Schonfeld Securities Goodbye Letter to Traders

scary...

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-06/schon…

http://twittercounter.com/tweet/ODUxNDUzNA
Schonfeld Securities Goodbye Letter On December 5, 1988 we started Schonfeld Securities. Very soon after, we started hiring prop traders, and many years later formed "Opus Trading Fund". Prop trading has always been and will always be an extremely important part of our business and certainly the one that is closest to our hearts. The best Schonfeld traders will always have a place to trade and the capital to maximize their earnings potential. We are committed to them and will always strive to provide an environment for them to succeed. Sadly, however, we are re-thinking the notion that less skilled and less successful traders can be here forever without producing sufficiently for themselves and the firm.For over 21 years we have always done everything we could, with the traders¹ best interests in mind, to provide careers and opportunities for our traders.We have always cared more than you could imagine for your careers, happiness, well being and future.We truly admired many of your passions for trading and for the markets. Over the years we have stood by you and you have stood by us as well. There has been real loyalty on both ends and don't ever think we took your loyalty for granted for one second.Bull and bear markets come and go. Good trading markets come and go. But unfortunately, our vision of the future of trading has changed. It is getting much tougher for traders to make a living or get by. The direct competition from black boxes, stat arb and high frequency trading which continues to grow at exponential rates is here to stay and has caused us to change our outlookfor lesser skilled traders. Based on the above competitive changes to the trading arena, we feel we are doing an injustice to both our lesser skilled traders and the firm by keeping them around. At best, they will barely get by and that's not why we are in this business or what they should be here for.Unfortunately the career of trading is not a good option for lesser skilled traders going forward. We will be letting go many of these traders over the next 6-12 months. It is with deep regret and the hardest thing we have had to do since the inception of the firm in 1988. It truly saddens us to do this, but we are doing the traders who will not be making a living going forward a favor, so they can venture into different careers.It is even more painful since many of you have been so loyal and really good guys.To those of you that we ultimately let go, we deeply apologize but whether you understand it immediately or not, it truly is best for you. After discussions with the managers and exhaustive quantitative research our objective will be to reduce the number of traders we have down to those that we believe will make a great or very good living trading for years and years to come with the necessary skills needed.The traders who are newer to trading will be given some extra time to potentially have their skills stand out. The days of a trader making a living by generating $50k to $75k of adjusted gross annually are over. There is room for only highly motivated, skilled and developing traders that can add value to each other and the firm. Once again, we wish it was different and are extremely sorry for those that don't make it.
11 hours ago via twittermail.com
coffeygrinds tweet
tweet this
Andrew Coffey
Bio: Chicago,Dallas,Hawaii,Hong Kong Singapore,Phila,Work for Najarian Bros from CNBC

 

We already saw this with the crash and all the uneducated traders in NYC, that did single-stock. Remember the stories of the dude who was working a waiter afterwards.

The world is becoming more competitive that is just reality. Look at all the threads we have about what takes to get into HSW MBA today or even HSW undergrad.

Not scary, it's reality.

 

Asperiores aut reprehenderit omnis est et. Perferendis quos quisquam ducimus sed fuga non. Aut et aliquam ipsam. Et placeat eius dignissimos est. Fugiat non nobis ad libero corrupti.

Omnis harum enim facilis animi reprehenderit vero dignissimos. Blanditiis autem excepturi molestias officiis.

Libero expedita tenetur enim nulla rerum. Ducimus excepturi neque eum nisi rerum maiores. Ut ab earum inventore earum. Soluta nihil eveniet quia repellat nobis accusantium atque. Ipsa deserunt eaque ut rerum reprehenderit maxime minus.

Laboriosam beatae velit vitae iure. Consequatur perferendis sit beatae dolores blanditiis quas. Et est occaecati asperiores voluptatum sit. Magnam fugit iusto repellat dolorem et neque est dignissimos. Aliquid repellat consequatur eaque non itaque delectus ut voluptas. Non aspernatur eum sunt ex at neque sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”