About Me - Milton Laene Araujo

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Lake Worth, Florida, United States
My name is Milton and I am a reader. I love to feed my mind with what if’s?, through stories.

8/08/13

The Commodity Broker Chapter 5


The Commodity Broker Chapter 5 By Milton Laene Araujo


Chapter 5- November 2007 

Paul started the Meeting at 8:30 Am

“We had a very nice October. We opened 50 new accounts and we did over 750 trades…I am very pleased with everyone’s performance. I want you all to put your hands together for Nikisha who just passed the test…clap, clap, clap… and for Cindy, who besides her great job making money for all of you is responsible in helping you with the material for the exam. Clap, clap, clap, ….Nikisha, I want you to spend the day watching everyone. I want Chad to stay with you the entire time helping you with your calls… It’s very important that you know what we call… INTEGRAL to success… You must dress for success…Look at Victor! He looks very sharp today…We only work five days per week and only two evenings…Tuesday and Thursday evenings we just work for three hours. Arriving on time is key and you must have at least two solid fronts per day…WITHOUT EXCUSES!! What I mean by front is complete information of the prospect, from suitability to financial information. I don’t want you to copy from the lead and pretend to be your front! Keep sick days to one per month average…MAX. Make your personal appointments during non-office hours. Maintain a quota on new business – ASK your employer their expectation. Treat your fellow employees with respect…Treat clients with respect, honesty and integrity…”

And Paul goes on…

 “Now… I want to talk about Bad Ideas for Success in Sales… Lack of focus – Do what you are being trained to do. First be successful, and then you may try to innovate or create a plan…Like I said…Lateness or Absences –Sure fire away to fail in Sales! Excuses…there is NO EXCUSE. EVER! Everything is ALWAYS your fault…missing training meetings – You can never learn enough…Social Selling –The clients are not our friends. The brokers around you are NOT your friends. You are there to make money. There is no place to act like a clown, horseplay or practical jokes…”

And Paul goes on…

“Pay attention to where you work…The place you chose to work is the most important decision you will make in your sales career. Once you make the decision to work in a particular place you should commit 100%. Shopping deals, nosing around your industry and keeping “FRIENDS” at other competing firms will make you an outsider and keep you there. Mercenaries (a slang term for a hired gun broker) are only as good as their last month commission and rarely up the food chain…

Paul spits his chewing gum in the trash and takes a zip of water… He goes on.

“Like I said…A Mercenary Broker is a personal opportunist that will change firms, steal brokers and otherwise conduct underhanded actions for personal benefits. Mercenary brokers are easily spotted. They have a lot of “friends” at other firms and try to force relationships with entry level brokers everywhere. They always have a joke or anecdotal comment for various aspects of the business. They “share secrets” and otherwise try to get others to believe that they are inside. They have the “illusion: of wealth (maybe a leased Mercedes or BMW) and a lot of industry experience, but no significant net worth commensurate with their time in the industry.”

Paul takes a break, looks around the room to see who is missing…Looks at Jose Roberto…who reads his mind and gesticulates that the person in question is using the telephone. He goes on…

“Like I said…The firm had better have the money to pay you on pay day or all your hard work was for nothing. It’s extremely and unfortunate common for brokers to get screwed out of their paychecks. Get this straight.”…Another zip of water…”Get this straight right now; there is no story or excuse for you not getting your pay check. If the boss breaks his leg on his way to the office on payday he should crawl to the office and hand out the checks. There is no excuse in the world that excuses no CHECKS. If you ever don’t get a check (a check you actually deserve) you should run and get another job.”

Only 12 minutes have passed. Paul walks around the room while talking.

“Of equal importance is professionalism. The firm for which you work will be a reflection of the owners and managers. If they act like slobs, you can expect to become a slob. If they underhand things to others, they are already doing it to you. You may not realize it yet, but you will eventually. Observe this…Like I said… here a dead tips offs for unprofessional firms to avid…Owners and managers talk negatively about each other; Owner family members’ all over the firm in various positions; Management uses the firm as a Dating Pool; married owners or managers who lie or cheat on their spouses; secretive managers or owners; firms with large turnover rates; Dirty Firms, or Un kept firms…Make sure you clean your desk with Windex every-day before you leave!”

