I'm not a trading manager but I can say with a lot of honesty that every time I have seen a trader with a solid strategy, others that see it can and will attempt to mimmick it. That doesn't mean they will be successful as they may be unable to implement the strategy both in the market and psychologically. From your perspective, the trading manager will not be able to see the code of any software you are running your machine locally nor will they be able to have access to your triggers for API calls. They simply have managing platforms. The exception is if the firm owns the platform as well. Keep in mind the software provider can see your trades as well. So can the government. Some firms have been more interested in taking the opposite side of the trades of losing traders because there is less risk involved with betting against consistent losers. Oliver Velez ran this back in the day apparently.
BIDU it's a shame that no trader manager is stepping up to talk. The silence says a lot also. I guess they are all busy replying to other threats that say "I'm looking for a prop firm!"
I use to be in management at one of the large international prop firms. I can tell you 100% that if they have a trader who is profitable they have a team of Finical engineers that try to figure out the strategy and rebuild in their black box. I also know certain managers get access to other trading floors risk management so they can try to learn strategies.
I wonder if that is true? Is the SEC on the lookout for people that are doing too well? Would a broker report on an account that was doing way too good for their comfort or something?
Regulations, taxes, fines, etc. The days of small-time investors building and growing something from a small startup are long gone. We live in an era where we have different classes of people who are / are not subject to laws. For example, not one person from one of the large banks went to jail for the mortgage crisis, despite stealing TRILLIONS; However, you can be sure that no matter what you are doing, there is some rule or law with a loose definition that you are breaking. This is all done purposely to protect certain interests. Look up "SEC Revolving Door" on Google to understand more of why the situation is the way it is today.
I kind of understand what you are saying there but nonetheless, if I implement the HG and I'm suddenly making a fortune with IB, is the SEC going to know it?