Originally posted by candletrader
There ya go!
Peace and love!
I find it a pity that Rob and Don don't see eye to eye... Rob's dad (Market Wizard) has taught me a lot through his works, and both Rob and Don have made some pretty informative posts on Elitetrader.
Let's keep the acrimony down.
So come on guys, peace!!!!
P.S. All will be resolved peacefully if you, Don, can clarify what you mean when you say "We have never kept 25% of our traders profits, as long as they were profitable and didn't let their account fall below basic limits." in your 11.36am post.
I infer from the above that there are certain circumstances under which you DO keep / hold 25% of a trader's profits. Moreover, are we talking about keeping profits or account capital (the former being a subset of a trader's total account capital).
I have respect for Mr. Tharp Senior, and am always hoping that the next generation will do as much for the industry. We (the "old guys") want to see the business continue in a positive way, so that there will increased opportunities for all our grand-kids....(otherwise I'm leaving my money to the Dog!). Now to your questions, Candle.
In the past we would hold a reserve (25%) when a trader took profits out. If their account were to fall below $15K ($10K below minimum) and they did not put some of their distributions back into the account (to keep it above the $15Kminimum) they were subject to losing their reserve. We also gave all traders an opportunity to make their account average $25K by year end (again, the minimum acct. balance), and told them what they needed to do in Oct or Nov so that they would get their reserve. Many times a trader would borrow some $$ to bring the account up to the minimum and get their reserve. Our whole intention was to keep the traders in business during hard times.
Whenever a trader lost money overall, we never kept their reserve. It was only in a very few (very, very few) that we kept the reserve. It was usually when a trader would abuse the firm by taking out all their profits and then going deficit and not bringing the account back up to zero (wherein we would deposit back the reserve, which would not have been there if the trader spent it all). This system works well for 99% of the traders, and complied with the legalities.
We have never kept traders original capital deposit (that wouldn't be nice, would it?).
We are now paying out 100% when the account is above the minimum requirement.
I hope this is clear, and if it is not, then feel free to call me anytime. 800.249.7488
The new rates, haircut reductions, rent reductions and all the rest will hit our traders in about 2 weeks, and I will post them on my website.