Paul stops talking and a tall man walks in the office.

“I want to introduce to you a good friend of mine. His name is Santé di Franky. He will share some valued information with you…”

“Hi, Everyone…Paul and I go a long way. We used to work together before we became good friends… But what I want to talk about is Leads…when I was in the business I heard it every day: The leads are weak; the leads are weak? You are weak! …It’s not me… it’s the leads…they suck! If the leads were better, then I could open accounts; nobody can make money with these leads; Look, I am a great broker, so when I have no accounts then you know it’s the leads…and so forth and so on…Here is the deal, most good companies get the same leads. In fact they get the same leads from the same places, purchased or generated from the same people. Think about it, if ABC Company found some new and exciting way of generating these amazing leads that “Virtually closed themselves”…wouldn’t everybody just copy it?...A good lead is the one where you get the prospect to listen. The more carefully they listen the better the broker…Now imagine you found a phone number on the floor in the deli while were buying lunch. You called it. A man picked up the phone and answered hello and you just started by saying… Hi, this is Santé at ABC Company. Who am I speaking with?” He responds with the name Bill. Bill I am glad I got a hold of you today. The reason for my call is… Now imagine that guy made a monster purchase or opened a huge account with you. Wasn’t that a great lead? This happened with me! Remember, you are in a sales business where leads are provided to you! You see different names every day! Be assured you are getting a quality lead. Since you should expect to make 150 to 250 dials per day you will need about 35 leads per day…due to call backs, left messages and no answers which need to be recalled at later times.

“Clap, clap, clap…”

Paul returns to the floor.

“We have a program that states how many calls each one of you made from the telephone that you are using…every day! I posted it on the board along with your name…you can check this after 3:00 PM…But I see here that Diva only made 52 calls yesterday while Milton made 107 calls yesterday… Cindy made exactly 150 and Victor made the most…200 calls. I know who is working and who is not working!...Also on the same board you can see the number of accounts opened and each respective broker…Milton opened seven accounts last Month…If he keeps up he will have a great paycheck next week…I want to take this last minute to call to the floor Peter …who made $65000 for himself last month and give him this gold Rolex watch for his services. Peter we appreciate you! The meeting is adjourned.”

At this time everyone returns to their post.

“Hey Sofia, I need to speak with you.” Diva said to Sofia.

“Hi Diva,…sure. Can we leave here today at 3PM and skip gym? Would you come to the bank with me? They have an agency in Boca Raton. I need to make this deposit yesterday”.

“How much is your paycheck Sofia”

“Mine is $3700 this week and yours Diva?”

“Mine is $6400…it could have been $12,000 but I had to split with Peter. Well, Peter is very nice actually, because I wouldn’t have made anything by myself…He is the one who got the client to send an extra $50,000…I thought you would make one million by now…”

“Maybe next week it will be better for me. I just put Mr. Jenkins in the market yesterday.”

“Yesterday? Why? You opened his account last month Sofi. Maybe you should ask Peter to help you.”

“That’s what Paul tells me, but I am reluctant…I will think about it…See you later.”

 

… ((A CALL HOLDING ON LINE 2, SOFIA HAS A CALL HOLDING ON LINE 2))

“Damn speakers!”

“Good morning, this is Sofia”

“Good Morning Sofia, Bob Bowen here”

“Bob!!! How is Indiana this morning?

“It is in the same place Sofia”

“Bob, we have a birthday coming, don’t we?”

“Not for a couple of weeks Sofia…how do you remember?”

“I have it written here on my calendar. Plus I have a sister born on the same date. No brainer.”

“The reason I am calling is that I don’t know how to answer on question on my application.” Bob said to Sofia.

“What application bob”…don’t tell me that you are going to be my client?”

