Yes, you would…
Hi @flamingoproxy, thanks for the comment.
I haven’t been here for a few months but I think you have also been away? It is good to see you here? 
It is difficult to remain independent without sounding like an “interested and biased” party! 
I appreciate seeing all sides concerning issues on the forum - which is its purpose afterall! 
I have looked into prop trading myself and the only reason I haven’t done so yet is that I see no advantage in sharing my profits. I have no ridiculous ambitions of earning those proverbial “millions” and I have sufficient equity in my account to run the risks that I am comfortabe with. I earn what I am happy with.
But there is one angle to prop trading that does interest me a lot. And that is the community that exists there. There is no BS, no trolls, and no pretending. You certainly cannot appear on their own sites and pretend to be a live trader!!! 
there is just own honesty and shared experiences and advice and help along the way. I am kind of drawn towards that environment (and this thread probably suggests why! )
Another reason why I have been looking into them for a few months is that trading is more than just making money. I am sure many traders thrive on the many challenges it presents. I am thinking the same.
The main drawback for me is that it is so open and public. I am a very private trader and share little. But this would not be possible with a prop account which is being monitored and evaluated as I go. But I am still pondering. I have selected the firm I would go with.
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Not that I want to trade through one of these pay to play prop firms, but I am considering paying their minimal fee just so that I can be granted access into their discord or other chat rooms so that I can get a better picture of the person or person’s type that is in them.
That’s a great idea.
And I’m also considering looking up the physical address of ftmo, which I don’t think they make public, but if I were to crack that address and then check which corporations are registered at that address and then check if there are any lawsuits from that corporation either from or towards that corporation and then to call their tax authority and get a copy of their tax bill for the last year or two years or 3 years.
If I do that I should have a pretty clear picture if they’re paying money to traders or not.
I am finished here.
wrong again
they make it public and invite visitors, too
I already knew that, I was baiting you.
I looked at the ftmo contact page and it says that visitors should call ahead so they can meet me at the office…
…which means that they dont work out of that office…
I wonder if it is an “executive suite” month to month desk rental.
Before too long, I will have a translator hired to grill the other tenants in that building.
Yes, I enjoy this.
I must say, I’m enjoying the arguments from both sides here. And the fact that this thread hasn’t devolved into a bunch of insults and name calling does say something about its participants.
About this, my opinion is that I do believe there are a lot more people on this forum who have tried these prop firms and more than likely, failed. Because we all know how much people like to post about their failings on public forums (sarcasm).
I have no proof of this, it is just my assumption.
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Experience tells me that losers dont typically announce their losses, but instead they lick their wounds and move forward.
But winners are another situation… they would be prancing around like drunken Cinderellas showing their sports cars, etc… I know that I would.
If you were winning big, you would all of a sudden acquire things, like a vacation house or that boat or whatever…
Dontcha know it.
Most people dont win big and then keep it on the cool like Warren buffet.
Out of thousands of winners, surely we would have at least five or ten showing their bling off here at babypips.
But I dont see ANY bling at all.
Ffs, maverickfx has been running that scam for a decade or more.
No bling at all, just fluffy testimonials by paid actors.
I think that is all an extremely good idea (with one exception)
It has been said many times here and indeed elsewhere that traders should always do their homework - and what you suggest is right on the nail! Excellent!
The one exception I mentioned is that I hope that you are NOT finished here. If you carry out such a thorough investigation then I truly hope you will report back on what you find whether it is good news or bad or a bit of both - I mean this sincerely, it is what a good forum is for…
I usually try to approach something with an open mind but I have to be honest that I smell scam written all over this thing…
The truth is if I were to go into that discord and I were to just sit there and lurk because I think I would have a month to kill right okay but even then that doesn’t prove anything.
If it’s not a BS scam, why don’t the ftml companies the Maverick FX companies the myforex funds why don’t they have their banking records and their tax records audited and certified by competence law firms and accounting firms and make those documents public to show that they are actually paying traders like they say they do.
Geez, if I could look at their tax records that showed that they paid out $6 million in profits to various traders I sure the heck would not be sitting here doing this b******* due diligence.
If that were the case I would be singing songs of praise to them but I still wouldn’t want to be a part of it because I think they’re trading restrictions are just ridiculous but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be a good opportunity I’m just saying I wouldn’t want to go that route but I’m saying right now my gut feeling and I’ve been around a lot of nonsense in this world my gut feeling is that it’s nonsense and that it’s paid actors.
They could resolve all of this by showing tax records by showing banking records that show that they paid out these moneys to traders.
If I take the time to research their office location and I find out it’s nothing more than a $75 per month desk rental, let’s just say that’s not going to be anything in their favor.
