Becoming a Futures Trader: paying ££££ to a Prop Company or Trading for a Bank?

Hi everybody,

This is my first post as a newcomer and I want to thank you all for the wonderful articles. They are indeed of great help.

Now to the point.

Actually I want to know what is the difference between learning to trade with an Investment Bank and Prop Companies like TCA, FUTEX, Amplify, etc...?

Does anybody know the exact training procedure when you trade on the floor for a bank? Is there anybody with this experience willing to share with me his/her impressions?

In other words, for the vast majority of us, not graduating with a 2.1 from Oxbridge, what is the gap in education when it comes to trading?

I don't need the info on analysts, quants, etc.. All I need is to understand what training do they offer for TRADERS in a bank and to compare it with the training promised by TCA, FUTEX, Amplify, etc... for some £3-4K.

Thank you very much for your advice

Hey Vbogden,

the main difference is that with a bank it will take at least a year before you are trading by yourself but with Prop houses you are thrown in the deep in on day 1 dependent on which prop house you join. Obviously with banks you have more leverage to play with and if your on the equities desk you will have to always be fully invested. Hope that helps, if you want an insight into what training Amplify provides search for my journal and read that, it should give you a good idea of what to expect and whether it is for you.

TB

Is there a list somewhere of all the prop houses? and of those which ones actually charge for training and trading opportunity and which ones dont?

Read somewhere on forum that Tibra and Liquid actually pay you a minimum basic, if you are selected, while TCa and Amplify of course charge you.


Also, are there any which keep you in office from day one rather than remote trading? i would personally prefer going to office and working on a floor full of traders (rookie or senior) rather than alone from home. Remote may be next step once you are successful on the floor.

Comments?

two different kinds of prop houses mate

well only one of those mentioned are a prop house anyway, the other two are something else. If in doubt ask to see their trading floors and speak to their prop traders

You cannot get trained by a bank unless your are an employee. You cant get trained by a bank to trade unless you have a first class "reputation".
Banks spend tens of thousands educating individuals to trade and put millions in collateral behind them.

If I was still at a prop house , they would not let me waste my day reading these posts and replying to them - which is probably why i got sacked - how on earth do your bosses allow you to spend so much time on trade to win when you should be either trading or doing research ? ?

So salltbtch you work for a bank?