 “Off course Sofia….Who wouldn’t? I mean, you explained the risk more than the profits. I decided to gamble, and you are my casino.”

“Very funny! What is the question Bob?”

“On the individual information form… middle of the page…What is your investment purpose in opening the account? I am not sure if the answer is Speculation or Hedging.”

“It’s Speculation Bob.”

“OK. I get it. What is your expected trading pattern? Here it says, Futures, Options or Both”

“The answer for that one is Options, Bob.”

“Got it…Why can’t a put both?”

“Because you are opening an account with an Introducing Broker (IB), which is my firm. An IB  is an individual or organization that solicits or accepts orders to buy or sell options,  but does not accept money or other assets from customers to support such orders. As you can see your money is not coming to my company, or under my company’s name. It is directed to the FCM who is above us. I will carry your account with a FCM on a fully disclosed basis… they are our guarantor.

“OK. Whatever.”

“This is actually for your protection Bob. In case something happens to our company, you have your asset with a larger company that operates like a bank. I am working in your behalf with such a company. There are others FCM’s out there. I call them mother companies! Some FCM just like to deal with a few commodities, while larger FCM’s deal with other or even all commodities. As your Broker I will use a different FCM only if we decide to invest into something our FCM of use doesn’t carry. It sounds complicated, but it is just that small firms cannot be receiving checks from clients… This is serious business Bob.”

“I get it Sofia. Is there anything you don’t know?”

“Is that a compliment Bob?”

“Yeah, I mean…Here I am filling out papers and I do not see your company’s name on this form, but a TRUSTCOM something…”

“Right, this is our FCM, and you will receive your statements under that name.”

“Why am I going through you then?”

“A FCM doesn’t deal with clients directly. They deal with IB firms like mine. So, one FCM could serve all IB’s in one state. I however deal with you directly and I am under the FCM”

“What does it stand for?”

“Now you are pushing it Bob...Just kidding. It means Futures Commissions Merchant. ..Remember when we talked about futures and the difference with Options, being that futures have unlimited loss potential, while with options you only can lose what you invest? Well, my firm deals with options because we do not want to be calling you to make a deposit every time the price takes a turn against what we aimed. It is safer to know that you can lose only what you have invested, but I recommend that you read about futures to see if it is something you would like to do in the future.”

“I have to go Sofia. FedEx is coming here in half an hour and I want to have this envelop signed sealed delivered…I am yours!”

“Great Bob…  How much are you sending?”

“I was going to send $15,000 to start, but I changed my mind and made the check for $5,000.”

“Should I send more?”

“NO PLEASE! Let’s do baby steps Bob. If I am good I will make $5,000 for you this month, and I want to send it back to you! I feel better to play with the profit you made. Imagine you spending $5,000 and receiving it back and still have $5,000. This way if I tell you to buy sugar options instead of cotton, you will listen to me.”

“Can you just like… do whatever you want with my money and call me to tell me what I have?

“Yes Bob. I can, but only two years from tomorrow. You see…this is the dream of everyone who has money to play. They have money but they do not have time or the desire to be in front of a computer screen all day checking if it is the right time to get out of the market or re-enter. This is my job…I am your ears and eyes with the market, and two years from now I will obtain a power of attorney from you giving me this right. You need to get to know me better…any broker for that matter…”

“Oh, like my stock broker?”

“No. Your stock broker calls you when he makes change to your account or moves you to a different market as well. You don’t hear from him very much because you must be involved in mutual funds, retirement accounts. It is less risky Bob. What we are doing now, I mean, what we are going to do is very risky. Your money can go away the day after, but if the market bounces back and rallies you are back in the game, yet, you won’t lose more than what you invested.”

“That is fair.”

“Bob, I have another call on hold. I will call you tomorrow to
let you know whether I received your application or not.”

“Thanks Sofia. Good bye.”

“You are welcome, Bob. Good bye.”

“Click.”

“Hi, this is Sofia”

“Hi Sofia this is Bob Jenkins”

“Hi Mr. Jenkins, I see you are up early today”.

“I got a message to contact you.”

