How do I become a proprietary trader? - Page 2 - Trading-Lab

ChaosTheory · #11 08-27-2007, 01:52 PM

First New York Securities is a nice outfit. Used to have a friend who worked there. It's an extremely competitive trading firm though. But if you can get in, hey...

breakout · #12 08-28-2007, 06:27 PM

it is my understanding they require a top college degree? Can someone confirm that? What's that got to do with how well one can trade?

ProTrader · #13 08-29-2007, 03:14 PM

what's passing and getting a Series 7 license got to do with learning to trade successfully?

ouch · #14 09-04-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by breakout

it is my understanding they require a top college degree? Can someone confirm that? What's that got to do with how well one can trade?

it's just the way it works if you wanna get into some firms. Academic achievement is supposed to be a good predictor of how well you will perform on the job. At least, that's what they want us to believe

breakout · #15 09-11-2007, 03:01 PM

so it looks like you need to have money to make money as an IVY league education costs big bucks these days. At least, that's if you wanna get into a firm like FNYS.

FabMav · #16 10-12-2007, 05:28 PM

yes, most times you need money to make money. Would you be able to make a comfortable living trading your $10K prop firm deposit if they didn't leverage it 10X+? Probably not. The buying power you get is still money. Not yours to keep

, but still money to work with.

Holden42 · #17 12-01-2007, 10:57 PM

so if I join a prop firm that asks me to deposit $10k and they allow me to use $100k of their money and I buy $50k worth of options and the market tanks and I lose half of the value in those options and they're now worth $25k, and I decide to walk away, do they just keep my $10k and I'm fine, or do I owe them the full $25k so therefore have to come up with an additional $15,000?

thanks, I'm new to this

Alchemist · #18 12-02-2007, 10:05 AM

I highly doubt any firm will let you buy $50K worth of OPTIONS with a $10K deposit. All proprietary firms have quite rigid risk management rules for stocks, let alone derivatives. Remember, in proprietary trading you will constantly be watched by the risk management guys who will enforce "caps", especially if you are a new trader. before even considering increasing your buying power, they will want to get acquainted with your trading style. basically, they wanna make sure you don't represent a risk for them. It's very unlikely a proprietary firm will lose money on a trader's losses as they will cut you off as your deposit reaches a couple of thousand $$, some even more.

niteflite · #19 12-16-2007, 04:52 AM

hello. can you recommend some good prop firms in NYC i should look into? i would be a newbie if i pursued this career path so i need to find a company that i can get a lot of good training from.

Alchemist · #20 12-16-2007, 04:22 PM

I usually refrain from recommeding firms as what may be good for me, may not be good for you. First of all, what kind of products are you looking to trade? if it's stocks, first names coming to mind would be Echotrade or Bright Trading. They are heavily into NYSE trading. If you are looking for Naz stock trading, you may check Genesis or Assent out. I know Genesis is big on black box trading. Assent's HammerTrade is also a nice piece of software if you are into that kind of trading.

It's important to always remember though, that whether you will get quality training or not depends on the local offices rather than the firm's headquarters. Your best bet would be to call them up and schedule an interview with the local office managers of each firm. ask as many questions as you can and also ask to speak with a few traders.

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#11 08-27-2007, 01:52 PM
ChaosTheory Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 44	First New York Securities is a nice outfit. Used to have a friend who worked there. It's an extremely competitive trading firm though. But if you can get in, hey...

#12 08-28-2007, 06:27 PM
breakout Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 63	it is my understanding they require a top college degree? Can someone confirm that? What's that got to do with how well one can trade?

#13 08-29-2007, 03:14 PM
ProTrader Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 109	what's passing and getting a Series 7 license got to do with learning to trade successfully?

#15 09-11-2007, 03:01 PM
breakout Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 63	so it looks like you need to have money to make money as an IVY league education costs big bucks these days. At least, that's if you wanna get into a firm like FNYS.

#16 10-12-2007, 05:28 PM
FabMav Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 33	yes, most times you need money to make money. Would you be able to make a comfortable living trading your $10K prop firm deposit if they didn't leverage it 10X+? Probably not. The buying power you get is still money. Not yours to keep , but still money to work with.

#17 12-01-2007, 10:57 PM
Holden42 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 4	so if I join a prop firm that asks me to deposit $10k and they allow me to use $100k of their money and I buy $50k worth of options and the market tanks and I lose half of the value in those options and they're now worth $25k, and I decide to walk away, do they just keep my $10k and I'm fine, or do I owe them the full $25k so therefore have to come up with an additional $15,000? thanks, I'm new to this

#18 12-02-2007, 10:05 AM
Alchemist founder of Trading-Lab Join Date: May 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 296	I highly doubt any firm will let you buy $50K worth of OPTIONS with a $10K deposit. All proprietary firms have quite rigid risk management rules for stocks, let alone derivatives. Remember, in proprietary trading you will constantly be watched by the risk management guys who will enforce "caps", especially if you are a new trader. before even considering increasing your buying power, they will want to get acquainted with your trading style. basically, they wanna make sure you don't represent a risk for them. It's very unlikely a proprietary firm will lose money on a trader's losses as they will cut you off as your deposit reaches a couple of thousand $$, some even more. __________________ Happy Trading!

#19 12-16-2007, 04:52 AM
niteflite Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 4	hello. can you recommend some good prop firms in NYC i should look into? i would be a newbie if i pursued this career path so i need to find a company that i can get a lot of good training from.

#20 12-16-2007, 04:22 PM
Alchemist founder of Trading-Lab Join Date: May 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 296	I usually refrain from recommeding firms as what may be good for me, may not be good for you. First of all, what kind of products are you looking to trade? if it's stocks, first names coming to mind would be Echotrade or Bright Trading. They are heavily into NYSE trading. If you are looking for Naz stock trading, you may check Genesis or Assent out. I know Genesis is big on black box trading. Assent's HammerTrade is also a nice piece of software if you are into that kind of trading. It's important to always remember though, that whether you will get quality training or not depends on the local offices rather than the firm's headquarters. Your best bet would be to call them up and schedule an interview with the local office managers of each firm. ask as many questions as you can and also ask to speak with a few traders. __________________ Happy Trading!