PFG freezes accounts, CEO attempts suicide

I'm not sure commission rates are so low as to impair the firms with a solid business model. Unlike securities you need to do pretty large volumes in the aggregate to qualify for meaningful commission breaks and that means that most traders doing three or five lots are paying close to the full shot. Obviously the firms costs to execute a five lot are no greater than to execute a one lot yet, until the customer meets the monthly minimums, he is paying five times the commission on the larger trade. And, even after he meets that first threshold commission break, he is paying at least 80% of that one lot commission multiplied by five.

While it is true that a major source of firm's income -- interest -- has been decimated by the no interest environment we live in, commissions relative to costs are not all that bad for well run futures firms.

I totally agree that not making money is no excuse for stealing from the customer but we must always remember that the thief needs no excuse. He steals because he can and because he is a thief. It is opportunity that drives him and the dismal state of the audit procedures at a firm like PFG provide opportunities beyond all reason.

Quote from justrading:

So competition has driven commission rates down and the pie isn't big enough for so many players. Merge and/or improve business efficiency. Innovate.

And yes go open a burger stand if that makes you happier. Just don't use your challenges as an excuse to steal your customers' money.
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Quote from Swan Noir:

...I totally agree that not making money is no excuse for stealing from the customer but we must always remember that the thief needs no excuse. He steals because he can and because he is a thief. It is opportunity that drives him and the dismal state of the audit procedures at a firm like PFG provide opportunities beyond all reason.
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One never knows what they're capable of until they're faced with the brink of bankruptcy. This is especially true if that person has always been a success throughout their life up until the point of business failure.
 
Quote from HurricaneUS:

One never knows what they're capable of until they're faced with the brink of bankruptcy. This is especially true if that person has always been a success throughout their life up until the point of business failure.
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i can relate! i'm in florida everyone has went bust here! they either admit it or they don't.. but mostly anyone involved in construction real estate or mortgage lending when completely out of business.. its hard to float your boat when the ocean is drying up
 
Quote from comintel:

Half of it customer deposits *in excess of* margin funds posted with Jefferies are gone.

The margin deposits with its Clearing Broker, Jefferies, are all present and accounted for.
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So, for a customer who had run their account rationally, at a balance just above the minimum margin requirement, reducing their exposure to their broker .. one might wonder whether they should get their entire (margin) balance back, seeing as it is actually there at Jefferies. (Margining being the corner stone of centrally cleared exchange traded deriverturds.)

Maybe it's a question of who the customer was facing (PFG), vs ultimately where their funds sat (Jefferies).

I assume (sadly), that at the end of the day, this will revert to communism, where the prudent are ultimately forced to subsidise "others".

Your cash may be wholly at Jefferies, but it becomes common property compensation for the most exposed, highly intelligent guys, collecting a real 0% APR on imaginary PFG cash balances.

There are few dumber places to put unused cash than in a borkerage account.
 
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