“Yes, you did. I asked Marta to call you for me, but I did not expect her to call you while I was on the other line.”

“She didn’t. She located me and asked me if I was going to stay around in the next fifteen minutes or so. I wanted to know what is going on and I didn’t want to wait.”

“Good. I see here that your 10 positions on Crude Oil are with a profit around 35% and I want to get rid of it and enter right back in with another 10 positions.”

“Why not 14?”

“Mr. Jenkins, I want to leave the remaining on your account to try a different market later. I have a feeling that sugar is going up in the next week or so. I was reading an article that coca cola is going au natural. I also read an article about an increase of ethanol in our gasoline, which means price of corn also going up, as well as sugar. Russia makes ethanol with beets, but Brazil makes ethanol with sugar cane. The price of sugar will go up if we have a hurricane in the Caribe…”

“OK”

“Mr. Jenkins, I am going to transfer you to (compliances) and they will record your voice. You will authorize the sale of 10 Contracts. Hang in there please…Ah, and within 30 minutes I am going to spend all the remaining of your investment into other commodities, I am not sure yet, but I will call you to let you know.”

“OK.”

“Click.”

“Hi this is Sofia”

“Sofia! Jonathan Rolls here”

“Hi my friend from Missouri. How is the weather there?”

“It is insane Sofia. We had a tornado last week. Thank God, we are fine, but the city is not so well.”

“I guess, you’re going to work even harder to fix the power lines and the electrical damages.”

“I am.”

“Good. More money for us to invest… So, how may I help you Jonathan?”

“I have mailed to you my account information yesterday. I have the FedEx tracking number right here, would you like it?”

“We got it delivered to us fifteen minutes ago”

“Oh, Good…  I have signed a transfer authorization form for you to handle my positions with a different firm. I have 27 contracts on orange juice, and the guy said that it is deteriorating…I think I am going to lose it all”.

“Whose idea was to get into OJ?”

“His idea and it sounded good…I had heating oil and crude oil, but he sold it three days later with profit. And now I only have OJ with them. I prefer to transfer to you because the guy is an asshole and he wants more money from me.”

“How much money are you sending to me Jonathan?”

“I can only send $10,000. I’ve sent him $20.000”


 

Chapter  1  http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-1.html

Chapter 2  http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-2.html






 

“That is good, but you should‘ve sent me $5,000. I will not re- invest your profit… we will play with your $10,000 until the end. If we get out with profit, we will put it aside. Understand?”

“Click”

The Commodity Broker Chapter 4 -

The Commodity Broker Chapter 4 -
By, Milton Laene Araujo


Chapter 4 – One week later

 

Things were changing in a very fast pace for Sofia. One day after the arrival of Mr. Jenkins account information, along with a check for $40,000 Paul couldn’t be happier with the results. He called Sofia aside to have a chat.

“I want to talk with you”

“OK.  Go ahead”

“No, not in here, follow me… I prefer to talk with you in this room because no one can hear us”

“OK…did I do anything wrong?”

“Gosh .No… You are doing a great job. I just wanted to hand you this cash in appreciation for your performance. You are very good. Chad said that you are the best on the phone. I don’t want you to be in the small room anymore… Diva is still learning, Victor doesn’t have any discipline, or he is just not interested.  I cannot fire him because he just got his license, but I think he just works for his $300 weekly check. They are a fine crew, don’t get me wrong, but I just think that you surpass them, and I don’t want them to influence you, or affect you in any ways.”

“Geez…This is so cool Paul …I was broke. This will help Jackie and I to pay for the mortgage installment. She has been taking this burden by herself for so long.”

“You do not have to worry about money Sofia…Ever…You will make tons of money here, besides, everybody likes you!” Is there anything I can do to help you?

“I have to work hard and make calls…and I am having some problems with a few prospects’”

“What type of problem? You can always tell me, I am here to help you”

“I sense that they do not have the money to invest, but it sounds too good for them and they want to get involved.”

