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Why create a synthetic in the futures with the options? Why not just trade the Feb futures? Anyways, I'm doubtful there's any arbitrage or "mispricing" here. VXX will probably do worse than the VIX as long as the markets expects lower volatility in the future, thus March futures are falling...

Right, if VIX at 80 was a no-brainer... what was VIX at 50? And if you had gone short VIX at 50, would you have been able to hang-on through the draw-down all the way at 80?

Margin, and UBTI considerations.

Seems to me there are two different issues here. 1) Risk/reward ratio for any position is, to a certain degree, a matter of opinion (and/or "analysis"). 2) The original doubt aimed at the trade was, why synthetics instead of actual puts. I think the author explained himself pretty well...

I *ran*, not walked away from Fidelity and ATP. I was using it for automated trading during the fall of 2008, combined with Wealth Labs. The number of technical problems is just too long to be listed in detail... But I really threw in the towel when Fidelity admitted to me that they...

Well, it's fundamentally no different than subways or buses, yes? And we know Europe has already been attacked that way. So it's definitely a danger. And China has its own share of bus bombings over the last decade. However, railways are fundamentally safer than air travel because you're...

Air travel is much faster for longer-distance hub/hub travel (SF to NYC), but not shorter distance travel. How long does it take to "fly" the 350 miles from SF to LA, or 440 miles from DC to Boston? If you include the time it takes to travel to the airport (from population centers), to...

Hi, Maybe this question belongs in the energy futures section... since it relates to heating oil. In any case... On the HO options expiring yesterday, I had two short *OTM* options that were subsequently exercised. Strike was 1.95, and settlement was 1.9508. (And market traded above...

What volume split are you referring to? I'm trading all lean hog options on the screen. I called Vision's CME desk, and the spread was just insanely wide. By the way, have you played with EOS Trader at all? It seems kind of a cross between the pits / electronic. Vision is still...

Hi there, Just wanted to chime in quickly, even after the pm. I know someone at an ADM-subsidiary IB who works mostly with (up-coming) CTAs... ADM fees are probably going to be higher, but obviously they're huge in ags. If you want to talk to him, let me know, and I'll be happy to send you...

As background, and for what its worth, my wife is graduating with her DO later this year. (And further for what its worth: your wife's preference in future specialty is *very* unlikely to remain the same after 4 years of medical school.) I would say, if you think you potentially might have a...

I just took my series 3 a week ago, so I have all of these facts floating around in my head. There are various ways to be exempt. Here's a complete summary: http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-registration/easyReferenceGuidePart4.pdf Note that it's not enough just to have all of your...

Uh, a password doesn't mean anything. Whoever the majority shareholder is, if they fax a signed request to your brokerage firm looking to: a) add person Z as a signatory, b) withdraw all funds in the account ... how can your brokerage firm legally refuse their request? What's your...

Futures-trading funds have several ways in which they can be exempt from registration with the NFA. The most common way to be exempt: all investors must be qualified eligible participants. Qualified eligible participants either have > $5mm in assets, or are accredited investors with up to $2mm...

GC spread is definitely not 10 ticks. But yea, slipping 10 ticks in a fast moving market... I don't think you have much to complain about. And keep in mind we're talking about 0.09% slippage.

This is why the OP was very explicit that he wanted to do it *LEGALLY*. He plans to pay his taxes, he just wishes he could defer these taxes until the date when he liquidated his investments, and actually repatriated those funds for use.

No. I've looked into this before, and US tax law is very explicit on reporting all profits; you're not allowed to defer. There's really no way around it, or people wouldn't have been paying UBS to sneak their money into Switzerland.

Some fund administrators will give startup managers special pricing... they're hoping to grow with you. The lowest quote I got was $750/month from a firm down in LA. They seemed perfectly qualified, I just thought the monthly statements that they created were ugly. I ultimately went with a...

I'll also add I've been working with a hedge fund attorney Bart Mallon out of San Francisco in establishing my fund. He runs a one-man shop, and mostly markets himself with a bunch of hedge fund blogs... he's very professional/informed, and I'm really pleased with the service he's providing...

First off, you should be aware the People's Republic of China has restrictions on outward foreign investments by residents of the Chinese mainland. That applies to your fund. Second, it's really about the comfort level of your investors. Keep in mind as an onshore fund, there are all sorts...