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I guess its a good time to look at what "Substantial Risk of Loss"actually means. Sometimes we dont set out to defraud people or put a stop limit on life. Im sure Wasendorf started out in life as a hard working, loving husband and father.
It will be easy for me to get some funds together and start a new account, I'll be back in front in no time. But here is a man who has traded his life for money.
I guess in the end W.D.Gann (Always use a stop), enjoyed running down the beach naked chanting "Jehova" and Livermore (Never enough) took his own life.
It's a cold reality of the "Want for the love of money" versus "Living Life to the full
My thoughts
Raef".
Platform: CTS/T4 (realtime); RT Investor (DTN-MA); POP.calculator (my own prop front end)
Broker: DDT (Crosslands) / Cunnigham - CTS T4
Trading: E6
Posts: 28 since Jan 2012
Thanks Given: 22
Thanks Received: 21
Thanks for linking to this .... Mike when you have a moment could you comment on what specifically in the report made no sense to you? Would you know anything more about "Atlas Ratings", themselves; is it a company, n-f-p style organization? Have you seen copies of this report in the past? The website provides very few details on what or who they are?
I did not see any date on this report and I guess we only have Zero Hedge's word that Atlas ratings did in fact have PFG ranked as low as they were prior to yesterday. It seems to me to be a very convenient & timely 'leak' for Atlas Ratings whoever they are .... interesting that these ratings have not leaked out on Zero hedge beforehand, especially after PFG was convicted & fined in its involvement with the currency ponzi scheme earlier in the year. A quick search of the Zero Hedge website did not find any mention of PFG's involvement in that "little" scandal.
For an individual investor the 12 month subscription fee is $348, not expensive but not cheap. I believe most, if not all of the information they use is publicly available through the CFTC's website and their monthly report of "Financial Data for FCMs" (the report looks to be published about 2 months after the fact, April 2012 being the most current report on the website ... thanks, for linking to this as well!)
As my broker is listed very low on this list it certainly gives pause for thought, but as I have been very happy with their service and fees I don't want to do anything rash.
In the end, when someone or some organization wants to commit the kind of fraud that has just occurred and in the absence of more regular audits or a more transparent verification program what is the use of any of this information, if only to set false expectations? We do live in interesting times,and I'll keep the faith in my own trading abilities, just wondering if I should be keeping the same faith in my current broker.
My best wishes for a speedy recovery for any of the futures.io (formerly BMT) community who have been effected by these events.
I like what you said and all, but fact is a lot of these guys and families have been living high on the hog for a long time using other peoples money and when the money stops they feel entitled to continue living high on the hog instead of suffering with the rest of us , I have no compassion for him or his family, he's a thief and a liar and a coward , and there will be many more who are exposed over the coming months because the money isn't there anymore... watch your back
And not to go off topic but governments will be next on the list of exposure as well... we really are screwed
JMO
"Successful trading is one long journey, not a destination" Peter Borish Former Head of Research for Paul Tudor Jones speaking on conversations with John F. Carter
Broker: Advantage, Trading Technologies, OptionsCity, IQ Feed
Trading: CL, NG
Posts: 1,038 since Jul 2010
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It would be interesting to see what the previous month's rankings were or even a gradual progression of the rankings. I have to wonder how they arrive with these figures as well. I would assume from the CFTC but maybe I over looked that. I think some companies can drop in rank because of a one off regulatory event that may not be as bad as it appears.
This ratings agency is brand new... Who are they? What are their qualifications, etc? I went to their website and was not able to find anything. Nor do they provide a clear ratings legend.
The futures industry is still in the wild west of the financial world. Some important things to remember here are:
- First and foremost, only keep enough money to conduct your day-to-day trading while having enough capital to assume the risk you're taking on.
- Be proactive about taking your profits out of your trading account on a normal basis. This isn't a savings account, you make no interest on idle cash. Once you have "enough" saved from your trades to cover whatever plus taxes, look to increase the account as you plan to increase size.
- Stay on top of your broker(s). Know where they hold their seg funds, what is their overall business structure, how do they rank among other brokers? Just because your broker appeared on this ratings list, what was the reason for their ranking?
- Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Have relationships with several brokers. If one of them were to be involved with a fiasco like this, have a plan B, C, etc. Again, these accounts should only be funded enough to allow you to conduct your daily business.
I think many are panicking that their brokers are going to be next. Just do your best to be informed of what's going on and follow what I've said here. Also, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Have relationships with several brokers.
I believe you're right. If they don't have any money then it might be a waste of time. If they sold all their assets, then maybe we would get something back, but that could take years.
Even if they "own" it... unless they paid cash .... the bank owns it ... and they are a secured creditor...
Even if there is something of value that can be liquidated ... in a class action lawsuit...not much will be left after the lawyers get their cut... no offense to any lawyers on the board... just speaking from personal experience...
I'm just a simple man trading a simple plan.
My daddy always said, "Every day above ground is a good day!"