! Remote trader, 5K with 1 year lock up We offered a starting base commission rate of .0035 +/- all exchange and ECN passthroughs ($3.50/1000); this is a competitive rate for prop. As you know, most prop trading firms are not structured for all-in rates similar to a retail account. We pass through all exchange and ECN passthroughs which include both the fee and the rebate, whichever applies depending on your trading style. On average, you can expect the average liquidity-taking fee to be an additional .003 per share. The average rebate for adding liquidity is .002 per share (get that back, so offsetting your base rate). There are some other misc. fees such as SEC fees but for most traders they are minimal and primarily on the sell side only, but it will vary depending on the size and type of stocks you trade. The ECNâs do not send us your true add/take liquidity ratios on your trading until the end of the month. As such, we have to assume during the month that you are paying the higher cost for Risk purposes, which helps ensure that at month-end you will always get a rebate instead of a charge. So on the sheets you would see your trades hit at .0065 per share (or $0.65 for 100 shares) which includes your .0035 base-rate and the .003 exchange fee for taking liquidity. Then at the end of the month when we get your true add/take ratios, we calculate what you should have paid in net ECN fees/rebates and you are issued a rebate for the cost difference.
wtf why would anyone wait till the end of the month to get the ECN rebates. Every firm I ever dealt with or researched credit it back tot he account pretty much the next day. Prop reports breaks down each and every trade including ECN fees/rebates. This deal is ridiculously stupid.
ECN rebates are settled end-of-day with every prop firm. I've never heard of rebates being held back. If you don't mind disclosing, which firm is this?
Agree. That is total BS. I can see that they might shut your account down mid-month because they might think you are negative if you post a lot. They would be charging you .0065 instead of .0015. On 500,000 shares per month that is $2500! Furthermore, if you find the right firm you can do A LOT better than paying .003/share to take. I trade at JC Trading Group (www.jctradinggroup.com) and we have a route that is .001/share to take and the fills are incredible!!!
I asked because I think Goldman/Bright settles their accounts in the same way. If they're with a smaller clearing firm, it's a different situation.