IEX Approval in Spite of Opposition

Before the Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), approval earlier in 2016, IEX founders Brad Katsuyama and Ronan Ryan faced some strong opposition from several incumbent exchanges that started a campaign against awarding approval to make IEX the thirteenth stock exchange in the United States.   Both the NYSE and NASDAQ wrote detailed letters to the SEC, asking for them to not approve the license for IEX, claiming that it is against regulations and questioning the circumstances for the time delay.  

The unique “speed bump” created by installing a 38-mile fiber optic data cable while disallowing HFT’s from installing cables adjacent to their server, creates a level playing field for all.  Other trading venues allow HFTs to front run orders by using predatory algorithms while connected to their servers to gain a speed advantage in the marketplace.   Even a fraction of a second is all it takes for a trader to lose their shares on order to a front-running HFT.   While the concept of fair trading is an easy one to agree with, firms that are making millions in profits unbeknownst to the investor may not be so thrilled about fair and equitable.  

IEX is Gaining Respect and Growing in Size

In June of 2016 the SEC agreed with IEX and granted approval in spite of the opposition. IEX has swiftly gained the attention and the approval of some of the biggest players on Wall Street.

When considering the billions of dollars that flow through all US Stock Exchanges on any given day, it seems very unfair that only a select few are in an advantageous position to skim thousands in profits from the trades originated elsewhere, just because they have installed the finest and best cables.  As traders, investors, regulators and the general public gain awareness, IEX gains respect.  Enjoying an unprecedented growth rate for a new start up stock exchange, IEX is breaking new ground and with great relief to day traders everywhere.  

Great Point Capital, LLC offers buying power, access to Takion software platform with excellent IT support, and the benefits of working with an experienced team.  We are pleased to currently trade approximately 10% of our volume on IEX, the Investors Exchange.  

Benefits of Trading from Your Firm’s Office vs from Home

While the pros of trading from home are obvious, flexibility to be available for a variety of personal reasons, there are many benefits to working from the office of an experienced trading firm.  

One of the biggest benefits of working with your firm’s office would be the outstanding IT support that comes with it.  Every trader must have reliable high speed internet, which is pretty easy to come by these days even in remote locations.  If there happens to be a residential outage, however, you are at the mercy of your local provider.  When trading from the professional environment of your firm, you will enjoy reliable backup systems, and alternative computers available if you have a hardware malfunction.  A smooth-running machine with a reliable battery backup is imperative to complete your trades on time.  

In addition to top-notch IT equipment and support, one of the best advantages of working in-house with your fellow traders is being surrounded by experienced traders.  Each seasoned trader has developed their own systems for observing and getting a feel for the market, which is hands on learning you cannot acquire from a screen.  This mentoring is valuable especially to a new trader.  You learn to develop your own strategies and feel for the market when your experienced colleagues and mentors are within the same office.  

Unless you need the flexibility of trading from home, we feel there are no cons to working from the firm’s office.  Of course, if that flexibility is a matter of necessity or you are experienced enough to have your own proven strategies to trade from home, Great Point Capital is here to assist you.  We employ several traders in-house at our two national locations, and we also employ several seasoned traders working remotely from their home location.  

With Offices in Chicago, IL and Austin, TX, Great Point Capital is poised to assist you and your market strategies, from any location. We offer the Takion Software Platform, utilizing algorithmic smart order routing, advanced code and connection to exchanges, and all major dark pools.   

 In addition to access to Takion, we provide our own proprietary Instant Messaging (IM) Software, giving you the ability to collaborate with the experienced members in your firm.   This gives our remote traders valuable insight from other experienced traders that you would not otherwise have.

Great Point Capital, LLC, offers all of the same benefits to our remotely located traders as we do for those working in-house.   You’ll be trading with bigger buying power, enjoying aggressive payout structures, and join a team of best traders in the business.  With our two national locations, we are positioned to trade with you on site from either one of our modern offices or remotely from any location.  Contact Great Point Capital, LLC today, in either our Chicago Office, or our Austin Office, to learn more about how we can successfully trade together with high performance results.

Pros and Cons of Trading from Home

Many Day Traders choose to work from their own home, rather than in the office of a trading firm, after reviewing the pros and cons. This may be possible once a trader has had enough experience, with a positive proven track record.   Some family circumstances might be dictating the choice, but whatever the reason, there are advantages and benefits to both arrangements.  If you know what they are up front, you can prepare and set yourself up for success.

