Which Prop Firms provide the best mentorships and training?

[Don Bright]

Quote from Maverick74:

Don, you probably are a Gregory Peck fan. What did you think of my comparison of you to him?

You have to admit, there are many similarities to the dying equity model and the fictional New England Wire and Cable company.

LOL, well, OK Mav. As long as we have our solid $million per year traders, we'll be fine. Actually, I would like to chat in a week or so, we just may have a program you'd like done by then.

Don

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from Don Bright:

LOL, well, OK Mav. As long as we have our solid $million per year traders, we'll be fine. Actually, I would like to chat in a week or so, we just may have a program you'd like done by then.

Don

Come on Don, that video encapsulates the industry perfectly. Of course there are million dollars traders out there. One of my good friends from Worldco still pulls down 7 figures a year with Chimera in NY. I'm talking about the prop model from the "owners" perspective. Rates are going to zero and volumes are collapsing meanwhile regulatory costs keep going higher and higher. You don't need to be a math genius Don to figure it out.

Case in point, here in Chicago, the FCM model is over. The reason Jerry Wassendorf had to resort to fraud at PFG is because interest rates are at zero and these firms can't pocket the free carry anymore and they have to compete on commish with the deep discount brokers.

As Bob Dylan once sang, "the times they are a changin..."

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from Maverick74:

Come on Don, that video encapsulates the industry perfectly. Of course there are million dollars traders out there. One of my good friends from Worldco still pulls down 7 figures a year with Chimera in NY. I'm talking about the prop model from the "owners" perspective. Rates are going to zero and volumes are collapsing meanwhile regulatory costs keep going higher and higher. You don't need to be a math genius Don to figure it out.

Case in point, here in Chicago, the FCM model is over. The reason Jerry Wassendorf had to resort to fraud at PFG is because interest rates are at zero and these firms can't pocket the free carry anymore and they have to compete on commish with the deep discount brokers.

As Bob Dylan once sang, "the times they are a changin..."

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you. It's just that I see our model as a viable alternative for retail traders. We certainly don't have the margins we once did, so we are seeking more serious traders these days.

All the best Mav,

Don

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from CoraAG:

Other than the relatively minor fees, what are the pertinent regs that make parking a license an issue -- or is it really pretty much a matter of the firm's (obvious) preference for more volume?

Nothing to do with volume, but you have to be active. Even Merrill Lynch or whoever must have activity from a broker to keep the license valid.

Don

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from hitnrun:

jackdog11


well i guess , there is no name change after all it seems ?


I would not worry about bright, they are still making more money then most in the industry

the industry is on life support , all that matters if a trader can make money for themselves

there are plenty of prop firms out there still to choose from these days

don is a straight shooter & has strong opinions , so he can be a little rough around the edges

he does help others & that is hard to find these days , he is like a rock star on et

they are a old school firm with a good reputation
people trust them with there money , that is key for some people
if they lower there commissions to compete , get more platforms & reduce there capital requirement
they could be the dominate player with more traders then anyeone in prop

That will never happen, they do not need the money, there model works for them

Thanks, just trying to get through some posts here.

We are still one of the maybe the top 3 in our niche of the industry. Echo and Generic of course. Many traders use full autotrade technology, some with FIX connections. Many still daytrade. Many keep large positions for days or weeks.

Overall, not much has changed in the last couple of years.

It's funny, I have been accused so often over the years of bending over backwards to push the cause of traders, new and old. Of being too much of a "salesman" by some. I simply respond to people in a professional and civil manner. But, hey, we all have bad days, and I'm sorry if came on too strong with one or two. I have to tell the truth, it's just my nature. Very few, if any, have ever accused me of being too gruff, except in the case of potential regulatory violations that could cost the livelihood of a couple hundred families.

All the best,

Don

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from Don Bright:

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you. It's just that I see our model as a viable alternative for retail traders. We certainly don't have the margins we once did, so we are seeking more serious traders these days.

All the best Mav,

Don

It's a great alternative model!!!! I agree. My point is at some point you are not going to make any money running it without it affecting the trader. I suspect that is what some of your detractors here are alluding to. Back in the day Don, we use to give our traders everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Use your imagination. It cost us a fortune but we didn't care we were still making it. The problem is you are going to have to cut back services and pass on more and more fees. At some point, it's NOT a good alternative to traders. I think some of the guys here made some valid points. It's a lot like our government Don. When the times are good, nobody puts that money back into the firm to make things better. Then when times are tough, you realize you are driving a horse and carriage and everyone else around you is driving a Tesla. I think it makes for an interesting discussion. Not sure if you want to have it, but it is interesting to discuss.