A typical executive suite rental actually in many cases allows someone to rent a fully furnished office for a day or for several hours which might explain why they say on their web page to call ahead so that they can arrange for that office to be open they can go in and put a few things on the desk and look like they actually work there that’s what I’m expecting to find I hate to say it.
of course you did; of course you did
that’s why you stated the opposite
i’m starting to follow your sense of “logic,” now
it means that to you
to others, who have visited, met some of the staff and published photos of them (and the offices there) on their blogs and in forums, it apparently means the opposite
but of course you “already knew that”
you were just baiting me
all of them, paid actors? wow, that would keep the acting profession busy (and destroy the reputation of any one actor caught/identified, that way)?
but of course you’d already thought that through
you were just baiting me
there is that, I suppose
i believe that, too
the published overall success-rates i’ve seen, some of them independently and reputably audited, have varied between 8% (FTMO) and 20% (TopStep) of the participants
no surprise there, given that there are almost NO entry-barriers at all and that when it comes to trading (just as with driving, and making love?) most people have an inflated impression of their own skills and abilities
as I always mention, when discussing this, i believe (but can’t prove) that most of these funding companies make most of their profits from the fees of people failing, and that some also regularly and reliably pay out sometimes substantial amounts to successful traders (my son-in-law was paid just over $3,800 by FTMO, for February)
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Just FYI, when I’m conducting due diligence and somebody Badgers me telling me I’m foolish that I don’t know what I’m talking about and then if I would just do my research I would find out how legit they are that only makes me more suspicious.
It would be so easy to settle this and if ftmo and Maverick FX and my forex funds are truly legitimate providers of funded accounts for traders they could so easily satisfy these requests for due diligence and they would look like superstars.
I mean heck if ftmo was really rolling big dollars, they would have their own boat like this for the company and for their Superstar traders but they don’t.
Off topic a bit, I had a telephone interview with Miss Federica from audacity capital wow.
If she wasn’t working at some funding company she’d be a model in a heartbeat and she has this cute little French accent I think the interview could have lasted all day and I wouldn’t have cared.
you also, and thank you!
i was away for a long time
almost all my former friends here left for reasons very well aired at the time
there is that, yes
there’s also - for the small minority with a real, reliable, proven edge - the facility to trade pretty large amounts without risking any of their own capital at all, and I can certainly see the attraction of that
i did pretty exhausting and overwhelming due diligence on over 35 of them, late last year, before my son-in-law tried one
more than half of them i crossed off the list of possible ones for him within the first 3 minutes, but that still left a huge amount of work to do
to be honest, there are probably only 5 of them i’d touch with a barge pole (but i’m well satisfied that those 5 are honest and reliable)
all the rest I wouldn’t even use with silverf466’s money
Now see now that’s what makes you look like an absolute shill for a scam…
I’m not your kid, so try to keep it on the professional level.
Scammers always resort to insults because they have a scammers mentality and they just simply don’t know anything else.
Do you realize I can watch you edit your comment live where you wrote a very angry message and then changed it right? 
Also do you imply @flamingoproxy is a scammer because he insulted you? And if yes what is he scamming exactly?
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Okay so what’s your point? Yes I responded a little bit angry but do you notice that I changed that now do you get some kind of jollies out of pointing out what my original message said?
Try to remain professional.
When I’m finished I will have the answers that I want and that much I can promise you.
When someone is conducting due diligence and that person does not want to be investigated, they constantly tried to change the subject they try to take the focus off of them and put it on to you.
I’m a well educated counselor and I understand that the counseling client does the same thing he tries to take the focus off of him and put it on to someone else. He tries to put the blame on someone else he tries to take the spotlight off of himself and put it on someone else.
All that you will accomplish by doing this is making people look at you more closely.
i also noticed that he addressed me as “you little moron”
but he managed to edit his post (to say “Scammers always resort to insults” instead, ironically enough!!) within the first minute, so the edit didn’t show
my comment about silverf466’s money was intended as a joke, but i apologise anyway, if it gave offense
that was my fault - i should have put a laughing smiley after it, to clarify
anyway, he can think i’m a shill (and for 5 different, competing companies, none of which i even named!?!?) if he really wants to
thanks for your post, BBFx27, but don’t worry: this forum’s members are not stupid and they can see for themselves and doubtless distinguish between someone who actually knows a little bit about the subject and someone speaking in sweeping generalisations and with a voice of prejudice
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Bernie Madoff operated a 50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
When people would question his company he would always tell them how stupid they were he would tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about he would tell them they don’t understand the trading industry.
Just like flamingo is doing.
When you watch this video, try to understand that you are watching a man who stole $50 billion dollars from investors and he sits there and acts like he is the master of the trading universe he tells people that they don’t understand how the markets really work.
If somebody would have just asked him a very direct question which would have been where is the money Bernie we want to see all of the money, his little game would have been up a long time ago.
This is what I’m doing about ftmo right now.
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