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Trader444

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Hello all
Just wanted to get thoughts on self-employed prop trading these days. I've done it in the past, mainly in European equity markets. More recently I've been working in more 'conventional' (employed & salaried) trading jobs. I'm evaluating options though.
How are the markets these days for the prop guys? And I know a lot of the old arcades have gone - can anybody suggest the places to approach now? I'm assuming being backed is a thing of the past? All advice useful!
Thanks
DL
 
Trader444 said:
Hello all
Just wanted to get thoughts on self-employed prop trading these days. I've done it in the past, mainly in European equity markets. More recently I've been working in more 'conventional' (employed & salaried) trading jobs. I'm evaluating options though.
How are the markets these days for the prop guys? And I know a lot of the old arcades have gone - can anybody suggest the places to approach now? I'm assuming being backed is a thing of the past? All advice useful!
Thanks
DL
Click to expand...

The markets are very, very tough - I think you are right - the days of being backed are long gone .


CT
 
CityTrader said:
The markets are very, very tough - I think you are right - the days of being backed are long gone .


CT
Click to expand...

Things are really that bad in the prop firm world these days?

Perhaps that is why some of these firms are now charging wannabe traders 10K for 'training', must be desperate for income.
 
CityTrader said:
The markets are very, very tough - I think you are right - the days of being backed are long gone .


CT
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. Is it really more difficult than it was a few years ago? It was tough back then, but there was $$$ to be had . . .
 
Being 100% backed is a thing of the past but there are still some part backed deals, that is to say if you can put down some money there are trading rooms that will give you leverage but they will want a P&L split, the more risk you want them to take on the more of a P&L split they will want.
Some are flexible that is to say you can self finance but if you see a great opportunity they will let you leverage off them intra day or overnight or again if you have a couple of bad days but do not want to cut your limits you can move from fully funded to part backed, a bit like an overdraft facility.
 
Thanks Parky, that's really useful. Can you suggest any of the better companies that may be worth approaching?
Also you don't know how the equity index guys find the markets these days do you?
 
The usual suspects, in no particular order are:-
Kyte Group in Islington, Schneider Trading, Xconnect Trading and Tower Trading (Marex) in the City, Futex and Met Traders outside the City , there are a few others dotted around, but these are the main contenders.
 
Parky said:
Being 100% backed is a thing of the past but there are still some part backed deals, that is to say if you can put down some money there are trading rooms that will give you leverage but they will want a P&L split, the more risk you want them to take on the more of a P&L split they will want.
Some are flexible that is to say you can self finance but if you see a great opportunity they will let you leverage off them intra day or overnight or again if you have a couple of bad days but do not want to cut your limits you can move from fully funded to part backed, a bit like an overdraft facility.
Click to expand...

Parky, check out Global Trading Plus (Global Trading Plus | TAKION). GTP does not charge any P&L split.

Costa
 
Not really Trader444. As it you can clearly see on the website, there is contact info (phone, email, ...). GTP does not have a trading floor in England - all of its clients work remote.
 
Most people I know have struggled a bit this January, but trading is trading, always people doing well and always more people doing badly. Equity markets are a little bit quiet but most of the guys that are struggling in my experience are the fixed income guys, a lot of the relationships have broken down during the debt crisis and the best traders now seem to switch between markets a lot more whereas back in the day people ONLY traded Bund for example.

As for getting backed, there are places that will, depends what you want to do. If you are prepared to start at the bottom on a low split and work your way up in a team you can get backed (i think experienced guys are often the best bet in these cases, as they already know what it takes to succeed) but if you turn up and say "i want x limits in the Dax and give it a whirl for 6 months) you're probably going to get turned down.
 
Thanks for the update Tommog. It seems the horror stories about it being impossible should be taken with a pinch of salt, it will always be difficult, like you say. Many thanks.
 
Trader444, yeah its always hard, but thats how it is with anything that offers high rewards i suppose, still just as many people making money as there has always been.
 
Hi guys,
Anybody know anything about OSTC? They invite applications but aren't that keen to tell you what you're applying for it seems.
Thanks.
D
 
At OSTC you'll be making markets in STIRS and oils. When I say making markets I mean sitting on the bid/offer of a box/buttery/condor spread waiting to get filled and then unwinding for a profit. They pay a salary which is good but take a huge chunk of your P/L.
 
PualoP said:
At OSTC you'll be making markets in STIRS and oils. When I say making markets I mean sitting on the bid/offer of a box/buttery/condor spread waiting to get filled and then unwinding for a profit. They pay a salary which is good but take a huge chunk of your P/L.
Click to expand...

What trading approach, setups or strategies they use?
 
PualoP said:
At OSTC you'll be making markets in STIRS and oils. When I say making markets I mean sitting on the bid/offer of a box/buttery/condor spread waiting to get filled and then unwinding for a profit. They pay a salary which is good but take a huge chunk of your P/L.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that PualoP. Are there other outfits like that around or are they a one-off do you know?
 
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