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required to take before they would be granted a seat on the trading floor. The room has a number of platforms for simulated trading. The fee of $3000 for the class had remained the same as it had been for Block Trading. But the training was far more organized and structured, with a set daily curriculum and a regular staff of teachers. There was also an arrangement for the fee to be refunded in the way of a discount on commissions for the first 600 trades made once the student began actual trading. |
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The one-week "boot camp" was for six hours each day, covering the fundamentals of trading. Students were tested at the end of the week to see if they had learned the basic material. If they didn't pass the test, they could go back and repeat the one-week course free of charge. |
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A second-week advanced "immersion" course followed for those who wished to go further. This class was also for $3000. Both of these classes had to be completed satisfactorily before a trader could take a seat on the trading floor. Yes, $6000 is a steep investment to get a seat on the floor. |
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Another change that new technology made possible was the one-month-old introduction of a "virtual mentoring" service, which was a real-time voice chat over the Web to help traders on the floor and those trading from their homes to be guided through various trades and trading issues they wished to bring up. It was now possible to be connected to the trading room expertise and have immediate dialogue with the teachers and other traders using their proprietary software from your own home. This component included classes that were offered at the lunch hour for those who wished to participate. |
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The advances in the technology that made for voice chat and immediate audio and visual feedback were impressive. The fee for the full service offered, which was for graduates of the week-long "boot camp" only, was $1000. Lesser packages were open to anyone. |
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Finally, my concerns regarding beginners not trading in large share lots had been addressed. Beginners were not allowed to trade more than 100 shares for the first couple of weeks, and then could slowly increase the number of shares as they felt ready. It was good to find out that the new operation was understanding of the need for going slowly. |
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They also seemed more flexible in allowing traders to come in for a couple of hours in the morning and then go to other jobs. They were now talking about and teaching swing and position trading, not just scalping for fractions. |
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