“What is wrong with that?” …what is wrong with that...Who needs to know…And here I go! Again and again…

“Well, Nothing really, but they can’t afford the risk and I don’t want to take food off their tables, just because I have a recommendation and they believe me…I sometimes wonder if I believe it.”

“That’s why you have to qualify them first Sofia.”

“I know… I know… I prefer to get their attention first and then dig into their financial situation”.

“Well, that explains it… But I prefer that you have five millionaire clients fifty 5K type. Those cheap bastards just bring trouble…Oh, before I forget…let me show you your new office...You can move anytime…This evening, there is.”

The office was magnificent. There was an “L” shape mahogany desk in the corner bellow the window with view to the Atlantic Ocean, instead of Atlantic Boulevard, a leather chair that enveloped an entire body. It was state of the art. It could be locked from inside. A set of key was handed to Sofia.

“This is very nice Paul”

I know… This office was in dispute between Peter and Steve. They both wanted to move in here, but I decided to let them where they are. When things are good we don’t change. Well, this is for you.”

“I wonder why you have chairs, considering that you do not like anyone to be seated”

“Don’t be funny Sophia! It is true…I think …I know for a fact, that when you are standing your voice comes out better that when you are seated. I mean everybody’s. As you can see, everyone is walking all over this floor while talking on their phone. You don’t see anyone sitting and talking…well, except for Victor, but he is a child.”

“Yes, I met Victor. He is a sweet guy…how old is he anyway?”

“He just turned 19. He is a high school dropout”

“How did he pass the test?”

“He was lucky! Cindy said that he wouldn’t pass the test. She was his tutor…but then again…Cindy said that Diva wouldn’t ever pass the test and she passed on her first trial.”

“Hum…what does she know?”

“True…Sofia…Patrick said that you were a waste of time. I almost got rid of you last week.”

“Patrick said that? Geez…I was working with him for only one day…my first day actually, and he seemed to be so nice! I little weird, but nice!”

“Yeah… He is no longer here. He left…Patrick is that type of broker who works in every company he can lay a job. After his zero production is recognized he either leaves or he gets fired. This time he left on his own will.”

“Wow.”

“OK Sofia, at night you move in. Let’s get back to work”.

 

Sofia left her office ‘to be’ and walked through the entire third floor observing everything. It was her first complete glance into the office. She only knew the conference room, the big lounge where no one ever used, but it was there, in case some unexpected visit from regulators submerged before Paul was informed by his contacts. She got $1000 bonus and it was not even Christmas. She couldn’t wait to get home and tell Jackie. She would get home at 9:00PM. Enough time to have a martini with Jackie to celebrate the day.

“Chad…thanks so much for making that room so elegant for me. I see that it had your prints all over it. New pictures, more monitors than I can use and even a private telephone line. I didn’t see any recording device in there. Did you forget it?”

“No Sofia, We only used the tape recorder once, after Patrick left and said that you were not good!”

“Thanks for sharing it with me Chad, but Paul already said that.”

“Really?... He rarely talks with anyone in here. Maybe he likes you!”

Please, tell him to keep his expectation down to zero. He is not MT.”

“What is MT Sophia?”                                              

“My type.”

 

Diva was walking around, talking on her phone with her British accent… louder now that she saw Sofia.

“You are telling me that you are busy Mrs. Lip sheet? We are all bloody busy aren’t we?...Why don’t you go to hell…”

“DIVA… what are you saying?”

“He, he,he, he…I was just kidding…I have no one on the line”

“Gosh Diva, you sound like me when I get mad.”

“What happened? I mean, what Paul wanted with you?”

“My body”

“What body…he, he, he…you don’t have one, plus everyone said that you play on another team

“You are a witch, you know?”

“He,he,he…you are so estupida!

“Paul wanted to talk with me, tell me how much he loves me and how much he wants me, but he knows that I am a woman of only one woman, so he told me that he will be my second choice.”

“Come on Sofi ! He, he, he…Don’t make me laugh or I will pee on my panties.”

“You don’t have one, remember. I kept it last night.”