The greatest advantage of working from home is flexibility.  Flexibility to be available to care for family, sick loved ones, or maybe you are pursuing your own dreams in between some down time.  Just recognize flexibility for what it is, the availability to be there for family when you need to, but it is also an opportunity to slip into comfortable habits that could cause you to miss out on important market activity.   Flexibility must be managed so that distractions do not cut into your working time.  

Working from home requires discipline, and especially in the field of Day Trading.  Home traders must be paying attention and ready to go when the market gets into the swing of first morning trades.  The market moves pretty fast, some days more than others, and you are likely to miss something important if you walk away at an inopportune time.  

This is where being surrounded by colleagues watching the market with you is beneficial.  When in the office and surrounded by experienced traders, you get multiple views of the market which allows you to share opinions with other traders, collaborate and gain confidence in your trades.

What all of this boils down to is that the home Day Trader must possess certain personal characteristics of a strong work ethic and self-motivation in order to trade from home with high performance results.  Focus on your task at hand is imperative for successful trading, multi-tasking personal tasks while trading is not recommended.  

For the experienced Day Trader, working from home is achievable when self-motivation and discipline are applied to a focused, proven strategy.  Success is much more achievable with the backing of a reputable trading firm, such as Great Point Capital.  

Great Point Capital, LLC, offers all of the same benefits to our remotely located traders as we do for those working in-house.   You’ll be trading with bigger buying power, enjoying aggressive payout structures, and join a team of the best traders in the business.  With our two national locations, we are positioned to trade with you on site from either one of our modern offices or remotely from any location.  Contact Great Point Capital, LLC today, in either our Chicago Office, or our Austin Office, to learn more about how we can successfully trade together with high performance results.

IEX Approval in Spite of Opposition

Before the Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), approval earlier in 2016, IEX founders Brad Katsuyama and Ronan Ryan faced some strong opposition from several incumbent exchanges that started a campaign against awarding approval to make IEX the thirteenth stock exchange in the United States.   Both the NYSE and NASDAQ wrote detailed letters to the SEC, asking for them to not approve the license for IEX, claiming that it is against regulations and questioning the circumstances for the time delay.  

The unique “speed bump” created by installing a 38-mile fiber optic data cable while disallowing HFT’s from installing cables adjacent to their server, creates a level playing field for all.  Other trading venues allow HFTs to front run orders by using predatory algorithms while connected to their servers to gain a speed advantage in the marketplace.   Even a fraction of a second is all it takes for a trader to lose their shares on order to a front-running HFT.   While the concept of fair trading is an easy one to agree with, firms that are making millions in profits unbeknownst to the investor may not be so thrilled about fair and equitable.  

IEX is Gaining Respect and Growing in Size

In June of 2016 the SEC agreed with IEX and granted approval in spite of the opposition. IEX has swiftly gained the attention and the approval of some of the biggest players on Wall Street.

When considering the billions of dollars that flow through all US Stock Exchanges on any given day, it seems very unfair that only a select few are in an advantageous position to skim thousands in profits from the trades originated elsewhere, just because they have installed the finest and best cables.  As traders, investors, regulators and the general public gain awareness, IEX gains respect.  Enjoying an unprecedented growth rate for a new start up stock exchange, IEX is breaking new ground and with great relief to day traders everywhere.  

Great Point Capital, LLC offers buying power, access to Takion software platform with excellent IT support, and the benefits of working with an experienced team.  We are pleased to currently trade approximately 10% of our volume on IEX, the Investors Exchange.  

The Basic Necessities of the Home Day Trader

If you are an experienced trader deciding to tackle the market from a home office, there are many technical considerations to successfully trade from home. While the basic required setup is simple; a reliable internet connection, a computer, and the software platform of your choice.  If you decide to work from home, the investment into your IT Equipment will be your responsibility, although when trading with a reputable trading firm you will likely have access to their algorithmic software.  

Your computer purchase must be kept separate from personal use, do not allow family members or children to use for entertainment purposes.  A computer that is used often for streaming or downloading music can get bogged down with malware and pop-ups.  This could pose a huge risk for any client’s sensitive data, or you could risk missing an important trade if your computer slows you down.  

