Amstel Securities shuts down option brokerage
The current market panic is offering great potential for traders. Earnings estimates for market makers can be doubled easily for the year. The other side of the trading eco system, the voice brokerage firms – have a lot more difficulty earning a living. During this period of ultra high volatility it’s difficult to arrange large trades, and mistakes will cost you, dearly.
We do have a casualty of the latest drop : Amstel Securities decided to shut down their option brokerage shop in Amsterdam and all six option brokers subsequently lost their job. A foreign client in European stock brokerage refused to settle a trade, a broker’s nightmare and terrible expensive to liquidate in this market. Word is the client committed fraud with the account opening procedure and at least three other (foreign) brokers have been victimized. The experienced brokers losing their job have a good reputation in the market, and it’s a pity their operation is axed in order to cut the fixed costs at Amstel Securities.
It’s easy to connect the dots between the downfall of Michel Visser’s hedge fund and the closure of European stock and option brokerage – but this seems to be completely unrelated with this story. Besides, the financial watchdogs have confirmed Amstel as well as Winterflood was in good faith in doing the trades in 2007for Visser’s hedge fund Mercurius.
Amstel Securities is way bigger than brokering European option and stock trades. Brokering in the European bond market isn’t affected and the company is doing well in Asia, with a headcount of over a hundred in three offices in Jakarta, Manilla and Singapore. Meanwhile, in small town Amsterdam only three serious brokers are left over (Aespen, AFS, IWB), of which Aespen has already downsized early this year. It’s a serious discussion wether or not small brokers can survive without a powerful client base such as their larger peers in London.
‘The experienced brokers losing their job have a good reputation in the market, and it’s a pity their operation is axed in order to cut the fixed costs at Amstel Securities.’
This is capitalism .. i am sick and tired of hearing all this pity bs .. if they are good, they’ll land another position, otherwise time to get creative … its not free lunch out there and they are not first or last victims of the crisis ..
‘It’s a serious discussion wether or not small brokers can survive without a powerful client base such as their larger peers in London.’
They should downsize like Aespen, given the disaster coming from periphery’s ejection from euro-zone and sovereign bankruptcy .. hopefully the EU core wouldnt unleash the whole disaster in one go and keep ECB/ESFS going just the way americans did with aig/fanny/fredie .. its unwise to think markets can recover before the PIIGS are sorted in coming year or two ..
The Amstel Derivatives Team was showing growth the last 12 months in a weakening derivatives market So we will be back in some kind of a setting. It`s a shame that in these modern times big institutions still need to settle stocktrades on a T + 3 days basis. While Futures and Options are settled real time Brokers need to run a 3 day risk on their stock positions wich is totally not needed. Market participants should work harder to settle shares on the same day they are traded. We hope to be back soon and would like to thank all Clients (except for 1 !!) for their loyalty and trust in Amstel Securities.
who’s the bad apple that won’t settle?
”’Market participants should work harder to settle shares on the same day they are traded. ‘
Sorry there are other some more priority things going on then to make your risk free money even more risk free ..
Please provide the name(s) of the defaulting counterparty and or the persons behind it.
Wipe out all those brokers. I remember this one broker who used to brag about how risk-free their line of business is and that making money was easier than breath. It was not one of the Amstel guys but I do not have any pity for them. Furthermore, if their line of business were still a profitabel segement, it would not have been shut down.
Was Neonet hurt by the same counterparty?
http://www.neonet.com/Pressroom/Press-Releases/Anticipated-client-loss-for-Neonet-/
As a broker at one of the big firms I would be delighted if all the small brokers went under, as well as 75% of the market makers as they provide no cvalue, terrible prices and never honour their prices
i always complain about our compliance taking ages to accept clients, not only for them to speed up but also cause you dont want any delays in these processes to avoid a bad start. But guess this is one of the examples of why their job can be useful…
what, orc has a broker arm, what for ?
i,m sure the brokers are of good faith and capable but looking at the big picture here its a small price to be paid, in these markets only the fittest will survive and in the end there will be only trustworthy and solid marketparticipants
are capital markets still functioning after the demise of amstel securities? i would’ve thought the entire financial system would come grinding to a halt but i guess i was wrong.
