I need a good story....

[lindq]

Okay, well, ah...then you are asking $150/month for a service that provides access to a "signal", which apparently lists stocks that one should "sell" or "buy" according to your site, but you have no results to report, and you don't give any information on how the signal is constructed.

I think I've got the picture. Thanks.

 

[DK_]

The lists are of "Buy Candidates" and "Sell Candidates" - attributed to each such candidate is a score which invariably increases until the indicator changes direction. So now that we've established the presence of a scoring gradient/scale, you can see the difference between what I provide and

Quoting.. lists (of) stocks that one should "sell" or "buy"

 

[ertrader1]

you made 7 figuers in the three years of the bull. (as most did who were trading well with size) even if you made 7 figuers each year or only in the three years.....you leaving , not because the house never loses, you never learned.

There is plenty to do in the markets....Daytrading my not be it, however, there are tones of stratigies that can yeild a good % on what you trade.

Many Many 7 figure Daytraders are finished. But its no because of the house never giving you an edge. Its because, they never learned to trade....period. I was with the most profitable and biggest daytrading firm. Yet, out of 1100 traders, only a few, yes a few under 5% are still trading from my understanding.

 

[215pennsy]

you looking for a good story, in this business I have come full circle. I stasrted out in 97 and traded my own acct thru 2000. Made what I thought was plenty of change at 20 over 6 fiqures. Packed up and moved to FL for the good life at 23. Spent nearly evry dime in my new oasis in Fl. But at 23 who could tell you any different, I figured the market would always be there, I was making a killing on old naz favs like, jboh, sieb, puma, sath, bamm, fncm, eeln, etc. low float pump and dump stocks, but they kept the shirt on my back. Then The nasdaq cracked in early 2000 and the only job I could find in Fl was as a retail broker after I went broke. Cold pitching people to buy stock just like you saw in boiler room. made some sales and some money but nothing nearly as exciting as tading. Watched a friend in the biz a large producer kill himself after the naz cracked, another friend go away for parking peole in penny stocks that weren't in existence. I then left the business, for a while, did something wholesome and started a contracting company, in naples fl. Not nearly as glamourous as trading or the biz as a whole but it was like a rehab of sorts. In the last yr the trading bug struck again and I went to work for one of the now defunct "pro" houses. Left there and moved back home to philly. I am now 27, and own a contracting company in NJ, It is a whole lot easier on my mind as far as stress is concerned, and relatively easy to handle considering some of the stress I have endured in the past, but not nearly as challenging. I am now at the crossroads, my company is taking off, but I still itch to trade.
I am always looking for some good opps but all these prop houses are glorified retail shops that wine and dine you with the leverage, but aren't willing to absorb the risk or share in it for that matter. I guess I am either considering being the casino and starting a shop, or waiting for a better business model to come around as far as prop is concerned.

My point with this is to let you know you are not alone out there, and succes can only be measured by how much you are actually valued on this earth. Success has no monetary definition, someone who is truly successful wont fret about the things he is without, or what he use to be. To be successful is simply to know where you are going, through all your dilemma's, just rebuild and dig deeper. Hey if you made it before use that confidence that you had in the past and reinvent yourself.
GOod luck to you

THe world is yours you just have to go get it.

 

[NoMoreOptions]

OK.

 

[WDGann]

Quote from ertrader1:

you made 7 figuers in the three years of the bull. (as most did who were trading well with size) even if you made 7 figuers each year or only in the three years.....you leaving , not because the house never loses, you never learned.

There is plenty to do in the markets....Daytrading my not be it, however, there are tones of stratigies that can yeild a good % on what you trade.

Many Many 7 figure Daytraders are finished. But its no because of the house never giving you an edge. Its because, they never learned to trade....period. I was with the most profitable and biggest daytrading firm. Yet, out of 1100 traders, only a few, yes a few under 5% are still trading from my understanding.

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[riskarb]

Quote from windward:

I traded a 5mm prop account that was not my money. I received 50% pay out. I figured i'd leave to go out on my own and start a hedge fund and traded my personal money for 100%. I havent made a dime since. I started a fund in 2003 with 2.5 million and was up 2% after 6 months and all my investors left (underperformance is like AIDS). I'm liquid for maybe another year and am totally scared. I've been looking for a job outside of the prop world (which is now just a casino with leverage). I've had no luck. Very much at a crossroad, and think most of us are as well.

You stated it yourself -- prop has always been about the gearing -- your trading style was reliant on the leverage.

Market Maker haircuts aren't as huge as a wirehouse can offer, but certainly good enough to leverage a profitable methodology. There are millions being made in Crude(and options) at the NYMEX.

I would strongly consider trading your prop methodology as a floor member at one of the equity or futures exchanges. You'd mentioned your method doesn't scle well, so it leads me to believe it's either scalping or options-based, both of which are perfectly suited for the floor.

Check out the PHLX for equity options -- you can trade there for peanuts. NYMEX will run $20k+ per month for a seat lease, but the paper is flowing into the pit non-stop. I have a guy staked on NYMEX making $200k/month on a $1MM book.

arb.

 

[WDGann]

Floor and electronic is a completely different game.

I've read about a few but never met a successful floor/electronic trader.

 

[riskarb]

Quote from WDGann:

Floor and electronic is a completely different game.

I've read about a few but never met a successful floor/electronic trader.

I left the floor to trade upstairs, have done almost as well trading a retail haircut, but trading a larger book.

Wirehouse traders aren't typically "electronic" although I guess I'm at a loss for what "electronic" denotes, as I think we all use computers in our trading and analytics.

FWIW, I've seen quite a few guys leave wirehouse trading & sales for the floor who did quite well. The NYMEX trader I mentioned had been with GS in prop-trading, but had been with the banking side if the biz prior to going to NYMEX.

arb.

 

[Dustin]

Quote from 215pennsy:

I am always looking for some good opps but all these prop houses are glorified retail shops that wine and dine you with the leverage, but aren't willing to absorb the risk or share in it for that matter.

The deals in many prop shops are better now then you ever had. .05-.06 avg comm, $5-15k down, and you aren't responsible for any more than your deposit in the event of a catastrophe. They do share the risk. From the sounds of it you are the type of guy that could get back in the game and make some $. And there is plenty of money to be made...the last two months were my best this year.

Also, if you don't need the leverage you could go retail with a psuedo-prop shop. $30k deposit, 4:1 margin, and significantly lower rates.