Day Trading Firms in the UK

Liquid capital was recommended before by Halo, but I would be interested if anyone has any further information on their reputation or insight to the firm - or Halo, if you have worked fo9r them or know someone that has traded there? I'm thinking of applying and would like to know as much as possible about their graduate trading programme and other perks.
 
Bullish,
haven't worked for them and know them by name more than rep' but have heard that they employ some of the brightest ex-bank traders.... they've expanded quite aggressively over the last year or so. Best way to find out is drop them a mail or call - most of these groups are keen to talk to people so I'm sure they'll go through the details..
 
My applications are now in the process, so thanks for those who offered advice..............I'll keep you posted as things progress.
 
Hi Dowking,

Do you mind me asking what your background was before joining Optiver? I have an interview for them next week!

Cheers.
 
day trading firms

Mate try Schneider Associates - they do it.

I've got a ? for you then: is your NY firm hiring at the mo? I would not mind giving NY a try....

Cheers
 
Lonon based interview but it's for a market maker position in Amsterdam. How would you rate Optiver's training programme and culture?
 
Mr Charts,

mate sorry to pester u, I totally agree - just plug away from home and have no guvnors hovering round! I've got a quick query for you - I need to be quite mobile nowadays which precipitates abandoning my desktop and going for a notebook. WHAT MAKE would you recommend, given I am using a usual whammy of tools for trading: myTrack, Scottrade, Medved and Sierra? Any particular technical characteristics I should be looking out for in a notebook?

Cheers matey
China White
 
I bought a Dell laptop a couple of weeks ago which I am very impressed with. The best feature for me is the 1600 x 1200 resolution screen which I would highly recommend.

I would only go for a 'good' make when it comes to laptops i.e Dell, Toshiba, Sony, IBM or Compaq - And check out the real cost of any upgrades, Dell for example charge £110 to upgrade from 256MB to 512MB memory however you can buy the memory yourself for just £30 or so on the Internet.

Hope that helps.

Gary
 
I'm currently considering making an application to sequoia capital, however from their website there is very little information about them in terms of training or remuneration benefits. I don't know anyone who has heared of them before and wondered if this should be significant? Does anyone know what their reputation is like or how they are perceived in London?

It would also be really useful if anyone has applied to them before and knows what the interview set up is like/tips on what they look for?

Cheers.
 
gary, thanks for the top advice - excuse me being nosy - did u get yrself that Inspiron 8500 from dell?
 
It was a Inspiron 8200. It's not the smallest laptop in the world, so if you want to carry it around a lot maybe you should try a different model - only problem in doing that is the more portable the machine, the less powerful it tends to be.

I would definitely check out a machine with the new 1600 x 1200 screen. It means you can have lots of windows (or charts!) open at once, plus the new screens are very good quality, and very bright so the small text that comes with that hi-res on a 15" screen is still easy to read.

You might also want to try Dabs.com. They have good deals on laptops every so often - they had a good spec Compaq machine for £899 last week, not sure if it's still there. Incidentally, if you do want a Dell machine you have to buy from Dell directly.

Cheers

Gary
 
All I can say is if you're going to work for these companies do it for 5 years learn as much as you can and then go solo. that's the best way. A self-employed trader is the best job in the world. If I'm having a bad day at the office I just pop along to see the missus and she ahum well calms me down shall we say. With my brilliance as a trader, she is, not surprisingly, normally gaggin for it. Good luck for all your interviews.
 
options!

I completely agree with what u said about what it takes 2 b a trader! I started trading relatively late, in 1999 when I turned 30, I'd previously had a top technical education and an MBA on top of that, started trading straight away for a respected UK house and thought I'd just breeze to who wants 2 b a millionaire! year 2000 comes, my desk at the bank is massively long Bookham Technologies at 22 quid (on the way down) and I say 2 myself - hey I do not even need 2 think here - just go with the crowd, and went aggresively long Bookham on my own accounts... The stock lost 50% in 2 weeks, the head of my desk at the bank got the sack, and I ended up losing cartloads on my accounts. Every single MF around was advising me 2 go 4 a dif't career, especially with my MBA etc. I instead REALLY started thinking and learning, made back all the dosh lost and UP since then big time.... There are loads of setbacks but if u r a trading type, u need 2 go 4 it, go full speed but with loads of discipline.... This is what trading is 2 me: believe in yrself, but be disciplined, and if u r wrong - admit it and stop yrself out.

what's yr background if u excuse me being nosy :)?
 
Bullish!

Didnt Sequoia capital use to be a small OTC options broker.

unless im confusing them with someone else?

Dowking
 
"small OTC options broker"

That's exactly what I thought, but they have apparently had some big changes in the last few years...

It would also be interesting if anyone knows of any existing lead tables of prop trading firms in London to gain a comparison.

My background consists of a BSc - 1st Maths/Economics and a masters in finance from top 10 unis, and an internship in I-banking, however I'm only 22.
 
Dowking said:
Culture is brilliant and working in Amsterdam is cool. Pay is not that great. And you have to perform consistently for 3 years before you see any real $$$'s. It is salary/bonus based so at hte start can be frustrating making loads of dosh and not getting any of it.

So you interested in becoming an options market maker?

Optivers training program is hands on and not very structured to be honest. you can get thrown into the deep end.

Hope this helps.


I have heard good things about Optiver. Not a bad place to start, to get your feet wet.

As you correctly point out, the initial $ is crap. But there is nothing to stop you quitting and trading for yourself once you have learnt the ropes.
 
Top