 

[Don Bright]

Quote from Maverick74:

It's a great alternative model!!!! I agree. My point is at some point you are not going to make any money running it without it affecting the trader. I suspect that is what some of your detractors here are alluding to. Back in the day Don, we use to give our traders everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Use your imagination. It cost us a fortune but we didn't care we were still making it. The problem is you are going to have to cut back services and pass on more and more fees. At some point, it's NOT a good alternative to traders. I think some of the guys here made some valid points. It's a lot like our government Don. When the times are good, nobody puts that money back into the firm to make things better. Then when times are tough, you realize you are driving a horse and carriage and everyone else around you is driving a Tesla. I think it makes for an interesting discussion. Not sure if you want to have it, but it is interesting to discuss.

I'm happy to entertain phone call discussions from anyone. We have pretty much just supplied what is needed, capital, market access, and training. We never supplied the expensive bells and whistles, we let the traders pick and choose their own "stuff." In fact, we've worked really hard to talk traders out of wasting money on nonsense they don't need.

Have to get ready for bed old friend, not as young as you.

Don

 

[JackDogII]

Quote from Don Bright:Thanks for the photo Mav. And, Vin Man. We offer training to everyone, and our friends at other firms send their new people here. We do about 3 classes per year, a one time fee of $1,000 ($750 for ET'ers this year), and we simply show as much as we can from basic platform setups all the way through automated trading.

How to "beat" HFT, and how make money routing (yes, we can still do that). My opinion is if they had a chance in hell of really being able to teach anyone how to consistently beat HFT, scalp via routing or beat the markets in any way then that big nice building and its parking lot wouldn't be empty.......Don - you can only break so many before the word gets out

And, traders, even from other places, can come back as often as they like. And, they should since the market is constantly changing. October 22 is coming up, last class until 2013 guys. Call 702.739.1393 to register. Don

Come one come all - pay for training, pay fees for dated technology, do compliance that more than anything else keeps losers from suing and then pay juice and other fees Don doesn't publicly disclose and then after that figure your odds of being one of the six that are still trading in a room that used to regularly host 50+ traders. That's how I see the above pitch.

That's a big building with multiple floors to be so empty. I say there is a reason for that big empty and my opinion is that it mostly has to do with Don's lack of ability to deal with change or care much at all about the results of his traders. To be fair, Don may really care, though from his tone and manner - I don't buy it.

All Don's push, discounts, snake oil and vagueness are not symptomatic of a successful business. After several visits with Don, his shop and enduring that last pitiful, sparsely attended webinar my opinion is that Don is a predator of the worst order and that most new traders would have a bettrer chance in the markets if they educated themselves rather than spend all of that on that which has such a huge failure rate.

Caveat Emptor - anybody that buys this guy's pitch deserves what they get and in any case must be able to see that if they expect profits then they are bucking big odds.

This and my other posts on this topic are my opinion based on the evidence noted. I have never traded with Don, Don has never cost me a dime. I have talked with him several times and came away with a negative impression that was reinforced on subsequent visits/conversations. I don't persoanlly like the type, don't trust the man and hold contempt for his practices/methods.


Jack

 

[sle]

I was bored waiting for a simulation to run and stumbled into this thread. You can check all of my prior posts and see that I have butted heads with both Mav and Don a few times, so this will be a bit out of character. I will also note that I have no personal experience with the prop firm industry (I have been and still am swimming around the deep end of the pool, for better or for worse).

So far, I have seen a lot of people accuse them of trying to make money. Well, guess what, this is what people do, in this industry and outside. Unlike option system sellers (where is my six-gun?!) and various other quackeries omnipresent in this business, it appears that at the right prop firm you get a well defined deal and you get an environment to learn and grow professionally. So far I have not seen anything fraudulent or dishonest coming from the prop industry representatives here and I think it's just not fair to make each thread about prop firms into a feather and tarring exercise.

Just my 0.02 vols, call me a sell-out all you like

 

[hitnrun]

Jack

Your too dumb to learn , so give up your fantasy of becoming a trader

they changed there name , yea right . maybe you should learn to read

you visited there office several times, they probably told you to
take a hike & stop bothering them . now your bitter

you not a trader & don't know squat about the industry
love to run your mouth bashing people because you need attention

move on with your ranting already , you don't have what it takes to be a trader no big deal

leave trading up to the people that know how to make money

stick to washing windows on the corner for change , alright dumbass