‘i,m sure the brokers are of good faith and capable but looking at the big picture here its a small price to be paid, in these markets only the fittest will survive and in the end there will be only trustworthy and solid marketparticipants’
go watch real economy and markets, they are dying back in recession, stop worrying about stupid market participants if there be no market to participate in ..
Issue with publication of indicative EDSP for AEX Index Daily Option – Under Investigation
Muhaha… again!
quick somebody send them bbg screenshots, and an excel file with all the calculations done, they can get it right, with some help ofcourse ..
Just give them the exp. level: 280.49
They are learning, and just send an update by mail:
The ESDP for the AEX Index Daily Option for Monday 22 August 2011 has been determined at: 280.50
The relevant tick values were as follows:
.
.
.
The earlier issue was the result of an incorrect time-stamp which has since been resolved.
Pretty well informed there Jack, well done again. Thanks for the support.
But….. WHO IS THE CLIENT WHO COMMITTED FRAUD???? There must be somebody out there who knows??? What exactly happened?
Even if you would know, you would be mad to post it here…
‘Pretty well informed there Jack, well done again. Thanks for the support’
Thats what the blog is for, get the word out, get discussion started, good stuff,
On the street I heard it was -censored by Jack-.
Those guys have always been nasty and now they have caused a broker to go down. They should be scrutinized by the regulator.
http://www.hegnar.no/bors/article644014.ece
Han skal ha handlet for milliarder hver dagDet fryktes at 26 år gammel aksje-Rambo hittil kan ha tapt så mye som 200 millioner kroner. Tapene kan være enorme for 30-40 meglerhus.Artikkel av: Redaksjonen ( HegnarOnline – 22.8.11 06:58)
Del på: Facebook Twitter Tips en venn Skriv ut Relaterte artiklerAksje-Rambo gikk amok på børsen Den 26 år gamle aksjeinvestoren Christian Fredrik Aarnes har i sommer gått bananas med lånte penger. Finansavisen skriver mandag at markedsaktører antyder at Aarnes i beste fall hittil kan ha tapt mellom 100 og 200 millioner kroner.
Handelen til Aarnes skal ifølge avisen ha blitt mulig ved at Aarnes utnyttet en svakhet i IT-systemene. Gjennom dette har hans private investeringsselskap RS Capital, med kapital på 1,1 millioner kroner, kunnet fremstå som en storbank med ubegrenset egenkapital på linje med Deutche Bank.
Aarnes’ strategi skal ifølge Finansavisen ha vært å kjøpe stor på begynnelsen av dagen, og så selge seg ned mot slutten av dagen. Og handelen kan fortsette for 26-åringen. Ifølge avisen skal det nemlig kun være noen av meglerhusene som hittil har klart å avslutte kundeforholdet.
google translate of the article:
The 26-year-old shares the investor Christian Fredrik Aarnes has this summer gone bananas with borrowed money. The financial newspaper writes Monday that market participants suggest that Aarnes at best so far may have lost between 100 and 200 million.
The trade to Aarnes According to the newspaper have been possible at that Aarnes exploited a weakness in IT systems. Through this, his private investment company ISA Capital, with assets of 1.1 million, could emerge as a major bank with unlimited earnings in line with Deutsche Bank.
Aarnes’ strategy, according to financial newspaper have been buying big in the early days, and then sell down at the end of the day. And the trade to continue for 26-year-old. According to the newspaper will be in fact just be some of the brokerages that have so far failed to end the relationship.
Hi Jack,
what is that all about “On the street I heard it was -censored by Jack-. “?
Afraid of being sued for libel?
Hi Ralf,
what a miracle that the ration of your self-pity comment jumped from 0-5 to 18-8….
@6:01
They are just likable guys – and everybody knows them.
I just can’t wait for some people commenting here to lose their job, just for them to realize that being fired is actually quite different than being good at your job.
I can think of whole teams that were fired in 2008 which didn’t deserve it, while some leaches remained on board because they knew who to ‘cc when sending emails around.
This isn’t capitalism in action, as some around here like to claim.
why don’t brokers try to match those trade via the CCPs like EMCF or EuroCCP if they can’t do it via the incumbents?