“Stop… I can’t take it anymore… I wanted to make you laugh, and look at me…I am a mess…He,he.he. You are so funny!

“Paul wanted to give me money and tell me that I got a new office. The empty one on the corner.”

“Money?...Office?”

“Yes, he told me to stay away from all of you in this room. He said that I need only positive energy.”

“He said all that?”

“No, silly. Well, not the way I am saying, but he wants me to concentrate on my calls, have enough equipment to guide customers to sites…I guess, he wants me all for himself.”

“Paul has a sweet side on him.”

“Are you in love with him Diva? I mean, have you guys…? I have noticed that you come to work dressed so nicely, especially lately! What is going on between you two?”

“Last Wednesday, when we all went out for a drink, and you declined the invitation, remember? Well, we all went to Pauls’ apartment for a drink

“How is it? Is it big? Where is it?

“It is very nice. Small, It is only one big room with a bed on one corner and the bathroom nearby…A large kitchen and a gigantic living area.”

“I suppose you enjoyed the bed part of it.”

“Yes, he was so gentle!  We made love passionately! He talked with me. He treated me so well.”

“But Diva, I heard he has a girlfriend. She works at Nordstrom, in the Gardens Mall.”

“I know, but he doesn’t love her”                    

“I can’t believe you went to bed with him already…Don’t you know that you cannot go to bed with your boss? I mean, this is crazy. How can you conciliate working and dating the boss?”

“I didn’t think about that yet! But I waited until he got rid on Cindy and I went back to his apartment the same night. He knew I was coming back. The way he looked at me. But that Cindy bitch didn’t leave him alone. I hate her, and she is so ugly!”

“Let’s stop all this Diva…Let’s talk later. Let’s go to the gym after here. I pay.”

“Silly…Paul has already paid everyone’s membership…Look Chad is coming…Just pretend you are on the phone… and keep walking. No one will know the difference.”


 

Chapter  1  http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-1.html

Chapter 2  http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-2.html






 

The Commodity Broker - Chapter 3

The Commodity Broker By Milton Laene Araujo
Chapter 3 -


Chapter 3 –

The call to Mr. Jenkins was a mess! Sofia followed instructions but the customer did not buy it! Meanwhile, Paul Jalil was walking all over the place, trying to find a way to reprimand Sofia for not passing the call to another broker.

During this call to Mr. Jenkins, the entire crew in the office stopped working for a few minutes to hear the conversation Sofia had with Mr. Jenkins. The speaker phone was on.

Jose Roberto Jalil, the owner of Stonegate Financial Services wanted to interfere or even pass the call to a senior broker. He was certain that Sofia would lose that prospect.  But when he approached her, during the call, he made many faces and movements telling Sofia to place the client on hold, but she ignored him completely.

“Sofia, I was right here by your side, asking you to place the call on hold, why didn’t you do it?”

“I am sorry Jose Roberto, but when I am on the phone I ignore everyone and everything.”

“That is not good Sofia. We work as a team here, and one helps the other”

“I thought I had control of that call.” Sofia said. .
 
