SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Maverick Trading, a top-rated proprietary trading firm, released its 2015 portfolio returns on January 18, 2016. The broad market returns in 2015 were flat to mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.33%, the S&P 500 negative 0.73% and the NASDAQ Composite up a hand-wringing 5.73%. While Maverick Trading's portfolio returns are released in detail only to member traders, the firm was proud to announce that its portfolio generated 25 to 30 points of alpha. In layman's terms, Maverick Trading outperformed the broad markets by 25 to 30 percentage points.
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Maverick Trading CEO and Head Trader, Robb Reinhold, spoke at length about the firm's 2015 performance. "We started off 2015 with some aggressive sector rotation, so what had been working in 2014, suddenly no longer worked in 2015. We're always focused on risk management, but that sector rotation really highlighted the need for it early on in the year. From March to August, the market just stumbled about in this 90 point range, 2050 to 2140 on the S&P, essentially a 5% range. That was frustrating, but you have to take what the market gives you. You have to trade the market in front of you, not the one you want it to be."
Reinhold continued, "So, going into August, the firm as a whole was largely delta neutral in its portfolios, as were the majority of our traders, equally weighted to the bullish and bearish sides. Then mid-August comes and we fall off a cliff. The bullish trades were taken out and shot, but the great thing is that our bearish trades not only made up for the losses in the bullish positions, but in addition to escaping the August correction, the firm as a whole was still able to make a profit."
Maverick Trading's Head of Coaching, Joe Jensen, spoke well of the firm's traders. "As the last half of August unfolded, I had prepped the firm's risk management staff to get ready for a slew of calls from traders. I'm happy to say we received far fewer calls from traders in distress than we anticipated. Most of the calls we received were traders running portfolio management ideas past us instead of asking for specific advice to pull them out of the flames. Our traders were happy to liquidate their bearish positions for a profit and then mostly go to cash waiting for a bounce."
A look at the positions of the firm's traders for Q4 indicated that risk management was foremost in trader's minds, with many position sizes being cut in half during October and November. As the November market top was confirmed and the markets began channeling downward, the firm's traders resumed their standard position sizes and weighted their portfolios neutral to bearish, ending 2015 and going into 2016 in that stance.
Chief Operating Officer, Jon Frohlich, discussed Maverick Trading's current position and plans for expansion. "The firm's retention is phenomenal and exceeds any other prop firm we know of. Our retention is directly related to the ongoing support we provide our traders. We know that our traders are only going to stay with Maverick if they are making money, so trader support is our top priority."
Frohlich continued, "As far as expansion goes, we are selective in admitting new traders. Our recruiting staff actively seeks the applicants who are serious about trading professionally. We have enough capital at the firm to double the number of traders we have right now, but we're going to continue keeping the bar high and take only the most committed candidates. That's best for everyone in the long-run. One avenue that we're exploring in-depth is reaching out to more prior-military candidates. We've been extremely happy with their performance and think the skill sets they learned in the military suit them to trading."
About Maverick Trading
Founded in 1997, Maverick Trading is a private proprietary trading firm, focused on position and swing trading options in equities and exchange traded funds, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Additional information on Maverick Trading and proprietary trading can be found at www.mavericktrading.com.
To apply to become a trader with Maverick Trading, visit www.mavericktrading.com/apply.php.
Additional information on Maverick Trading's FX Division can be found at www.maverickfx.com
To apply to become a trader with Maverick's FX Division, visit www.maverickfx.com/apply
Media Contact: Jon Frohlich; 801-652-7180; Email
SOURCE Maverick Trading
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