Started in the old bond room,the South room,a BREAK room.
Talk about claustrophobic!Low ceilings,clouds of smoke,no aisles,no windows or ventilation.Was immediately enthralled and spent 30+ years there,then the CME in T-Bills then Euros.
Knew old man McGuire and his sons,as well as many of the Tbill and Euro brokers.JMAR,MAP,ROC,ROXY,THOP,
PGM,PJM,ZEE,CRED,NP,a hundred others.Not to mention all the locals,of which I became from 1986-2008.
I was on the bond floor 85-88.The energy in that giant room was electric every single day.My favorite memory was a broker( DG )getting hit with a big fine for not wearing a tie, he came back in the next day with a very colorful fish tie which has been marinated overnight in a case of mackerel.I smelled him coming at 30 feet.
20 years after your first visit I started clerking in the soybean pits. Learned from stories that the entrega was mild compared to what you shared, but my reaction was similar. Can’t wait for part 2.
Markets evolved and change a great deal. I'd love to hear any stories you'd like to share from your time down there. How you got there, where you ended up...
Finished undergrad and went to work for a multi-family office. Found myself unemployed after the '08 crash. Started grad school at DePaul and met some traders looking for a clerk. They were desperate to compete with the screens, but we couldn't figure it out from the pits. That's how I learned about bitcoin. The 99% movement would protest outside, but the real revolution was just beginning. Today I'm Co-Founder of a startup connecting everyday investors to decentralized finance protocols. Appreciate your asking.
I was a clerk in the bill pit at the cme. I assembled my paper order deck sequentially by price on both sides of the range. My boss was late, it was a 1st friday or non farm day. Bills always had a huge daily range compared to today’s standard. The market was expected to substantially open lower on a positive jobs report (we didn’t open before the 7:30 numbers back then)
It’s 1 min to open and my boss (order filler) is still it on the floor. Can’t reach him by land line. I plead with a few of the other order fillers to take my deck for execution on the open. One accepts the responsibility and attempt to hand him the deck but it gets knocked out of my hand and the orders flutter like snow to the bottom of the pit. It ended up as a 20k loss to honor all the fills based on time stamps.
The guys that ran the plaza desk (Solomon brothers) were impressed with me and I started to get some order flow. We already had Merrill Lynch arb biz and I was starting to get some 980 and conti flow. I was rewarded with a rental IMM. I funded a small trading account by begging and borrowing from family. I was clerking and learning to trade and filling orders. Three months later we had the crash of 87. I Oversold the open on a market order and made 46k as I watched the sp crash.
I ended up as a local
In the 3rd4th euros for 15 years before low vol and tick changes killed the market.
Then I went into mortgage backed securities and sub prime securitization with GE but that’s another story! Cheers
We share some history. My first job in the Eurodollar pit was building and holding the deck for the TED spread. Old Man McGuire did the TBills for us and a rotating group for brokers handled the Eurodollar side. This was with Eurospread Brokers. JFN and PRK's group.
The energy levels on the trading floor were beyond description! It was the greatest game on the planet and the top traders orchestrated the pits! I wish the younger generations could have experienced a day like 10/19/87 in was off the charts! 📉BAW 690
I saw the "87 crash from an economics classroom. I was in a macro econ class that morning and a few other econ professors came in to speak with our prof. Turns out they had an investment club and were trying to figure out what to do. After huddling, they addressed the class about what was going on in the markets. Their investment decision? Hold. Sure they were taking heat but they were not selling. If fact, they bought more shares that day. The leader of the group was my favorite professor. Dr. Archie Nichols. He was a University of Chicago graduate and PhD. Great guy.
I was a clerk on the NYMEX floor during the '87 crash. Worked for some locals, spitting distance from the COMEX pits. So much has changed. Lots remains the same.
Started in the old bond room,the South room,a BREAK room.
Talk about claustrophobic!Low ceilings,clouds of smoke,no aisles,no windows or ventilation.Was immediately enthralled and spent 30+ years there,then the CME in T-Bills then Euros.
