Pros
FF is the clearly the leading prop. trading firm in India. The managers are good and culture is fine (not great or much exciting though). Performance Bonus (read: your cut in your trimester's net profit) is great! (if you manage to achieve any, that is).
Thrilling work, zero politics, zero corporate crap... Simply perform or perish!
Had a memorable one-of-a-kind experience while being part of the dynamic futures trading industry here. I'm now moving out of this domain, after nearly 2 years at Gurgaon branch.
I'll start by CLEARING SOME AIR about FF and Trading (my honest individual review)... since it saddens me to see that preconceived notions based on old times are still doing the rounds.
The review of FF firing employees indiscriminately is sadly omnipresent!!... But it is FALSE in today's times! Yes, attrition is high. But it's not exactly FF that fires you. (I'll explain)
Also, reviews of managers being rude and tyrannical aren't all true! (Currently, all Ggn managers are very amiable. Don't know precisely about the Hyd branch though; the one who's managers are infamous in reviews for strictness)
See... Every firm undergoes evolution and has it's phases. Maybe FF too had been (over-)strict with employees in the past and may've had different thought process but now it's a healthy corporate culture here.
As for high attrition... FF DOESN'T FIRE YOU; THE TRADING CAREER DOES!!
Trading is a very competitive, dynamic and demanding career where if you aren't going forward, you're simply going backward. There's no grey area where you can slog n survive.
Markets (and not the firm) eventually weed you out if you don't have your basics very clear, or aren't a quick learner or aren't susceptible to rapid changes in markets. Rampant algos in almost all global markets have made them very mature, so margin of error has reduced significantly (esp. if you're a small-scale speculator, as risk:reward ratios are skewing)
Plus, I haven't seen anybody at FF Ggn being fired out of nowhere! Almost all exits are mutual. YOU ALWAYS KNOW that it isn't working out. You're the first one to know!!
Mostly, the trader would've already given up and relying solely on hope if poor phase is prolonged. (sporty spirit doesn't let go!)
Rather, FF managers back you till as long as they see the spark in u and it's financially viable for the firm. Lot of guys of my batch (me included) who weren't thriving, were still being backed bcoz managers felt we had it in us and could turn the tide soon!
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Though I'm not too experienced enough a trader, I'd like to give some tips from personal perspective :
** Firstly, read well about what trading in global markets is, before jumping in the domain seeing only the insane amount of money.
** Research about what %age of traders actually make that 8-digit money. You'll see how skewed the success ratio is. They say it's <0.05 !!
** Consult how steep the turning-the-tide (a.k.a learning) curve usually is (esp. for your product).
If you're entering this career, don't think short term. You won't get easy or quick money. A no. of persistent years need to be invested.
** If you aren't ready for ^this, try exiting as soon as possible. Coz if you're unsure, you might get stuck in the hope loop n that's the worst part of this career - Not being able to quit. (just like in sports or Upsc!)
You'll end up wasting precious career-building years or running out of options if you're very late in deciding.
** If you want to try out this job once in your lifetime, right out of bachelors college is best time for that, as you have minm. liabilities.
Gauge and decide in a couple of years, whether you see yourself making money in long run. But don't expect $1mn in just an internship or in a few months. That's foolish!
** In your initial years, ALWAYS have a BACKUP handy. Keep working at something else alongside trading in office. As exit options are scarce.
Bcoz the moment you're out of this industry, you need good technical skills to enter anywhere else and trading knowledge is not one of them. (Not a relevant work ex for other careers)
So maybe you learn any tech industry skills (like coding) Or build financial knowledge (trading learning remains limited to your product if you don't have a deep fin interest) Or prep for higher edu, Or work on networking (most important corporate survival tool), etc.
But DO NOT remain in a STATE OF SLUMBER!!
The risk:reward ratio of this career is high. You come here dazzled by the rewards.
Be always prepared for the risk side too!
Cons
- A risky career! Plan it well, after discussing with apt people. And keep reviewing the plan every trimester.
- Exit options are scarce and not very good.
If you aren't doing great, do have a backup. Need not be a job. Can be any skill, courses, edu prep, etc.
Just don't kill idle time (at home), merely hoping to succeed as a trader! Else you'll struggle badly after leaving.
- HRs definitely need to bring more vitality in the company's atmosphere lately.
- Zero salary growth if not thriving at trading. Your fixed salary might be same as your joining salary even in 3rd-4th yr. As the real earning in trading is solely performance bonus (your cut).
- Don't know why some managers are so fussy in approving leaves, despite ours not being a team job!! We literally had to bargain at times.
- Trading is after all a loner's job. There might be times when you're busy trading sitting alone, not having teammates for fun.
