HTG Capital Partners

If you're going to get a job you are supposed to be getting paid. Whenever you have to pay for something, especially 2,000 dollars. It is probably not a good sign, c'mon man thats common sense, just being honest.

oops! horrible punctuation

Ya, thats what I assumed. Everything else, just seems pretty legit. Maybe 2k is worth a solid career?

GoldenEagle2009.......I am a recent grad and have an interview with HTG Capital in a week. I was wondering if you could give me a few details on how the interview went.

Hi can you tell me how the interview went? I have one with them next week/

Same question as booyah boy. Not sure what's up with the 2k fee though, they seem very legit otherwise.

I went for an interview last month. I think you misunderstood in your interview GoldenEagle! They never told me I had to pay for a training seminar. They never told me there was a 2k fee to work for them either. They did suggest that since I recently graduated and having no experience it would be wise to get some training which seemed perfectly understandable to me. They do seem very legit to me and I am guessing since they have been around for quite a while they must be doing something right. I learned in school that if I wanted to pursue a career in the trading industry that I would have look for any and all training, classes, etc. possible in order to successful. They did suggest a course at an outside company to me but it's solely my decision as to whether I want to enroll or not. The way I look at is, if I want to get into in industry where I can make a substantial amount of money, I better be willing to do what it takes to educate myself.

I have an interview with them tmrw 4/12

I have an excellent book to study for any technical questions they could potentially ask but I dont have enough time to get through it since I just got it last night. Has anyone been interviewed? and if so can you give us a specific outlook on what the interview process is like.

Thanks

Let us know how how it goes. I have one too on tuesday.

Those reading this, save yourself the time and do not go to the interview!! What a waste of time! As soon as I sat down, they told me about the $2,000 two day seminar I'd have to go to before they put me on a simulator. Simulator isn't paid. They want you to pay $2,000 for some BS seminar (probably their sister company, and how they make most of their money) and then they want you to come in at 7am and stay til 5pm every day for a few months (unpaid!) until you show you can be profitable...THEN they'll put you on a contract and you'll trade 50/50 profit split.

I walked out after 7 minutes. Just got up and left. They have nothing to offer. Only an idiot would take their offer.

This has got to be the worst Prop Shop in Chicago area. I know of many, I have been to some interviews with other shops...this one is the WORST by far! $2000 for a two day seminar lol .... wow! They "have to see if you are serious about trading" ...If I wasn't, why would I be applying for the job and coming in for an interview? Idiots.

PS. I have a 4.0 GPA in Finance and I have successfully traded for over 3 years. And they still wanted me to take that seminar. Only shows they are not interested in hiring traders, but they are only interested in making the quick $2,000!

Also, TradeTheMarkets630 said that the seminar/training is not required, but they suggest it for your own good.

NO. You must take the seminar if you want to be put on a simulator. I asked so many questions just to get everything straightened out. The seminar is $2000 and 95% of it is on market psychology..how you are supposed to cut your losses and let your winners run...haha, we need to pay $2000 for that?

If they really cared about hiring people and about talent, they'd make their own training and give you a DVD...or have their senior traders teach new comers. This is such BS. I am beyond mad that I allowed them to waste an hour of my time.

Looks like TradeTheMarkets630 will pay them the $2,000. How unfortunate. They prey on people like this and they know they'll always find at least 10-20 people per month that will go for it, because of the fake hope and, just like the TradeTheMarkets630, said "The way I look at is, if I want to get into in industry where I can make a substantial amount of money, I better be willing to do what it takes to educate myself.". Haha...wow!

20 people * 2,000 = 40,000$ per month.....or, $480,000 per year in profits on some BS "training" course. She even said it isn't training...it is just an overview of how traders need to think.

TradeTheMarkets630...after you finish your seminar, give us the name of the company that provides this seminar so that we can see if there is a connection between HTG and them. I am 100% sure there is. This should be reported to someone - these guys are thieves! They prey on recent graduates and less intelligent people to make their money! It is like the exponential growth of the unpaid internships recently. Too much greedy people and scammers out there.

I was there recently. They only have about 30 traders (their claim) and the room looked pretty empty and quiet. They seem pretty legit in terms of being an actual company but there is a catch. Unless you can prove that you've been profitable for a year, them make you take the course, which happens to be run by the partner but "they are not affiliated." Upon completion you get an invite to trade on a simulator until you can show them you are profitable. After that you are offered a contract for a 50/50 spit of trading the firm's capital. The desk fee is 3000-4000 which is also split 50/50 and includes all fees, but not regulatory fees (exchange fees?) which are low (?). The deal breaker is that the fee includes use of the snack bar.

This looked like a good deal for an experienced trader that knows how to trade and is in need of capital, but probably a waste of money for a beginner.

Agreed with the above - waste of my time.

It sounds as though most of you think that HTG Capital Partners is a waste of time. Could someone who recently interviewed please tell me a little more about their compensation. I understand there is a 50/50 split, but how often can you withdraw money? Also, how many traders do they currently employ? Are any of you experienced traders? Sounds like a solid deal for someone who know is already profitable. Thanks for any information!

Didn't want to start a new thread for this but would like some advice:

I'm a college senior at a non target (but Big 10) school and recently got recruited by a Chicago prop firm trading commodity futures. They have a 1 week trading period and then a 4 week combine where I go live and get monitored by their managing traders. After that I trade on my own schedule. If I do well they'll move me out to Chicago when I graudate. Doesn't sound like I have to make any sort of risk deposit and they are starting at a 60/40 split. This firm specializes in training college students and then hiring them upon graduation.

