Buying a seat at a company

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tommog

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Hi all,

I was wondering if you could give me a ball park figure of what it would cost to buy your way into a trading arcade?
I have been trading my own account for a few years but would really like to be in a company for many reasons. I've started to be interviewed by a few firms which has wetted my appetite even further. I have been trading spot fx and as most firms trade futures I would need some initial training so this is why i am applying for training schemes. If all else fails and no firm takes me on i will probably buy my way in hence i would like to get an idea of prices. I imagine the prices vary, as with most things in life there is usually an easyjet version but if you have had any experience i'd be very grateful if you could share your knowledge.

Thanks
Tom
 
not 100% sure I follow your question - what are you trying to acheive?

anyone with their own capital can fund their own account and pay the cost of a desk at an arcade - this is a monthly cost associated with the running cost of providing the office space and lease of software systems, rather than an outright purchase.

you can purchase a seat at the exchanges however, but I'm sure you're aware thats something different altogether.
 
Hi Arbitrageur,

sorry if I wasn't clear, I understand you are a prop trader at refco so will use that as an example, I am not sure what your situtation is but i imagine most of the guys there trade the firms capital make a profit split with refco + desk fees.
I am asking how much I would need as a minimum to trade my own account at your office i.e my money not the firms.

Hope thats clearer,

Tom
 
its probably more like 50% backed, 50% self funds here.

From what I understand, the minimum account deposit is £20k on which Refco give you 5 to 1 intraday buying power... so you can work a max margin pos of upto £100k ie: 400 cts in Euribor spreads. Overnight needs to be fully funded, unless you have a different deal with Refco where they fund overnight margin but this would entail a profit share.

Basic desk cost is £750 inc your trading PC and screen but nothing else... so for a typical setup with a seperate internet PC with streaming television, a bank of screens, reuters newswire, bloomberg terminal and CQG charts and a telephone you are looking at £1250pm - execution software is extra, so Refco pro is the standard in here and cheap compared to TT though I Refco support most execution front ends like RTS, Aquarius etc.
 
Refco do also do partial-funds - where the trader puts up between £5-10k and Refco put up a bunch more - this entails a profit split.

You may also be able to negotiate a "free" period where you come in and work on the simulators until you are ready to work live. Something you'd need to discuss.
 
cheers, I appreciate the info. The partial funds sounds very interesting, do you know if places are competitive or is it a question of if you have the money they are willing to talk to you type arrangement?

Tom
 
if you have the cash to fund your account, you can get a seat almost anywhere you like if there is space, I think.

Not everywhere will have the facilities available here though, so if you go self or part fund you can afford to be choosy and ensure you get what you need for the right sort of price.
 
Thanks again,

I have interviews with a few companies including Refco for their training schemes so fingers crossed I will be taken on as a backed trader and wont need to put up any capital. But its good to know there are options.

Tom

p.s if anyone else has any info on the structure at other companies regarding my question please let me know it would be good to get a picture of the various prices
 
Arbitrageur said:
if you have the cash to fund your account, you can get a seat almost anywhere you like if there is space, I think.

Not everywhere will have the facilities available here though, so if you go self or part fund you can afford to be choosy and ensure you get what you need for the right sort of price.
Click to expand...


Arbitrageur,

Could you tell me what sort of profit they expect you to make. If it cost's £750 to £1250 per month to set yourself up then your going to need to be making 5 to 10 times per month surely.

Breadman
 
they dont expect me to make any money - I'm not backed by refco, they are just providing me with the services I want and require to do the sort of trading I do.

I'm not really prepared to talk about numbers, but In the scheme of things the desk fee is not really a factor - I spend the equivalent of my desk fee just in commissions within a day or two's worth of trading.

What does count for me is the cost of commissions, buying power and speed of execution plus general IT support - for which refco is excellent.
 
Arbitrageur said:
they dont expect me to make any money - I'm not backed by refco, they are just providing me with the services I want and require to do the sort of trading I do.

I'm not really prepared to talk about numbers, but In the scheme of things the desk fee is not really a factor - I spend the equivalent of my desk fee just in commissions within a day or two's worth of trading.

What does count for me is the cost of commissions, buying power and speed of execution plus general IT support - for which refco is excellent.
Click to expand...

Arbitrageur,

What I was really getting at was, If I went to Refco or a similiar company and they were going to back me 25 75 or 50 50 what sort of profit would I have to show I could make in a average monthly period. Do you know what % the average monthly return is.

Thanks,

Breadman
 
breadman said:
What I was really getting at was, If I went to Refco or a similiar company and they were going to back me 25 75 or 50 50 what sort of profit would I have to show I could make in a average monthly period. Do you know what % the average monthly return is.
Click to expand...

I dont know to be honest. The question is rather open ended, the correct answer would probably be "as much as possible" but of course what the numbers are like in reality I dont have an answer for you and I imagine would vary greatly between individuals and ability.
 
Arbitrageur said:
I dont know to be honest. The question is rather open ended, the correct answer would probably be "as much as possible" but of course what the numbers are like in reality I dont have an answer for you and I imagine would vary greatly between individuals and ability.
Click to expand...


Arb..is Steve Roase still at Refco? Also, is it still only funadamentals traded there (Euribor, bund, bbl, schatz spreads if I remember correctly) or do they do FX?

Im talking about as a self backed trader btw.
 
Zuke,
yes Steve Rose was still here last time I checked. For products, I'm not sure about spot FX but I have access to all the main exchanges so I can trade currency futures if I want to, or pretty much any future I like.
 
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