Boston Prop - Chimera v. Bright

Quote from Worldcrusher:

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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Well, thanks for the kind (unsolicited) words!

Just for the record, the 3 day class is $1,000, the boot camp is $1500 for 2-4 weeks (trader choice)...$2500 total investment in training. Advanced classes for a lifetime are free.

Don :)
 
quote from worldcrusher:

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.
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Never seen too many complaints about Bright Trading regarding the features they offer their traders. Such as fast payouts, high leverage on a traders deposit, quick deposit returns and maybe some good training.

Most complaints about Bright Trading on this board seem to infer they charge their traders a higher commission rate than other Prop firms out there.

Guess trader must chose between firm offering good features but with higher commissions or "no frills" Prop firm with lower commission rates.
 
Don knows the real complaint is requiring traders to have a series 7 even though he knows it means nothing when trading. i heard a rumor Don is going to drop that ridiculous requirement. lol
 
Quote from enforcer99:

Don knows the real complaint is requiring traders to have a series 7 even though he knows it means nothing when trading. i heard a rumor Don is going to drop that ridiculous requirement. lol
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Can't do much about it at this point in time.

This rule applies to NYSE, CHX, PHLX, PSE, NASD, AMEX exchange member/traders.

Don
 
Quote from enforcer99:

Don knows the real complaint is requiring traders to have a series 7 even though he knows it means nothing when trading. i heard a rumor Don is going to drop that ridiculous requirement. lol
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I was under the impression all similar firms require a series 7 (echotrade, assent, etc.)
 
c'mon Don, let some of us street wise traders into your firm. give us a chance brother...
as for the other poster-assent does not require a series 7.
 
No offense. If you are going to trade for a prop and put up your own capital, to where the prop makes most of it's money off of your commissions, the more successfull you are, the more commissions they make. In other words, if some one is very serious about joining your firm, then training should not have to be paid for.

Training should only be paid for if you are a retail trader not wanting to join the firm and just want the training. If a trader has to pay for the training, he should be reembursed in full once he is a member of the firm and is consistantly profitable.

A motivator if anything(to get your tuition money back) to excell. Not mentioning any particular firm on this thread, however it should be given consideration. I am top talent and any firm would be lucky to have me, I am not paying for any "training" and such policies would keep many "elite" traders away. Just my 2 cents!:)
 
Quote from NathanGresham:

No offense. If you are going to trade for a prop and put up your own capital, to where the prop makes most of it's money off of your commissions, the more successfull you are, the more commissions they make. In other words, if some one is very serious about joining your firm, then training should not have to be paid for.

Training should only be paid for if you are a retail trader not wanting to join the firm and just want the training. If a trader has to pay for the training, he should be reembursed in full once he is a member of the firm and is consistantly profitable.

A motivator if anything(to get your tuition money back) to excell. Not mentioning any particular firm on this thread, however it should be given consideration. I am top talent and any firm would be lucky to have me, I am not paying for any "training" and such policies would keep many "elite" traders away. Just my 2 cents!:)
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Most people that pay for training are usually new to the business and probably aren't profitable traders. I'd say it's more of a screen than anything else, otherwise every john, dick and harry would sign up.
 
Paying a little bit helps you psychologically, in my experience. I never believe much in stuff I get for free. $1500 for 4 weeks training seems very fair.

I expect your hotel bill will be a lot more even in Vegas. There is also the 'opportunity cost' for both you and the instructors.
 
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