Het aftellen is begonnen.
http://www.quotenet.nl/quote-500/hof-verwerpt-miljoenenclaim-allard-jakobs.php
Voor wie wil nagenieten, het vonnis:
http://zoeken.rechtspraak.nl/detailpage.aspx?ljn=br5123
Thanks for posting that Henk. Getronics puts trading for more than the strike price, those were great times.
‘I just can’t wait for some people commenting here to lose their job, just for them to realize that being fired is actually quite different than being good at your job.’
Get real, plenty of people here have been fired or their company close shop and that too multiple times in last few years .. this is 30 year financial bubble busting, stop dreaming
‘I can think of whole teams that were fired in 2008 which didn’t deserve it, while some leaches remained on board because they knew who to ‘cc when sending emails around.
This isn’t capitalism in action, as some around here like to claim.’
Its capitalism all right, your boss decides your fate, if you dont like him or he doesnt like you, feel free to pack your bags and leave .. do you have alternate system in mind ? your wife deciding your fate ?
‘what a miracle that the ration of your self-pity comment jumped from 0-5 to 18-8….’
this is a decade of deleveraging .. get used to recession-like feeling and get on with your fucking life .. Stop with all this moaning about pity and sympathy ..
‘why don’t brokers try to match those trade via the CCPs like EMCF or EuroCCP if they can’t do it via the incumbents?’
Because they are brokers and they don’t have a brain to use, just a dick to jerk around,
I still don’t understand why Back to Back and DVP still exists…very dangerous !
An agreement is an agreement whatever the method of settlement. The brokers should have tapes and sue if any malpractice occurrred.
“Because they are brokers and they don’t have a brain to use, just a dick to jerk around,”
Something about structural advantage.
Yah its called small penis syndrome, except in this case, with no brains and tiny dicks, you just try putting it up each other’s butts to get off,
‘I still don’t understand why Back to Back and DVP still exists…very dangerous !’
what is back to back and DVP, some method of settling trade ?
@ 11:50 pm – mate, if you have an unfair advantage, exploit it. why compete on the screen when you can just butt fuck customers otc all day…
“why compete on the screen when you can just butt fuck customers otc all day…”
Because you have a legally binding fiduciary duty to your clients.
not for insto txns. all grown ups here mate.
it’s a very vague story that a whole desk is wiped out just because of a T+3 settlement issue. nonsense.
not really, if there was discussion going on about closing the desk, a random hit like this was probably last nail on the coffin, ever wonder how real world works ..
Dutch sell side brokers (banks) have invested 0 in tech in the past years. They are way too expensive with their order execution. Low tech outfits will receive their Darwin awards soon as the 1998 business model is done and dusted.
order execution .. lol .. get ready for another lost decade and grinding growth, not too mention the euroland restructuring lasting till italy exits .. with no asset bubbles apart from gold and softs, there be only dicks for you to execute on ..
9:40 – tech managed by failures, and coded with third world precision.
AESPEN also down??!!
confirmed!
iets te vrolijk…..
daaaaaaaamned, ik dacht dat die tent nog iets beter in elkaar zat dan Amstel. Maar goed…. ‘zat’ is het goede woord lijkt me in dit geval. Iemand beetje inside?
they were way old school, nobody cares,
Jeffrey and Dennis from Aespen are back at Forte. Wish them success.
how do you mean they are back .. were they gone somewhere ?
‘back at Forte’. Forte is a sh*t shop, but I guess it’s a step up from Aespen. FK is a thieving back stabber. There were 3 decent guys there, 2 have left because it’s a sh*t shop, the other guy (Spunk) is still there. I wish jeffrey and dennis good luck, but beware of FK
what does FK stand for ? what did he do, sounds like he fucked you over ? time to stop crying ?
what is Forte, a broker? never heard of? ??
Can someone tell me what banks (or other FI’s) DO NOT have their dealing room in Amsterdam?
RBS, ABN – Amsterdam
But:
-Rabobank’s dealing room is in Utrecht (as well as in Amsterdam. What’s the difference between those two?)
-van Lanschot’s dealing room is in Den Bosch
any others?
ING?
SNS?
NIBC?
Kempen?
Aegon?
Alex?
Binck?
Robeco?
Bank of Scotland?
