Futex - Legit ?

[johnadams]

Hi I want to find out more about this firm.

I have been made an offer to learn to trade with them.

They are in Surrey / London.

They told me Macfutures clear them and help them with training.

They told me circa 70% of their trainees succeed.


What concerns me is that they would not be specific about what people in their office are making. The guy just said he has no idea and would have to work it out. This strikes me as highly evasive.

It makes me want to run.

Also they pay little for the first 6 months followed by nothing. This seems to be standard in the industry.


It is possible for someone trading to be significantly profitable but still not make any money after fees.

So I wonder if anyone here has any idea. I would suspect that Saxon and Macfutures and other similar firms have the same model.

I dont doubt that some of Futex's former trainees are making money but how much ?

Could someone also answer why in prop firms if they have a good morning or whatever they go home in the afternoon - surely it makes sense to keep going (as long as they keep emotions in check) (and have nothing better to do).

I am more afraid of the people who run these firms than I am of the market. But I am naturally inclined towards rabid paranoia and I dont want a good opportunity to go to waste.

Comments appreciated - no matter how banal !

 

[sak07]

I am in a similar position! I was invited to go speak to them at there offices and I left feeling terrified! I think I am right in saying it is £400 a month for first three months then £500 a month for the next three and then nothing! I cannot possibly live in London on that, but I would have been tempted if I had felt that Futex was more trader orientated. I got the impression that they want you in to fill seats and make money and if you don't you are out! Not a firm I want to be starting my career with (if you can call prop house trading a career)!

 

[rjmahan]

I dont know but would love to know more

 

[johnadams]

Yeah what you say is true.

But the training is as they say for 2-3 months.

This has got to cost them money to do. I know there is a decent investment going in there.

Then they have infrastructure to build - network, PCs / monitors / Bloomberg .

I dont really know details of this but I would guess they are paying around £16'000 for each trainee they take on (assuming they allow a £10k loss before they pull the plug. These pro data feeds arnt cheap, computers arnt cheap.

Firms that appear more legit such as Saxon - really arnt as they do the whole pay you £500 quid a month. But where as Futex tell you up front before you go to interview Saxon dont.

Even Macfutures doesnt pay much....

It isnt so much the lack of being paid as it is assessing the upside vs the downside. I can take the hit of living in Surrey for 6 months on nothing. But I want to know whether it is worth my while.

I am not scared as to whether I can make money or not I know I can (been doing this a few years). But I worry about how much buying power I will have, splits (50/50 to start) and fees.

I dont want to be in the situation where I am taking a steady £1k /2k a month home - which for me isnt really worth it given what I could make elsewhere for the same sort of effort but I would be reluctant to quit if I were in that situation.

More comments appreciated.

 

[FuturesTrader71]

Rule of Thumb: If you are gut starts turning while or after you talk to someone at a prop shop, then you should turn and run the other way. It has never failed.

Sorry, I don't know anything about this firm, but that is generally the case. I can't see how someone can make a claim that 70% succeed and not know the statistics of their traders or have access to them quickly for projections and cost analyses? How can someone run a business without knowing what their current revenue stream is doing versus last week, month or year.

 

[johnadams]

In their defence I am not sure whether the guy who said that was a trader or in charge of accounts - could just be a matter of finding right person to talk to.

Plus from the owners point of view they would know how much they are making - but not what everyone else may be..

The 70% figure was for earning £2k a month or more. But again that was expressed in a very fuzzy way.

I would be interested in comparing this to what happens at somewhere like Macfutures - how up front are they about what people will likely make ?

 

[johnadams]

Sorry this is a bit muddled but it is difficult to remember details.

Views / what other people remember would be appreciated.

Lots of people apply for these sorts of jobs - so quite a few must get interviewed - doesnt anyone else ask these questions ?

 

[verynewboy]

I looked up their office location and from the map it appears to be above a Waitrose (at a blind guess! I didn't actually go and look at it!) so atleast you'd get to eat good food.

On the subject of what the traders make, I'm not sure you'd ever find out exactly how much the traders make, even after you start.

When I started at a prop firm (salaried trader, not a prop shop client) no one ever said exactly how much they made - and if asked directly would just give a vague answer. The P&Ls of the senior traders fluctuated in the 10,000's everyday and that was about the info I could get.

Regards,

Very New Boy.

 

[johnadams]

Yeah office is above a waitrose - but inside it looks all right - weirdly laid out but allright.

It isnt in a dodgy area at all Weybridge is one of the most expensive places in the country. The office is pretty much in the centre. Though I should think it would cost less than a Central London office as Weybridge is residential.

That is one thing that makes me look favourably on Futex - if you are a trader and you can trade from anywhere why be in (v. expensive) Central London ?

 

[verynewboy]

Trading outside of London is a good idea as it saves on cost, but why Weybridge? It's a smart area, and frequently features in those surveys of which towns have the highest earners in the UK. So surely people moving out of London to reduce costs should be looking for somewhere a little downmarket. For example, Addlestone is 1 mile away, cheap, and [according to my Maths teacher] has the lowest IQ in Surrey - so surely being surrounded by their stupid locals would give novice traders an advantage? ;D

Quote from johnadams:

Yeah office is above a waitrose - but inside it looks all right - weirdly laid out but allright.

It isnt in a dodgy area at all Weybridge is one of the most expensive places in the country. The office is pretty much in the centre. Though I should think it would cost less than a Central London office as Weybridge is residential.

That is one thing that makes me look favourably on Futex - if you are a trader and you can trade from anywhere why be in (v. expensive) Central London ?