“But you didn’t! He is gone, isn’t he?”
“Please, take it easy Roberto. Mr. Jenkins was about to have lunch. We didn’t finish our conversation because his wife was calling him. I heard her on the background, besides he will call me back, and if he doesn’t, he is not interested.”
“Sofia, no one calls anyone back”. Haven’t you learned your rebuttals? I guess we need to place you on training. I am going to ask Chad to supervise every call you make.
It was lunch hour. The secretary ordered Italian food for everyone. The buffet was at the conference room. There were breads, Tortellini with white and red sauce, Chicken-lettuce –and-tomatoes wraps, antipasto salad and garden salad. Everyone got their customary seats. Sofia was on her desk checking the NFA web site when Diva Arrived.
“Hi Sofi, let’s grab something to eat. The meeting is about to start and you know how Paul gets when someone is missing”.
“I know. I am preparing myself to be chewed up again.”
“Don’t stress over it. Paul is sort of bi-polar, a good looking one, so I don’t listen to him, I just look at him.”
“Then, let’s go.” 
One thing human and good about Paul is that he provides food to all employees during lunch and dinner.  No one needs to go out of the office, and lunch was limited to half an hour, which included a meeting while everyone ate and a sermon from his Paul whenever he felt like talking his elbow off. His reason is simple. Keep the entire force inside the office, for it is cheaper.
“Lunch has been served.”  Said Paul and went on and one while holding a microphone.
“You can eat a quick lunch between 12-12:30 pm. No eating at any other time during working hours. Be positive at all times and always respect your co-workers, clients and yourself. Maintain a high-energy level. Stand up! Be passionate with your words, and don’t worry, we will have lots of Red Bull, caffeine and Ephedra. Remember the program! We only sell energy options Long. Make sure to complete your prospect sheet with all the information. Make sure it is tied down, properly filled out with all necessary information.  As far as closing a deal, do the first attempt yourself. If you have questions transfer the call to a senior broker for explanation. It is important to remind you that all clients are clients of the company, if a broker leaves the clients stay with the company. All information is property of the company. Don’t speak to people you know about the company business. Information like this will eventually be used against you and this will result in problems for you and potentially your co-workers.  Don’t be the guy who messes things up for everyone. We will always find out who is the “Gossip Queen”.  Be advised, if you are not here, whether excused or unexcused, brokers will trade your book and add their numbers to YOUR ticket. If you are not working with a Senior Broker then the split will be 50/50. If you are working with a Senior Broker then the split goes to 25/25/50. Don’t give your money away for been lazy!”
 Paul took a zip of his drink, made a signal to Chad to play a recorded audio. Sofia’s call to Mr. Jenkins was all over the speakers for everyone to listen. By the time it was half way, Paul was surprised by Sofia’s knowledge and how she had presented herself. His signaled to Chad to stop the recording, and went on and on again.
“This is awesome. I have been in this business for a long time, and it is the first time I hear a new broker with so much enthusiasm. Her fronting was perfect!” But it is important to know that it was a waste of time to try to do it all alone. Sofia”… He went on…”you know that we have the complete script done for you, and what you have to do is to read it step by step, and do not go all over the board, unless you know how to get back into the basis. We do not need anyone here to try to reinvent the wheel. We have a system and it works,”
The meeting was not so terrible after all thought Sofia. She was glad that Paul did not hear her giving away web links. One hour and half later Stonegate receive a call back from Mr. Jenkins, but Sofia was on another call.
“It’s a call for Sofia, its Mr. Jenkins!” Said the secretary while turning towards where Jose Roberto was seated, and observing everyone’s reaction in the main room. 
“Oh.  Let me run over there… Oh, I see that she is on another call.” Jose Roberto said to the Secretary.
What to do? Shall I give the call to another broker? Shall I get the number and tell him that Sofia is on another call? I guess it’s better not interrupt her. Jose Roberto was uncertain.
“Transfer the call to me”
“OK, Line One.”
“Hello? Ah. .. Hi...Mr. Jenkins, this is Jose Roberto…I see from here that Sofia is on another call…”
“Just tell her to give me a ring. I will be here until 9 PM. She has my number”
“Click.
 “Wow, that was fast!”

