Warning signs before MF Global went under

[KeLo]

Whatever you do, don't have an account with Tradestation. They are leveraged 24:1 and have been fined for capital deficiencies before, plus they are headquartered in Florida. They could be the next MF Global come next financial crisis. You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

Could you please provide some evidence? I do not see where TS is leveraged 24:1.

Here is what I found:
TS is owned by Monex, a company traded on the Tokyo exchange (MNXBF/TYO:8698).
Monex has had its ups and downs for PnL.

Today Morningstar shows Monex has leverage of 11.92.
For comparison:
IB has leverage of 9.48.
TD Ameritrade has leverage of 5.33.
E*TRADE has leverage of 9.65. In 2007, ETFC leverage was 20+.

TS did have a problem after the Swissy black swan and divested itself of IBFX, which was the problem child for capital requirements.
https://www.financemagnates.com/for...bout-2000-ibfx-accounts-as-monex-exits-us-fx/

P.S. I think being HQed in FL is irrelevant to financial stability. TD Ameritrade is out of Omaha, Nebraska.

 

[Humble Investor]

Could you please provide some evidence? I do not see where TS is leveraged 24:1.

Here is what I found:
TS is owned by Monex, a company traded on the Tokyo exchange (MNXBF/TYO:8698).
Monex has had its ups and downs for PnL.

Today Morningstar shows Monex has leverage of 11.92.
For comparison:
IB has leverage of 9.48.
TD Ameritrade has leverage of 5.33.
E*TRADE has leverage of 9.65. In 2007, ETFC leverage was 20+.

TS did have a problem after the Swissy black swan and divested itself of IBFX, which was the problem child for capital requirements.
https://www.financemagnates.com/for...bout-2000-ibfx-accounts-as-monex-exits-us-fx/

P.S. I think being HQed in FL is irrelevant to financial stability. TD Ameritrade is out of Omaha, Nebraska.

Tradestation is a subsidiary of Monex, Monex can easily ditch Tradestation if they are about to go under.

Here is the latest Tradestation SEC filing that shows it is leveraged 24:1.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1002006/000100200617000002/TSSFinancialsFinCond3.pdf

I understand your point regarding HQed, but here in europe, FL has a very bad reputation and its name is attached to financial fraud. To be clear, I am not accusing Tradestation of any wrongdoing but I just don't like FL based brokers.

 

[Humble Investor]

Could you please provide some evidence? I do not see where TS is leveraged 24:1.

Here is what I found:
TS is owned by Monex, a company traded on the Tokyo exchange (MNXBF/TYO:8698).
Monex has had its ups and downs for PnL.

Today Morningstar shows Monex has leverage of 11.92.
For comparison:
IB has leverage of 9.48.
TD Ameritrade has leverage of 5.33.
E*TRADE has leverage of 9.65. In 2007, ETFC leverage was 20+.

TS did have a problem after the Swissy black swan and divested itself of IBFX, which was the problem child for capital requirements.
https://www.financemagnates.com/for...bout-2000-ibfx-accounts-as-monex-exits-us-fx/

P.S. I think being HQed in FL is irrelevant to financial stability. TD Ameritrade is out of Omaha, Nebraska.

I don't have an account with AMTD but AMTD is a proper company. It is consistently profitable, has very low leverage and is a $30B publicly traded company. It is not some 24:1 leveraged company based in FL, owned by some japanese small cap company whose share price has declined by 75% over the last decade.

 

[KeLo]

TS has some problems to be sure, but I don't see where the 24:1 leverage you quote comes from...

Tradestation is a subsidiary of Monex, Monex can easily ditch Tradestation if they are about to go under.

Here is the latest Tradestation SEC filing that shows it is leveraged 24:1.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1002006/000100200617000002/TSSFinancialsFinCond3.pdf

I understand your point regarding HQed, but here in europe, FL has a very bad reputation and its name is attached to financial fraud. To be clear, I am not accusing Tradestation of any wrongdoing but I just don't like FL based brokers.

Much appreciated Humble Investor...

 

[Sig]

Tradestation is a subsidiary of Monex, Monex can easily ditch Tradestation if they are about to go under.

Here is the latest Tradestation SEC filing that shows it is leveraged 24:1.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1002006/000100200617000002/TSSFinancialsFinCond3.pdf

I understand your point regarding HQed, but here in europe, FL has a very bad reputation and its name is attached to financial fraud. To be clear, I am not accusing Tradestation of any wrongdoing but I just don't like FL based brokers.

When you say FL do you mean Florida? I have to ask because the idea that a Florida based broker is somehow automatically corrupt is so absurd that it can't possibly be what you meant? Are you the guy who's all concerned about the country where the CEO went to college as well (https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/brokers-that-are-doing-badly.316996/)?

 

[comagnum]

If the name of MF is not a warning sign than what is?

 

[Humble Investor]

TS has some problems to be sure, but I don't see where the 24:1 leverage you quote comes from...

Much appreciated Humble Investor...

Did you read the filing? It is on page 6. TS has total assets of $2.36B vs only $98.3M in equity. That's 24:1 leverage.

 

[Rickshaw Man]

Tradestation is a subsidiary of Monex, Monex can easily ditch Tradestation if they are about to go under.

Here is the latest Tradestation SEC filing that shows it is leveraged 24:1.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1002006/000100200617000002/TSSFinancialsFinCond3.pdf

I understand your point regarding HQed, but here in europe, FL has a very bad reputation and its name is attached to financial fraud. To be clear, I am not accusing Tradestation of any wrongdoing but I just don't like FL based brokers.

I would feel better if that audit was conducted by Arthur Andersen.

 

[KeLo]

Yes, I see it and appreciate your insight.

That is higher than e*Trade leverage in 2007. Of course, rates now are so low - but rising.

Another great place to gain insight into brokers that I found is glassdoor.com, where employees post their opinions. Many of the small brokers are not listed, but significant ones are usually listed.

I wish you a prosperous 2018 Humble Investor.

 

[truetype]

Another great place to gain insight into brokers that I found is glassdoor.com, where employees post their opinions.

GD is heavily biased toward disgruntled ex-employees -- unless the employer itself spams the site with positive reviews.