Boston Prop - Chimera v. Bright

If you're going in with capital, Chimera pays 99% - according to the Boston office.

However, they're asking for $20k (given, there's no lockup period) because I don't want to be restricted in terms of freedom of choice with my trades. Chimera's commissions are lower to start, but they pay monthly versus Bright paying pretty much whenever.

Tough decisions. I also received a phone call from a fellow who was in prop trading for years. Gave me some advice which I appreciated alot but makes me think twice.

I'd love to know how many traders are over 25 years old at the firms.
 
Quote from Mom0/pH0x:

well, from what i understand, chimera pays out 75%, charges a lower starting rate than bright, pays you a draw, is very flexible in terms of strategies allowed: everything from scalping/momo, to pairs, overnights, etc. and of course doesn't require a deposit...

bright's coms are about 120% of chimera's starting rate, pays no draw, offers no training outside of a what? $2k- $2500 'boot camp' for a week, and of course requires a 20-25k deposit... but you get a 100% payout! i that about does it for the critical info comparison...
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Not sure about the pricing, initial capital is $15-$100K, and we have training basically forever. All of our traders are entitled to our advanced classes, all included for a lifetime fee of $1,000, with my brother and our top traders. We have online mentoriing groups (works really well), and we have Speciality type training in pairs and mergers.

If you make money, the 25% share given away wil certainly add up, if you don't make money, you're probably not going to keep the "job" (correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt any responsible firm would simply allow a cash drain).

But, in all sincerity, I don't really know much about Chimera Capital, and I haven't even checked exchange memberships and all of that....they seem to have a different business model, and if they can make it work for their traders, then great...just a business decision..we'll be here when and if you need us.

Don
 
Quote from SchraderTrader:


I'd love to know how many traders are over 25 years old at the firms.
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You really don't want to know from our firm, LOL. 90% I would say, and probably (just guessing), half are 35+.

Don :p
 
I'm near Boston, too, and have looked into this a bit.

I took a seminar at Bright (in LV), which was useful. FWIW, I don't trade with them (or any other prop firm). Yes, their commissions seem a little high, but there seems to be plenty of benefits to being with Bright - chiefly capitalization and group dynamic / learning opportunities. I suppose it's a tradeoff, and depends largely on your style and level of trading, the firm's technology, etc.

I haven't spoken with Chimera.

Please let us know what you decide!
 
Quote from Mom0/pH0x:

well, from what i understand, chimera pays out 75%, charges a lower starting rate than bright, pays you a draw, is very flexible in terms of strategies allowed: everything from scalping/momo, to pairs, overnights, etc. and of course doesn't require a deposit...

bright's coms are about 120% of chimera's starting rate, pays no draw, offers no training outside of a what? $2k- $2500 'boot camp' for a week, and of course requires a 20-25k deposit... but you get a 100% payout! i that about does it for the critical info comparison...
More...


Not true. There is a 3 day class, a 4 week boot camp, an entire stat arb program through an affiliate, computer programers that help you automate, and strategies that work.

Not trying to hype Bright or anything, but there is so much misinformation flowing on this site I feel compelled to state the facts.

Good luck with your decision.
 
i do'nt know about boston but the guys at chimera in new york are very nice and trustworthy. go to their website or call assent and get their number. talk to either jarred or jayson. both extremely nice and very helpful.its a solid firm and they are very flexible and out of all the firms i have spoken with,they made me feel the most comfortable. there are a few others guys there who run the office as well and they are equally as nice.
 
Quote from Don Bright:

Just a comment before anyonoe starts posting. Boston is an affiliate location, does allow some traders to come in with little or no capital (some, not all), and have a very (very) flexible payout with several variables. All traders are members of our Main LLC, just in case you're wondering that as well.

Don
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Don,

Where is your office located in Boston? Just curious.
 
I am a fairly new trader with Bright (about 6 months) and came to them because of the reputation of the firm. I was worried about depositing my capital into a firm's account and then have to worry about whether I can ever get the money back in a timely manner or even at all should the firm close up shop. Bright has been around for a long time and I can tell you after six months that I have found them to be nothing but honest and straightforward. They really work to help their traders succeed and they are very nice people unless you catch Don on a day when 5 accounts just blew out and one of them was yours (yes, that was my account).

Anyway, I have attended their three day course, their boot camp, I am currently in their mentorship program, and I listen to their morning broadcasts every day. The three day course was strictly introductory and glossed over many subjects. I believe it is required for all traders and it was around $1,000-1,500 when I attended. The bootcamp is optional and I think around $2,500. I found the bootcamp to be a good way to learn the REDI-Plus software and gain access to successful professional traders was excellent and probably made it worth it from that perspective alone. Bright arranges several mixers while you are there to be able to mingle with these traders outside of market hours. I would have preferred a more thoroughly developed curriculum that utilized time better and provided more in the way of written references. But ultimately, I think Bright is always trying to improve everything they do and I have no doubt these issues will be ironed out as well. The morning broadcasts are very insightful and I am learning a lot from them. Don, along with 2-3 other traders get on for about 15 minutes and discuss what is going on in the markets. They offer different perspectives and warnings of potential pitfalls that might develop.

As for the mentorship program, I have been in it for about 2 months now. They gave me a 14 question survey and my answers determined the trader/mentor that I was assigned. My first mentor was not a good fit and after letting Bright know, I was reassigned and happy to say that after only working with this new mentor for a week, my trading has improved dramatically. Part of the challenge is that I am a purely technical trader and I get the sense that the majority of traders at Bright are fundamentally oriented.

I also trade options and found Bright to be very limited in this area, despite the fact that both Don and Bob used to trade options on the floor. They recognize this and it is simply not their cup of tea. I have ceased trading options through my Bright account and will simply continue trading options in my Optionsxpress account.

One other advantage of Bright is that it is a great place to network and gain additional training. They are affiliated with pair trading firms, automation programmers, and every kind of trader imaginable.

I know Don takes a lot of abuse on these forums because people are skeptical of what he says., and I am always impressed at how tactfully he handles it. But in truth, I have never found any claim he has made to be false. All in all I would recommend Bright Trading for the simple reason that in my experience, what you see is what you get with them.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Daryl
 
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