Both he and the other guy are probably using retail IB to trade, and not an institutional-grade FCM, so they might not understand the institutional clearing/credit authorization dynamics, which goes for any product, exchange traded or OTC traded.
This thread seems to sum it up quite well:
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/printthread.php?t=236174
no I am def a pro trader - prop, institutional and fund. However, some of these energy products are not my area of expertise. As a matter of fact, historically to get access to web ice you needed to be 10mm USD liquid in order to trade it. So now all of a sudden web ice products are available through a TT gateway and this guy in a chicago is a guru in one of the most esoteric markets in the world? i dont think so.....Most chicago based firms trade listed futures, so if he is not doing it personally, through which firm in chicago is he trading PJM vs NG heat rate - yeah right! EVen though its offered on TT, i doubt the credit requirements have changed to trade them, which is more of a reason to be suspicious..... open up your eyes Mr Woods...if you understood the the institutional clearing/credit authorization dynamics, risk and credit officer would grant access that easily to these ICE products....it just doesnt work that way, especially for a personal account.
Admittedly, I did not realize that ICE offered it. So that has clarified some of my questions. I found an inconsistency but seemed to have been misinformed on my part trying to verify it on CME when it trades on ICE - MY MISTAKE
i did find it strange that he mentioned the GOLD LME vs COMEX arb when it is actually COPPER that is arbitraged between the two exchanges.
So is he just regurgitating things or is he the real deal?
I would like answers to very specific questions in order to verify claims bc something is not adding up. Exactly which PJM contract do you trade as they seem to be many vs which heat rate swap without necessarily having to expose your strategy.
On your website it says you can get a better price on the screen. I would like to go back and verify this as normally, there is very little liquidity and you need to do blocks with the broker at 25 to 50 lots minimum clips on such products. The tick data should confirm either what you are saying or what i am saying.
Just bc you know it exists and it actually trades on ICE, doesn't actually mean you know how to trade the spread.