Knew old man McGuire and his sons,as well as many of the Tbill and Euro brokers.JMAR,MAP,ROC,ROXY,THOP,
PGM,PJM,ZEE,CRED,NP,a hundred others.Not to mention all the locals,of which I became from 1986-2008.
ADR
I miss it every single day.
Glad to see you appreciate the flashback, Dean.
I was on the bond floor 85-88.The energy in that giant room was electric every single day.My favorite memory was a broker( DG )getting hit with a big fine for not wearing a tie, he came back in the next day with a very colorful fish tie which has been marinated overnight in a case of mackerel.I smelled him coming at 30 feet.
Ha! The level is disgust that was generated down there is mind-numbing.
20 years after your first visit I started clerking in the soybean pits. Learned from stories that the entrega was mild compared to what you shared, but my reaction was similar. Can’t wait for part 2.
Markets evolved and change a great deal. I'd love to hear any stories you'd like to share from your time down there. How you got there, where you ended up...
Finished undergrad and went to work for a multi-family office. Found myself unemployed after the '08 crash. Started grad school at DePaul and met some traders looking for a clerk. They were desperate to compete with the screens, but we couldn't figure it out from the pits. That's how I learned about bitcoin. The 99% movement would protest outside, but the real revolution was just beginning. Today I'm Co-Founder of a startup connecting everyday investors to decentralized finance protocols. Appreciate your asking.
Wow! That's a great adventure you've been on. Best of luck with your startup.
Thanks, Patrick. Best to you as well!
I was a clerk in the bill pit at the cme. I assembled my paper order deck sequentially by price on both sides of the range. My boss was late, it was a 1st friday or non farm day. Bills always had a huge daily range compared to today’s standard. The market was expected to substantially open lower on a positive jobs report (we didn’t open before the 7:30 numbers back then)
It’s 1 min to open and my boss (order filler) is still it on the floor. Can’t reach him by land line. I plead with a few of the other order fillers to take my deck for execution on the open. One accepts the responsibility and attempt to hand him the deck but it gets knocked out of my hand and the orders flutter like snow to the bottom of the pit. It ended up as a 20k loss to honor all the fills based on time stamps.
The guys that ran the plaza desk (Solomon brothers) were impressed with me and I started to get some order flow. We already had Merrill Lynch arb biz and I was starting to get some 980 and conti flow. I was rewarded with a rental IMM. I funded a small trading account by begging and borrowing from family. I was clerking and learning to trade and filling orders. Three months later we had the crash of 87. I Oversold the open on a market order and made 46k as I watched the sp crash.
I ended up as a local
In the 3rd4th euros for 15 years before low vol and tick changes killed the market.
Then I went into mortgage backed securities and sub prime securitization with GE but that’s another story! Cheers
We share some history. My first job in the Eurodollar pit was building and holding the deck for the TED spread. Old Man McGuire did the TBills for us and a rotating group for brokers handled the Eurodollar side. This was with Eurospread Brokers. JFN and PRK's group.
My badge was DCP. I’m sure I hit you with a shark fin at some point! Cheers
I'd take a shark fin over a shoe gum bomb any day. :)
The energy levels on the trading floor were beyond description! It was the greatest game on the planet and the top traders orchestrated the pits! I wish the younger generations could have experienced a day like 10/19/87 in was off the charts! 📉BAW 690
I saw the "87 crash from an economics classroom. I was in a macro econ class that morning and a few other econ professors came in to speak with our prof. Turns out they had an investment club and were trying to figure out what to do. After huddling, they addressed the class about what was going on in the markets. Their investment decision? Hold. Sure they were taking heat but they were not selling. If fact, they bought more shares that day. The leader of the group was my favorite professor. Dr. Archie Nichols. He was a University of Chicago graduate and PhD. Great guy.
Bruce, you can never replace that. GIR 690
I was a clerk on the NYMEX floor during the '87 crash. Worked for some locals, spitting distance from the COMEX pits. So much has changed. Lots remains the same.
Good stuff! I remember my first time in financials fondly.
I'd love to hear about it. Tell me about day 1.