Does anyone have any advice as I know nothing about trading futures and have only watched a few training dvds on scalping stocks...

The vast majority of Chicago prop shops are not worth working for and are complete rip-offs. Unless you get a job at GETCO, DRW, Jump, Optiver, Transmarket, and maybe a few others, stay away from chicago prop shops.

What makes you say that? Please explain. Do you have experience trading at Chicago prop firms? Any information is helpful. Thanks.

Yeah please elaborate on what makes a prop shop worth working for? I figured this would be a great oppurtunity before I graduate, because if I crash and burn at least I'm doing it before I graduate and can go the traditional finance route instead.

EDIT I started ranting before I saw jjc's response

I think what jjc is talking about is that a lot of these shops have programs where they train you for like 2 weeks on technicals, give you a little bit of capital to trade with and throw you to the wolves. If you're not making money consistently within like a month, they fire you and move on to the next guy. There's generally either no or a very small salary paid to you.

Without proper training, there's like .00001% chance that you'll be successful trading. At best, you've spent a lot of money moving to Chicago/getting an apt to live in and have nothing to show for it except for a waste of 2 months. At worst, these companies, like HTG as it seems, will charge you to take the 1 week or 2 week or whatever class and you'll be out that money too. Then you'll have to pony up some of your own money to trade with, which you won't get back if you're not successful

On the .00001% chance that you're successful, you'll be paying monthly fees for CME costs, TT costs, etc. Essentially, they're giving you some leverage and that's about it.

At the GETCO/DRW/Optiver type shops, they will take 6 months to a year and teach you everything from options theory to vba, get you some practice on simulators, etc. You won't actually trade during this time, but it will allow you to actually have success in the markets. Because they sink so much time and money into training you, these shops also generally don't fire you as quickly. I'm not saying that you can be losing money for 2 years at these places, but they won't fire you for a bad week.

Thanks for the information!

Do you currently trade at one of the aforementioned trading firms?

The reason I'm asking is because I currently trade at a pretty reputable firm in Chicago, but I'm looking to move to a different one. I've been here for 3+ years -- done decently well for myself, but nothing to write home about. We have a very informal, but extremely thorough training period where we spend about 15-18 months training new traders. This includes everything from night 'clerking' to day trader assistant to having your own account. At that point, you will get a fair amount of capital to trade with, however, our trader splits are way below industry standard. Making $500,000 gross P&L is not uncommon for even average traders, but the split is so poor and we end up with poor annual compensation for pretty solid performance. I'd like to move to a different firm where making $400,000 - $500,000 will translate to $160,000 - $225,000 in my pocket. Anyways, if you know of any solid firms I should be looking at, please let me know! That would be greatly appreciated.

For you other people, there are several very respectable firms out there. Many of them will train you, and do everything they can to make sure you "know what you are doing" before they throw you to the wolves. Still, the success rate of traders is very low (obviously). Training doesn't necessarily translate into success, although it definitely can. DRW and Optiver are two respectable firms. Just do your google research, and you should be able to come up with a fair amount of them. PEAK6, Infinium CM, Transmarket, Wolverine, Jump, Spot, Group One, CTC, WH, Susquehanna, Marquette -- just to name a few.

I have a conference call with some senior traders at a Chicago prop firm sometime this week.. would anyone above with experience mind me sending them a PM to go over the deal with them and get their thoughts? I have no experience trading futures but have been doing as much research as I can, and their training period is 1 week followed by simulated trading.

Obviously if they come back with "You need to spend XXX on our training" I will reject the offer but other than that I really don't know what I'm doing.

joshua d, and to all others interested, i have a copy of online trading academy, the 7 day course...im from chicago so if u guys want to watch it, let me know. PM me.

it will deff help you out, it wont make u profitable (well it can if ur good) but it will deff teach u a lot and u'll have something to talk about during the interview and u'll come off as someone that really knows what hes talking about..

^^^^ thats 100% bullshit.

They used to have an office in London with a lot of traders but they completely slashed the numbers and laid a lot of the traders off. I am unsure that they have any / many left now. You don't fire traders if they are making you lots of money which would explain that they are looking in other ways to earn money. Over here they were known for having long contracts with traders and they weren't afraid to enforce them !

I believe now that they are no longer looking at point and click (hasn't worked) but are trying to get low lying fruit in the Automated Trading. They quote :

"...many work essentially as indentured servants for inflexible institutions, buy-side firms and other prop trading groups. We look forward to their liberation and doing our part in helping them realize the full value of their talents" and "HTG is a proprietary trading group built on a “partnership” philosophy rather than a “subservient” one that other firms thrive on."

Personally the expression the "kettle calling the pot black" jumps to mind. Certainly in the old days they didn't "liberate" traders in the UK.

I am of the belief "that a leopard never changes it's spots" . Just be careful what you sign . Sounds like they have run out of ideas.

I think it's pretty apparent that "TradeTheMarkets630" is someone employed with HTG Capital Partners.

I feel bad for anyone that pays 2k to these guys and even worse to anyone that wastes more than 2 days of their time on this.

Harrison trading which someone said above is now merged and part of htg used to poach traders from my firm quite often. I currently work for a firm on jjc's list. My position is salaried with bonus, benefits, signing bonus, travel expenses etc. If you're new out of school that is the way to go. When someone pays you to trade with their money they have a much bigger investment in you, and you will be more likely to succeed. That said, a handful of traders at my firm have left to go to harrison. Why? Once you know what you're doing, you can sacrifice the salary and the stability for that 50 percent cut.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/28/high-frequency-trading-personal-finance-programmer-pay.html