I've read all the documents in the Tuco case, several other websites as well as 10 or so posts in the Prop forum here. This post is the most informative and gets to the meat of the issue that Sub LLC's are facing. Thanks Mav
With no commissions and no deposits, there is no reason for a sub LLC to have a new trader come on board. These were the guys that were fooled into paying a "training" fee on top of outrageous commissions. They failed before they even hit a key. There is however still incentive for a sub LLC prop firm to have traders with earnings that exceed the commissions threshhold that was agreed upon with the sub prior to reorganizing.
There are plenty of traders who want the leverage, can manage the risk, but do not want the fees and hassle associated with a license. They also prefer not to tie up 25k in a retail account. For these people, a % payout agreement with a bonus factor could prove to provide them with a significantly similar monthly payout. The sub LLC would take the risk of having traders with no deposit on record and mitigate (not eliminate) that risk with back office tracking of positions.
In the attached example I have four traders with vastly different volume and efficiency. Two of the traders in the example would most likely have their deposit refunded and their account closed. The other two still provide a potential value to the sub.
There really is no good way to deal with a losing trader, a new trader, or a trader that has not overcome the previous thresshold of fees charged through winning traders. I don't believe that the desk fee in my example would be permitted to vary by "employee." Let me know what you all think, I haven't stopped thinking about coming up with 25k for a retail account since I first heard about Tuco.