I started my trading career writing programs in C++ to correlate stocks to the SPY. I quickly learned how important making the spread was in any trading. My first job was doing profitability analysis for one of the top investment banks in the country. One of my first lessons was take the product volume and the average spread and that is what you budget profitability as. Now what does that tell you? Also consider what a top bank CEO , Lloyd Blankfein, once said - We are in the customer support business, not the guess what happens next business. What does that tell you?
First question: Nothing. It’s irrelevant. Second question: that Goldman Sachs makes markets for customers and helps them facilitate their risk management. Again, irrelevant.
does it matter what my living is? One man’s good standard of living is another man’s level of poverty. that’s not the criteria you should be judging traders by.
How about this - you trade the way you want and I will trade the way i want. Just remember as a daytrader you aren't paying in SS and you likely have no pension, so you had better be making a lot in your trading career for your retirement. Making a few thousand here and there won't do i. As Buffet says "If you don't have a way to make money while you are sleeping you will work till you die".
You had better be concentrating on profitability or you will be in for some tough times in the future economy.
I’m not a day trader. Trade however you want. But stat arb is not market making and merger arb is not stat arb and merger arb is not market making unless you are making markets in the spreads (what I did for the best merger arb desk on the street). I have a good understanding of what a trading career looks like on the sell side, buy side, as an independent, and as a hobbyist.
This thread was aimed at serious full time traders and what they thought about TOS. I am not sure why bloggers and part time hobbyists are even responding.