Hardware Requirements

Most new laptops today come with a multi-core 64-bit processor, but you had better check the specifications to be sure.  A 64-bit processor is faster and more efficient than a 32-bit processor, but just as important – a 64-bit computer can run software that is made for either 32 or 64 bit, but a 32-bit processor can only run 32-bit software.   This is an important distinction when evaluating your computer specifications.

Many of the algorithmic trading software platforms now utilize the 64-bit technology, so be sure to check your software manufacturer’s requirements in hardware.

Adequate RAM is a necessity, as this Random Access Memory allows your computer to work more efficiently, thus quicker.  RAM is not costly to purchase, therefore upgrading to either 8GB or 16GB is not too expensive.  With the more powerful software programs out there today, you’ll need adequate RAM to keep up.  

Once you obtain the hardware you need, do not forget about a proper backup system.  Online backup storage is available in several forms, usually from your antivirus software provider.  Having an antivirus program is a given!  It almost goes without saying, but of course anti-virus and malware protection is of the utmost importance!  You’ll want a secure internet connection as well, with a password protected modem.  

Obviously reliable high-speed internet is mandatory, and is much more readily available in most areas than even a few years ago.  Even with a reliable connection, however, you could risk an outage in any residential area.  This is where the backup of a trader’s office could come in handy.  

Having multiple monitors would be a personal preference, many day traders to have more than one screen.  The advantage of multiple screens is the ability to view real time monitoring of several markets at once.  A good video graphics card is necessary to maintain multiple monitors, and even for good visuals on a single monitor.  

Once you have your home office setup with the proper equipment, it’s time to get busy, stay focused, and stay connected!  Don’t let the distractions of a home office get in your way.

Great Point Capital Has Much to Offer to the Experienced Home Day Trader

Great Point Capital, LLC, with offices in both Chicago, IL and Austin, TX, provides benefits to both the in house office trader, and the experienced home day trader.  You’ll have access to our Takion Software Platform, and connection to our own proprietary Instant Messaging software, where you can collaborate with some of the most experienced traders in the industry.  

Great Point Capital, LLC, offers all of the same benefits to our remotely located traders as we do for those working in-house.   You’ll be trading with bigger buying power, enjoying aggressive payout structures, and join a team of the best traders in the business.  With our two national locations, we are positioned to trade with you on site from either one of our modern offices or remotely from any location.  Contact Great Point Capital, LLC today, in either our Chicago Office, or our Austin Office, to learn more about how we can successfully trade together with high performance results.

How IEX Utilizes a Time Delay

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave the approval earlier this year, in June, 2016, for IEX to be approved as the thirteenth stock exchange in the United States.  IEX began trading as an (ATS), an Alternative Trading System in October, 2013, and employs the same time delay technology as an exchange, that it practiced as a dark pool.  IEX offers a transparent market environment to Day Traders, who have historically been at the mercy of HFT’s front-running their orders.

Several HFT firms operating with surreptitious algorithms have the advantage of seeing orders from other traders seconds or even micro-seconds prior to  the SIP (Securities Information Processor) being able to process them.  They accomplish this by installing and utilizing high-speed fiber optic cables directly linked to certain stock exchanges.  This gives those HFT’s the ability to snatch up other buyers’ orders just in time to re-sell  to the original buyer at even a very slightly higher price, thus altering the NBBO (National Best Bid and Offer).  

The founders of IEX, The Investors Exchange, Brad Katsuyama, and Ronan Ryan, developed a system to counteract this all to common practice by installing a 38-mile fiber optic cable for processing their orders.  This creates a 350-microsecond delay in the arrival and departure of orders, which may seem miniscule, it is just enough time to allow traders to complete their orders without fear of a predatory algorithm from an HFT blocking the confirmation.  They also do not allow trading firms to co-locate equipment adjacent to their servers, creating a level playing field for all.

This “speed bump” gives day traders, and even other HFT’s , the peace of mind in knowing they are not falling prey to the exploitive software that is all to prevalent in other exchanges.  Most day traders agree, they can breathe a little easier making trades on IEX.  

Great Point Capital, LLC offers buying power, access to Takion software platform with excellent IT support, and the benefits of working with an experienced team.  We are pleased to currently trade approximately 10% of our volume on IEX, the Investors Exchange.