BNP Paribas
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
Citigroup
HSBC
PBOC
People’s Bank of China
ECB
SNB Swiss National Bank
etc
The list goes on and on. When you think about it, quite a few banks don’t have a dealing room in Amsterdam. I hope this answers your question.
@ September 13th 11:14am
if you don’t have anything useful to say, please refrain from making stupid remarks. although that seems to be the hallmark here anyway, you dutchies all talk the talk but only a few walk the walk…..
now to your question: no he didn’t fuck me over, but he did do just that with a load of other people. actually he’s still doing it. just trying to be helpful and warn these two guys, they have to watch their backs.
and not necessary to say what FK stands for. those who are involved with Forte know who he is.
Can you be bit more specific, maybe you are incorrect in feeling you were fucked over, I mean to be fair to FK, maybe he was just doing wat is legit and wat others deserved, so stop feeding bs on the blog and start talking as to what really happened .. that would be bit more useful to Jeff and Dennis rather than your random rant ..
‘When you think about it, quite a few banks don’t have a dealing room in Amsterdam’
And that includes those listed by you, ECB having a dealing room in Amsterdam, haha,
‘’Can someone tell me what banks (or other FI’s) DO NOT have their dealing room in Amsterdam?’’
ING has got a good size trading floor in zuidoost .. Who is Bank of Scotland ? BNP wouldnt be caught dead trading physically in Ams when they have Ldn and Paris .. Rest of the bunch, nobody cares,
[…] among the ranks of market makers for a change. Alas, two brokers were forced to throw in the towel (Amstel and […]
http://www.dn.no/forsiden/naringsliv/article2364054.ece
who was giving credit lines to this young kid anyways, hopefully lesson wouldnt be forgotten soon,
very interesting for me to read this blog for the first time, it confirms me, that Market Maker are arrogant, unthankful ignorants. Sitting arround in front of your 10 Screens, excel sheets and vola curvs, and doing what the machine says.
My Broker is providing me usefull informations, and possibilities to get the best price out of you lying MMs… he is doing something for his money, and even if played, he is always friendly to me.
this is really unfair for the probably nice guys who lost their jobs, to write such a shit about the industrie.
Don´t overvaluate your contribulation to our industry dear MMs.. the next 20 years old student who is cheaper than you, and more educated, is waiting downstairs at the reception for his interview with HR… and guess what, he has exactly the same amount client you have… ZERO.
Just a guess, you are a broker yourself and nobody want’s to buy the bag of clients you brought for your interview with HR.
nope, Client Execution Desk for a german Bank… but good guess.
Nutzloses Kommissionshändlerpack. Those who cannot make it to prop trading stick in that crappy job.
so you sit in db executing client trades, that’s even worse than being a broker no?
its quite amazing the number of layers, client to execution bank to broker to market maker to possibly another broker and other market makers.
‘Nutzloses Kommissionshändlerpack. Those who cannot make it to prop trading stick in that crappy job.’
getting paid 200k sterling for executing trades is not a crappy job?
people with social skills keep doing execution/sales jobs..
your comments speak for themselves.
You mean the social skills of a loverboy? Very admirable indeed. BO, MO and Kommissionshändlergesindel are the Abstellgleise for people who could not do better. And you know it. So do the prop traders who mock you on a continuous basis….
‘people with social skills keep doing execution/sales jobs..
your comments speak for themselves.’
your social skills are so highly developed that very few can guess what you are even talking about, what are you meaning to say about social skills for execution/sales job and the comments speaking for themselves?
‘people who could not do better’
what’s wrong with not cracking a trading interview or speed test, do you think that person couldn’t do better job if given an opportunity or guidance?
Tragic fact is the smartest guys are slaving away within market makers, while the best paid guys are selling execution services to the buy side.
it’s not tragic if the mentalitiet is ‘Nutzloses Kommissionshändlerpack. Those who cannot make it to prop trading stick in that crappy job.’
It’s a known fact that brokers and headhunters can easily draw more cash compared to the traders and personnel they grovel to day-in day-out.
[…] of brokers. Every serious market maker had their own brokerage unit as well as every bank. Aespen, Amstel, Binck, ProBrokerage, InterOptions, RIA, Sem, Kempen : the golden […]