Prop firms

I am a part of a prop firm and actually represent a group of traders.

I like to read what people say about prop firm (bad or good) and actually understand how we could offer a better service.

I know that there is a lot of firms out there promising that they will make you rich with their training or recipes for success, charging you exorbitant fees and that maybe most of them are a scam but at some point, individual traders need stop and think about it.

If there were any kind of magical formulas for trading, do you really think that people will waste their time in recruiting traders and ask them to put money down. They would trade their magical recipes, recruit people to trade their own money ( you probably heard of hedge founds or prop desk at banks).

Nothing is more important that experience and that is my next point, prop firms are just here to give you access to the trading business and that is why you give them commission, nothing else.

The rest, paying for a training or coaching or whatever else they can come up with is really up to you and the confidence you have in your group.

Trading is a business, it takes time, capital, commitment and there is no shortcut. You should wonder why brokers online are faring better than traditional brokers with the retail investors and apply this thinking to active trading. They offer an access to the market for a fare price, free information and the rest is really up to you.

Thanks to tell me what you think about that.

I got an answer on one of my posts that I wanted to share with you:


Re: Prop Firms from the inside
I totally agree with what you have said. I worked at a firm where I put up $5000 in capital and they supposedly were going to train me and take an interest in me. I have read pretty much every book about trading and came in with a strategy I wanted to execute where I have returned 19% on a simulator.

They started me off saying they wanted me to front run big bids and offers so that I would know how to hit my out. In recruiting me, they give you the whole lip that every trader has a different style and we are very open to new methods. All of our traders are different, etc. This is a bunch of crap. They do that and then push you to size up so they can rake in commissions. Just about every trader there had less than a year of experience and my mentor was a girl who had been trading for about 8 months and was deep in the hole. I left because they were not open to me executing different strategies.

Best Options
1. Go to a firm that will provide you a draw and you trade their capital--They make an investment in you so they are going to do what they can to make you successful. In the end it is still on you to teach yourself to trade but have the benefit of being surrounded by seasoned traders.

I am trying to find a firm that will take me but most are not hiring. I have a decent GPA from an ivy school and have demonstrated a strong interest in the markets but such is life.

If anyone can help me with this I would be much obliged.

2. Open an account at home and teach yourself to trade. Your commissions will be cheaper and will not be distracted by the opinions of others at these chop shops who do not know anything about trading.

The one hiccup is how do you afford the computer equipment to start? That is where I am at and if I buy a legitimate computer I will not have enough money to trade but you need the computer to trade.


3. Do what I originally did and put up money to work at a chop shop. Any firm where you have to put up capital to be able to trade is a load of sh**. They do not take any risk or make any investment in you so there is very little benefit in them teaching you to trade. In reality, you need to teach yourself how to trade so you are better off opening up an account at home and teaching yourself to trade.

Lastly, an owner of one of these chop shops will probably reply to this post to defend himself. You should write the name of that firm down and make sure to never consider it. Any firm that defends who they are is probably a bad firm. Good firms do not care what people think of them because they are too busy making money.

Here is my answer:

I am going to be the one defending prop firms, not in general but in the way I see them.

I started like you, with $5000 in one of those prop shops. They taught me exactly the same thing than you, how to scalp to generate a lot of commissions.

But you know what, I got lucky and a real trader became part of the group and started to tell us what to look at. What I knew anyway was that you need to see that as a business and the "training" is mostly on yourself.

Now, 3 years later, I have my own group and recruit traders. The difference is that I am very honest with them about their chances in succeeding and that if I were a great trader, I wouldn't recruit anyone, I would trade.

Now, as I said in my previous post, there is not many places where you can find someone to teach you how to trade and I really believe that. Find a job with a bank or Hedge fund...

Now, if you are like me and you want to trade anyway because you think that time and experience will put you on the right track then prop shop/ brokers are not that bad.

You get a better commission for active traders ( more than 1 trade per day) than with a traditional broker, you don't have to put down a lot of money, get free leverage and if they have an office, you don't have to pay for the internet and a computer.

Let me know what you think about that...