GHCO Still A Good Place to Work?

V

Vidar

I've heard many good things about GHCO, the traders and their work environment. Unfortunately, most of the posts are several months old. Can someone shed some light on the current pros & cons of working there?

Also curious on the following items:

1. How has the "merger" with Penson affected GH? (reputation on the street, internal perception, etc...)

2. Is GH operating their proprietary trading under their own name or simply acting as a separate division under the GHCOPenson umbrella?

3. Three good reasons to work there and three good reasons why not?

4. What GHCO specific questions have you or did you wish you would have asked during an interview?

Thank you!
 
1. How has the "merger" with Penson affected GH? (reputation on the street, internal perception, etc...)

It used to be more salaried traders, now it is mostly props. The people I used to work with who are still there are reportedly making big money post the merger. The whole Penson thing is more to do with the clearing service than the prop trading. It has one of the longest histories and is one of the few prop firms that has shown long term survivability - implying that it has strong leadership and talented traders. The Penson merger ensures it's future even more.

2. Is GH operating their proprietary trading under their own name or simply acting as a separate division under the GHCOPenson umbrella?

I think the prop trading goes on as ever with little or no changes. They also let their floor out in London to smaller firms in a style similar to Saxon futures (I saw an ad for this on efinancialcareers, a small firm would train you up and you had access to GHCO London floor and trading platform)

3. Three good reasons to work there and three good reasons why not?

Good reasons are that they have a big name and are not seen as some arcade. They also trade big size. The desk fee and commission is very competitive. Bad reasons are that they are fixated on spread trading and fixed income futures (unlike, say for example Geneva Trading, who are always trying new products and methods). If you are on a salary you used to get a 40% bonus, this can be bettered in the industry (although perhaps at the expense of pretty much every other aspect of the job). They used to have a "golden handcuffs" clause in the contract which stopped you from going elsewhere if you were very profitable, some people have an issue with this.

4. What GHCO specific questions have you or did you wish you would have asked during an interview?

They put a penny on the table and asked me how many pennies it would take to fill the room (I'm not kidding here). They asked the usual questions on the history of the firm - just read the webpage and you won't get caught out. It is worth reading the Penson webpage too.
 
more info would be nice especially their fixed income trading ... what spreads do they trade?

How is their firms reputation on ET. I hear they are very litigious from the old posts but some are like 2 years old ... has anything changed?
 
Quote from Mr B:


They put a penny on the table and asked me how many pennies it would take to fill the room (I'm not kidding here)
More...

So...what's the answer :D
(similar question saw someone post, how many golf balls to fill up 747....? hah.)
 
Quote from LionTrader:

So...what's the answer :D
(similar question saw someone post, how many golf balls to fill up 747....? hah.)
More...

simplex asked the same question ... except it was ping pong balls and a 747 :)

the "correct" answer would be to ask if the seats were still there, could you use the storage area, fill the gas tanks, over head space, if the ping pong balls molded etc then just throw a rough number out there and pretend you used some quant work :p

i cant be the only one who thinks these "creative" ways of interviewing are retard and let firms know nothing of the potential employee.

back to the topic ... how is GHCO?
 
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