Schonfeld Securities sent out a letter today warning their day traders that a bunch of them would be let go within the next 6 months.
In sum, it basically says: we're probably going to fire you soon, but you'll later realize that actually, we're doing you a favor.
We think it's worth a read through for 2 reasons:
1. The writer is trying so hard to convince these 60-odd guys to not make him feel bad for firing them
2. He repeatedly calls the to-be fired traders less-skilled and says that there is no chance they will be able to do anything more than just get by, BUT, he says, he regrets, deeply, that (despite their aforementioned great qualities) these traders will have to be let go.
What? The firm is sad to lose mediocre traders?
No, they're not. They're clearly just too embarassed to say, we're a for-profit firm and we can't afford you anymore.
Instead they say, you wouldn't be good enough to make a proper living in the future, so we're going to set you free to earn lots of money... somewhere else.
The letter is basically a perfect example of what's been happening to the industry of day traders. They're slowly and painfully being replaced by new technology.
