Best Discretionary Trading Prop firms

Maverick74 said:
Sorry, I've been a little busy lately. I'll try to keep this simple. No, US trading firms will not hire you. You need an H1-B Visa and they will NOT, I repeat NOT, sponsor you for it. That pretty much makes the rest of the conversation moot. But let's say you were an American citizen and you lived in let's say, Chicago, once the prop firm capital of the world. The answer to your 2nd question is also no, these firms are not going to hire you to be a directional trader. For the simple reason is they don't have it. You provide no marginal benefit to them. There is a huge surplus of very very smart, intelligent, guys (and girls) who can make money by extracting value out of the market. And they currently are setting the marginal benefit in the market. But that debate is neither here nor there as you are not a US citizen and it's not even a consideration. And let me cut you off before your follow up. No, they will not hire you to be a remote trader either. So are we good now?
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Almost. What about getting an MBA/MFE degree from a good college. Do things change then? as far as being a foreign citizen is concerned.

I am not interested in remote anyways.

Let me not debate about being smart or not.

So, two scenarios left.
1) MBA or MFE degree at an american college (I am strongly against an MBA atm, but lets see where that road leads).
2) So they will not sponsor me for a visa no matter what the track record? say big? seems harsh, but np

Would you have any idea about non US firms then? Most good prop firms seem to have branches outside US too.
 
nemesis45 said:
Almost. What about getting an MBA/MFE degree from a good college. Do things change then? as far as being a foreign citizen is concerned.

I am not interested in remote anyways.

Let me not debate about being smart or not.

So, two scenarios left.
1) MBA or MFE degree at an american college (I am strongly against an MBA atm, but lets see where that road leads).
2) So they will not sponsor me for a visa no matter what the track record? say big? seems harsh, but np

Would you have any idea about non US firms then? Most good prop firms seem to have branches outside US too.
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You would need to get a student visa to come here and study but the problem with that, even if you get it, is that you have to leave once you are finished with school.

Do a google search under H1B Visa and you will the "type" of worker who gets sponsored. Hint: it's not traders. If you want to be a nurse or a teacher, then you might be in luck. It has nothing to do with track record.
 
I see. I had assumed otherwise.

Well, let me ask around , maybe I can work something out, otherwise np.
Though I do wish I had known this a few years back.
Thanks!.
 
nemesis45 said:
I see. I had assumed otherwise.

Well, let me ask around , maybe I can work something out, otherwise np.
Though I do wish I had known this a few years back.
Thanks!.
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H1B visas are a hotly debated issue in this country. We have unemployment lines stretching 10 blocks long. So letting foreigners come in to take American jobs is not kosher. If you go to the website you can see the that the best way to get these visa's is to apply for a job that is in demand in which current American workers can't fulfill. Trading is not one of those jobs. In fact, the street is flooded with out of work traders.
 
Maverick74 said:
H1B visas are a hotly debated issue in this country. We have unemployment lines stretching 10 blocks long. So letting foreigners come in to take American jobs is not kosher. If you go to the website you can see the that the best way to get these visa's is to apply for a job that is in demand in which current American workers can't fulfill. Trading is not one of those jobs. In fact, the street is flooded with out of work traders.
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ok. People do get employed as algorithmic traders though after an MFE, with US firms?
Though that is not something I am looking for currently.

So would you have any idea about non-US Prop firms. Few US firms do seem to have offices outside, so maybe the H1-B may not be an issue?
 
nemesis45 said:
ok. People do get employed as algorithmic traders though after an MFE, with US firms?
Though that is not something I am looking for currently.

So would you have any idea about non-US Prop firms. Few US firms do seem to have offices outside, so maybe the H1-B may not be an issue?
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It's just as hard in Europe and in Asia. I'm by no means an expert on this, I'm sure there is a ton of info on the web from a foreigner's perspective about how to try to finagle your way into the US or Europe. You could try the Bahamas or the BVI. There are some hedge funds down there and residency should be much easier.
 
Nemesis. I hardly ever post on this site, but I am a well known trader who traded prop for many years, maybe the biggest es futures and options trader on the site not that long ago. As Maverick said, there are a ton of guys similarly experienced and successful outside looking in as algos have replaced them. Moreover, no offense, or maybe some offense, Mav has responded numerous times to your post in a helpful manner, and you come off as a bit of a ungrateful dick. Just my opinion.
 
tivthetrader said:
Nemesis. I hardly ever post on this site, but I am a well known trader who traded prop for many years, maybe the biggest es futures and options trader on the site not that long ago. As Maverick said, there are a ton of guys similarly experienced and successful outside looking in as algos have replaced them. Moreover, no offense, or maybe some offense, Mav has responded numerous times to your post in a helpful manner, and you come off as a bit of a ungrateful dick. Just my opinion.
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I only wanted information and I am grateful to him for providing that.
If mav feels the same way, then I apologise. We didn't exactly get off to a great start either.

On a side note: what size did you trade on the ES?
 
Dear all,

I am thinking of going from retail to a proprietary trading firm. One thing worries me however: how can prop trading firms offer much higher leverage than the maximum authorized by the T-Reg (i.e. what is usually offered by retail brokers)???

I am afraid to deposit my $10k (which give me up to $500k buying power!) and have the S.E.C. shut down the prop trading firm for offering brokerage services and high leverage illegally to clients.

Could any of you guys enlighten me on:
1. Whether there are many cases of SEC closing prop trading shops for offering illegal leverage,
2. Why prop trading firms have the right to offer so much buying power, i.e. how are they legally different from broker,
3. I have seen several prop trading firms set up in a tax havens – is it to avoid regulation on the leverage it offers?
4. I also saw many of those firms offering market access to US markets – but barring US citizen from using their services… Why?

Thank you so much for your invaluable help!
 
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