$335,000 for entry-level hedge fund analyst

[sellindexvol66]

Quote from sle:

300k is barely enough to support a middle class lifestyle in Manhattan for a family of three. It's the reality - a shitty 2-bedroom (900 square feet) would ding you 4k a month in rent or a whopping $1.2 million to buy. Everything else scales accordingly.

Obviously, hot young guns can share an apartment in Bed-Sty five ways or move out further to the burbs. It's cheaper, but you are going spend two hours a day commuting and never get laid ("Seriously, we have to take an hour train ride to you place?!!").


Overall, trading as an occupation is overrated - it's a nasty, neurotic job that produces zero value for the society. In many cases, it's glorified legal gambling. To make a living trading your own money you need to have enough money in the first place. I would say 15ish percent return is what realistic (with an occasional draw-down year), so to bring home 150k, you need a buck plus some cash reserves - that money has to come from somewhere.

While I keep hearing about the people that managed to "compound" their portfolio, i have yet to meet one. On the other hand, if you have the right skills and attitude, you can easily stay employed in financial industry (there are plenty of non-trading jobs in finance that pay fine, like risk management).

To repeat myself "You can live well if you're rich and you can live well if you're poor. But if you're poor, it's much cheaper".

sle,

i am just relating to guys i have become friends with since say 2000 (through my cousin who works in the industry)...a pretty decent group. from what i am told they are earning a lot less (and most struggling bigtime)...but when they earn (big if ) again ; its a very nice chunk of change.

some are highly educated, others just landed there by the old "who you know thing". from how you describe yourself i would surmise if true you are on the next level above these guys and probably worked very hard for it. congrats.
regarding a guy trading his own money, i'm not trying to sell myself or prove anything..just very thankful so far...especially now.

 

[wiesman02]

Quote from trickshot:

I hope you guys are just kidding, its impossible to make 2 ES pts consistently everyday, 10 pts per week might have been possible when we had more downside volatility and better range a couple of years ago.

Scalping is mostly suicide, its more so if you try to scalp a grindy/choppy market like this. Theres nothing worse than suffering death from a thousand cuts.

I'm averaging 2 points per day trading ES right now quite consistently It's very possible. Maybe after the first of the year ill post a journal. By consistently I mean, averaging out.

 

[franz-k]

Quote from wiesman02:

I'm averaging 2 points per day trading ES right now quite consistently It's very possible. Maybe after the first of the year ill post a journal. By consistently I mean, averaging out.

You live in fantasy land and/or are a noob. Why do all the real professional traders say its impossible, yet you do it? Please stop fooling yourself because you are tricking anyone else. Franz

 

[piezoe]

Quote from Maverick74:

Most these guys would be better off working at Taco Bell then trying to make 2 handles on the ES everyday. Shit, what makes you think any of these guys could ever even land an interview at one of these places. Hell, Don Bright probably wouldn't even return the phone call. LOL. I just love it how guys on here play hypothetical like should I work at Goldman or make 100 million a year trading FX in my boxer shorts? How about, you're NEVER going to get the interview even if you wanted it and you're NOT going to make a living in your boxer shorts drawing straight lines. LOL. Shit, Picaso couldn't even make a living drawing lines, he died penniless.

Actually, Mav, While it is true Pablo Picasso didn't make a living drawing lines; he made it "drawing outside the lines", so to speak. He did not die penniless. He died a wealthy man.

 

[franz-k]

Quote from piezoe:

Actually, Mav, While it is true Pablo Picasso didn't make a living drawing lines; he made it "drawing outside the lines", so to speak. He did not die penniless. He died a wealthy man.

While very true, Mav has been exposed to 1000's of traders. What he says he fact not fantasy.

 

[sle]

Quote from sellindexvol66:
...a pretty decent group. from what i am told they are earning a lot less (and most struggling bigtime)...but when they earn (big if ) again ; its a very nice chunk of change.

Well, that's the new normal - an average sell-side trader is earning less because the business is more competitive and and an average buy-side trader is earning less because there are fewer opportunities. At some point pretty much every business becomes a commodity and does not make the crazy returns that it used to, it's the way of life.

Quote from sellindexvol66:
from how you describe yourself i would surmise if true you are on the next level above these guys and probably worked very hard for it. congrats.

I don't consider myself a success - there are plenty of guys my age that have enough cash to retire, either via positioning themselves well career-wise or taking bigger risks at some point. I think the best way to describe myself would be that I am outstandingly mediocre - I know my stuff, I do it well, I get paid some, I don't blow up. That's not really the way to make a name for myself or to get to big riches.

Quote from sellindexvol66:
regarding a guy trading his own money, i'm not trying to sell myself or prove anything..just very thankful so far...especially now. [/B]

I am just saying that it's a hard game, much harder then the one I play, infrastructure-wise and psychologically. I got my IT needs taken care of, I have access to all sort of OTC products that make it easier to express views, at the very least I could be down a buck one day and go home knowing that it's no big deal. The only exception would be that it is easier to make better ROC if you capital is relatively small.

Quote from blakpacman:
I disagree. They can meet the fine lower class working women in the burbs who are very impressed with a hot shot working on Wall Street. Forget about the snobbish 5th Avenue, high maintenance golddiggers.

I have been out of the dating game for a while, but from what I remember, it's the lower class working women that are gold-diggers, while snobbish 5th Ave types have gotten the material needs taken care of already.

 

[blakpacman]

Quote from sle:
I have been out of the dating game for a while, but from what I remember, it's the lower class working women that are gold-diggers, while snobbish 5th Ave types have gotten the material needs taken care of already.

That's why when a guy is trying to date "out of his league" looks-wise, the lower class women are easier to impress where the mere mention of wall street is an instant panty dropper.
Lower class women: "omg, the young turk millionaire Gordon Gecko!"
5th avenue women: "look, just another analyst who couldn't make it as a PM in his 10th year and living in a cheap west side condo still making only 330k"

 

[cmb]

lol look at this thread. It went from talking about trading your own money vs. a analyst job. Its turned into a argument where its is FACT that its impossible for anyone to make a living trading your own money on the ES, and nobody is a profitable trader unless they are spending 80 hours a week in front of the monitors.

And its also fact that nobody can get tail in NYC unless they live on the the upper east side a loft overlooking central park.

Lol what a thread.

for the people doubting your ability to get laid if you live in brooklyn. Ive personally taken girls out of the Penny Farthing bar on 13th street into a cab, back to clinton hill. Surely a $25 cab ride is in a budget.

If you think there is a risk of getting shut down in the cab, you can possible frequent the bars in soho, from there its only about 10 minutes.

Or u have spots to party at in brooklyn. Bottom line is that there are plenty of tail in NYC to go around for everyone. There is a endless supply of horny girls who work in retail who are looking for a rich guy and are willing and ready to take some D just to see if they can mooch off of a guy for awhile.

when you're on a date with a girl and she says "yeah I lived in NYC for a year" that means, "yeah I lived in NYC for a year, I partied 4 days a week and probably slept with 60 guys during that year".

 

[wiesman02]

Quote from franz-k:

You live in fantasy land and/or are a noob. Why do all the real professional traders say its impossible, yet you do it? Please stop fooling yourself because you are tricking anyone else. Franz

I dont know what to tell you. Its not impossible.

Thats the biggest issue with most people today. Instead of spending hard work perfecting something, people give up and say i cant do it. You have no idea how many hours I've spent looking over charts, writing down plans, testing out ideas. The road to success involves getting knocked down many many times.

 

[newwurldmn]

For any sustained period of time virtually no one can make two points a day with the consistency of a "salary." That is 10 points a week or 20 points every two weeks without fail.