Babak,
All of these prop and pro firms also make money on their commissions as well as any cut they take of profits. In Echo's case, they make money the same way as IB, give out really good rates to attract the big traders that do a lot of volume and make the money off the commissions.
Echo does back (put up all the money for) and train people occasionally, and works out individual arrangements with these people to keep some of the profits as a result of the training and capital.
But for 99% of what Echo does, they let people come in and trade their own capital, and why should any firm feel entitled to a cut of profits when they have not put up the capital for these people to trade with? There are firms like Bright that keep a cut of people's profits (25% in Bright's case, they give it back to big traders at the end of the year if they meet certain criteria) even when the firm did not back the trader, the trader was simply trading his/her own money.
jmi0493 - If you don't mind me asking, where do you trade?
-Jim