My Story moving to NYC to join a Prop Trading Desk -- from newb to pro trader

[peterkto]

New post! This time about my buddy who sat next to me at MBC... new series. Hopeful that I can shift my writing towards other great profitable traders that I personally know.

https://churningandburning.com/2024/03/portrait-of-a-trader-clockwork.html

 

[4xpipcounter]

I moved to NYC to become a prop trader back in 2011. It's a well known firm that's been discussed on trading forums as early as 2009 with a mixed consensus -- some people said it was legit and some people called it an arcade unlike "real firms" First New York, Jane Street, etc. I read all of that and decided to take the plunge at that firm anyway. In 2011-2012, I was just a newb trader barely performing better than minimum wage and thinking maybe the firm really was just social media hype that I fell for.. then 2013+, things changed big. It's a great inside look at the traditional prop desk industry and people tell me it's a funny read. It's updated semi-daily and I'm not selling anything.

I was featured on ChatWithTraders Episode 98 once, if that means anything for sake of credibility. There's at least 3 other CWT guests in my posts, though all names have been changed. It's not just my story but the story of our fledging trading desk. I call back on actual trades executed from all the back then and the real-time emotions I experienced. There's a lot of 2012 stuff going on--Linsanity, superstorm Sandy, the beginning of AAPL's decade of dominance, the Facebook IPO...

If you enjoy it, please pass it around! I genuinely think I have the most unique trading blog out (started from 2014) there except if you google "best trading blogs" I won't be anywhere in there. I'm trying to promote myself a bit even though it feels strange.

https://churningandburning.com/category/prop-trader-series

Peter, if you want your name to really get out there, then post your trades live, or at least post your analysis live. If you're good at that, then people will be all over you like bees on honey.

 

[peterkto]

Peter, if you want your name to really get out there, then post your trades live, or at least post your analysis live. If you're good at that, then people will be all over you like bees on honey.

Thanks for the suggestion but I am not interested in doing that. I don't need a huge following just for the sake of having one. If people like my writing, that's great. If there's limited interest, that's ok too.

 

[peterkto]

Part II out!

https://churningandburning.com/2024/04/portrait-of-a-trader-clockwork-part-ii.html

 

[peterkto]

Part III took awhile but I finished it. Across a decade, my pal Clockwork made $41 mil at his firm.

Portrait of a Trader: Clockwork (Part III) - Churning and Burning

Part III of Clockwork’s trading journey (2018-2023)

churningandburning.com

 

[peterkto]

New post on investing in private markets!

My Roommate Was a Disaster, But My Portfolio Says Thanks For the Tip! - Churning and Burning

Pete makes an oversized long-term bet on a private company thanks to a tip from his awful roommate.

churningandburning.com

 

[georgem88]

Loved reading it. The traditional desk perspective is almost absent from modern trading communities. Everyone's talking about challenge firms and profit splits and the whole origin of what prop trading actually meant has kind of disappeared from the conversation. The mixed consensus you described from 2009 is almost identical to what you see now with retail prop firms, hola prime, ftmo, all of them have the same split between people calling it legitimate and people calling it a game.