Arcade 1st month

Does anybody know if its possible whether an arcade may allow me to trade the first month for a half price desk fee instead of 1700 or whatever for just the first month before I commit myself to the job for the long term. Is the desk fee negotiable for the first month or is there no room for compromise. Basically I need to trade in order to get rolling but my strategy needs cheaper rates and bigger size to reach the economies of scale necessary to make it edgy enough to live off. So I was hoping to put up some small savings of 3000 pounds and around 800 pounds in desk fees and swing for the fences on a realtively large size with my system. If it hits Ill be able to go full time, if it doesnt then Ill kow within a month and can go back to my life relatively unscathed. Any thoughts on wether any arcades may be willing to listen to a deal like this. FWIW I trade the Bobl.

i answered your desk costs question in the other thread.

its not clear from your post if you'd be putting up your own money to trade with or not - if you're putting 20k down in your account, most arcades offer some measure of flexibility, within reason. Marex gave me a free month to settle in and find my feet before the desk fee started.

But i was trading with my own cash. Just because you'll have money for desk fee's does not mean a firm will back you to trade using their money.

Hi arbitrageur. Well yes I was willing to put up the risk element of the funds. Basically it wouldnt be anything like 20k though. Really its liable to be 5k euro max. I dont really want to reveal too much so ill just say thanks for the advice. Im only planning to trade for part of the day so its not as extreme as it sounds. Ill follow up on your leads if and when I go ahead with it.

Hi,

Obviously I don't know your strategy, approach or even the products you want to trade. Just want to point out that one way or another you're likely to spend a big part of your funds on desk fees (given the size of your capital).

Depending on your strategy / time frame / markets, you might avoid paying desk fees altogether (or reduce them substantially) by not actually having a desk in a shop, but connecting to the exchange remotely, which some prop shops seem to facilitate.

Just a thought

S

Hi Switch,
I think for the first couple of months that could be a good idea especially if it means that the desk fee section of the fees is waived or significantly reduced. longer term however I think that i might like to work inhouse to keep disciplined and focused and feel more into the swing of things. I also think that its a more secure environment in some respects since everything is built with an emphasis on minimsing latency and keeping connections secure and it certainly wouldnt hurt things when it comes time to ask for more buying power if your seen to come into work everyday and have a presence on the workfloor.

This might sound like a naive question.
But can someone please explain what are the advantages in trading in an arcade apart from the company.

I can only speak from personal experience:

When I was a day trader at one of the prop shops (and effectively scalping), execution speed was crucial. Doing this kind of trading from home is probably difficult, as you will have internet connection issues (unless you have a dedicated line, which tends to be very expensive). Also, on-site IT support is important if there are any issues at all with your computer. Also, the prop shop will be able to get you out of a position, even if your computer breaks down (these issues can be solved for off-site traders, but it's much easier being on-site). In addition, you have better access to rumours, news stories and the general buzz of a trading floor (which can be important for short-term trading).

If, on the other hand, you build into positions and hold them for several days (like I do now), I can see little benefit of being on site. In fact, I'd say it would be a disadvantage, as I'd be more likely to get caught up in rumours, etc, which would work against a structure approach of systematic trading.

S

gamma said:

This might sound like a naive question.
But can someone please explain what are the advantages in trading in an arcade apart from the company.

Click to expand...

ultra low commission costs, and trading with company money.

if you're a profitable trader, you're quite likely to be doing some decent size/volume.

Example: 10,000 RT's a month, at a retail broker such as IB you'd probably pay something like $3.80 a spin for emini's, whereas at a prop firm you'd pay something like $1.10

thats a saving of $27,000 a month in commish

Vector,

Would I be correct in assuming your trading capital is £3000? If so, this doesn’t sound a sufficient amount to enable you to trade effectively from an arcade – you’ve also got living expenses and London rents to cover (I’m assuming you’ll relocate from Wallasey). All this will put you at a psychological disadvantage to start with, without worrying if your trades will play out.

To test the viability of your strategy, have you considered opening an account with a broker and trading remote/from home? Apart from a lessor expense it will allow for fine-tuning/improvements to your trading.

The advantages outlined above can't be disputed but your position may exclude them. Build your trading capital to a sufficent level to justify an arcade (£25,000 absolute min?).

Grant.

vectortrader said:

Does anybody know if its possible whether an arcade may allow me to trade the first month for a half price desk fee instead of 1700 or whatever for just the first month before I commit myself to the job for the long term. Is the desk fee negotiable for the first month or is there no room for compromise. Basically I need to trade in order to get rolling but my strategy needs cheaper rates and bigger size to reach the economies of scale necessary to make it edgy enough to live off. So I was hoping to put up some small savings of 3000 pounds and around 800 pounds in desk fees and swing for the fences on a realtively large size with my system. If it hits Ill be able to go full time, if it doesnt then Ill kow within a month and can go back to my life relatively unscathed. Any thoughts on wether any arcades may be willing to listen to a deal like this. FWIW I trade the Bobl.

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Swinging for the fences very rarely works by the way. Take your cash to Ascot or Sandown races -- have some Champers and a few bets - less grief than what you are about to attempt.

An idea might be, to find somebody who wants to do similar thing and share desk fees with him, if porp shops allows that.

cheers,dejan

Vector,

I am from Wallasey and might be able to help you, feel free to drop me a private message.

Best Regards,

Mindset

vectortrader said:

Does anybody know if its possible whether an arcade may allow me to trade the first month for a half price desk fee instead of 1700 or whatever for just the first month before I commit myself to the job for the long term. Is the desk fee negotiable for the first month or is there no room for compromise. Basically I need to trade in order to get rolling but my strategy needs cheaper rates and bigger size to reach the economies of scale necessary to make it edgy enough to live off. So I was hoping to put up some small savings of 3000 pounds and around 800 pounds in desk fees and swing for the fences on a realtively large size with my system. If it hits Ill be able to go full time, if it doesnt then Ill kow within a month and can go back to my life relatively unscathed. Any thoughts on wether any arcades may be willing to listen to a deal like this. FWIW I trade the Bobl.

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Going to trade in an arcade with £3000 capital? You're joking?!

10k minimum and a lot of them ask for 20k