 
“What happened?” The secretary asked
“He will be expecting a call back from Sofia”. Well, this is weird…Not, based on what Sofia said last...Maybe he is interested.  ‘I am starting to like this dike!’  
Meanwhile, Sofia was on a call and Chad was standing by his side listening to the conversation through a speaker phone.
 “It is just too good to be true, I mean it sounds too good to be true.” The Client said to Sofia.
“That is right Mr. Smith. I think so, as well. You see, must people are skeptical because they were taught to be. I believe and so do you that proof comes in many forms. The Commodities Market is a business too good to be true. Opinions in commodities are even better ‘too good to be true story.’ Is it fair to say that you passed many opportunities before for that very reason? Don’t let shallow thinking and fear keep you and your family from a tremendous opportunity in the market. Be good and be true to yourself and have courage to send me $ 5,000 and take advantage of this expected move.”
“Click.”
“Where do you get this stuff from? I mean, it was good, freaking good… Just keep on going baby!” Said chad.
Sofia smiled and kept on dialing another number to reach another prospect from her list.
“Hello Mr. Bowen? Hi, this is Sofia with ……”
“Thanks for the great explanation Sofia, but I am working with a stock broker”
“I understand Mr. Bowen, but please, let’s get us all on even ground here. Asking your stockbroker whether or not to do commodities would create a conflict of interest. It would not benefit him to tell you to diversify with another broker. I wonder why he never mentioned this type of opportunity to you, but let’s say if it was him recommending this to you instead, would you be more inclined?... I get it.”
“No, Wait.”
“I am here.”
“Well, let me think it over. I will call you back Sofia.”
“Mister Bowen? If I am on the phone when you call, just leave your name and a time to call you back, I have your number.”
“Click.”
“Why didn’t you ask him to leave number? Well, never mind!” chad said to Sofia
“Chad, I honestly prefer that they call me back and show interest, so I can discuss with them from the point where they were left. I keep track how far I have been with every call…see here, on this book? I have their names and what was not discussed.  At least I can go back one day and remind them of the opportunity they’ve missed”.
“That is very cool. When I was a broker I only got calls from existing clients. It is not easy to keep up with every call of prospects along with all the information required to give to existing customers”
“I didn’t know you were a broker before. Where?”
“Futuretek Trading Corp., a while ago. It didn’t work. The firm was closed down.”
“Oh, I heard it. That’s Paul’s old firm. Rickie told me”
“Rickie!  He is a great guy. I used to work with him. Actually Paul and I worked with him a long time ago at Group Two Financial Services”.
“I’ve never heard of this firm. Actually, I heard of so many firms, but they are all out of business. While I was checking for a job, every place listed in the internet was no longer in existence!”
“Yeah… We cannot have any papers on top of our desk or your bullets. You have to talk like you talk now. Nothing to read, but just what is in your memory”
“So, why do I have these papers here? I don’t need them anymore. I just need the outline of what I need to cover.”
“It’s what you suppose to have!”
“Good then.”
“I need something to drink” Sofia walks away from her desk leaving Chad behind
“Hey. Sofia, I am glad you’re off the phone!”  What Am I saying? “I have two names, no numbers…For you to call…he, he, he, that fellow Jenkins called you too.”
“Thanks Jose Roberto. I just hope he doesn’t procrastinate.”
“You can call me J.R.”
“OK, cool.”
Trim, Trim, Trim… Trim, Trim, Trim… rings the telephone at Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins residence. “Bob? Bob, can you get it?” Said Mrs. Jenkins while turning the knob of the oven to 350F. She was not in any hurry; she had finished confectioning the most perfect lasagna for dinner.
“No Sue, I can’t…I mean, I will be there in a second”
“Jenkins’ Residence, this is Susan”
“Hello Mrs. Jenkins, This is Sofia. I am returning Mr. Jenkins call”
“I know Miss Keller, He is expecting your call, but he is…oh good! … Here he is, Bob, it’s for you.”
“Hey Sofia, thanks for holding.”
“Hi Mr. Jenkins, I promise not to take much of your time. Did you have a chance to check on those web sites I gave to you? Uh hum… and do you have the piece of paper where you took your notes?”
“Yes, the paper is here… I checked the sites. I saw your name there… under Brokers. I also saw that your firm is under investigation, or better saying, there is arbitration or something going on.”
“It’s possible Mr. Jenkins; you know this is a very sensitive market. There is no room for errors. I will check the site today”
“I just hope you are not in trouble over there.”
“I hope so too! One thing I know Mr. Jenkins. The NFA’s job, rightfully so, is to check on ever firm. Please grab that piece of paper…
“I have it right here.”
Good…when I told you if we could catch a 5 cent move in our option…and we came to a total of $2100 per option, it is important to rephrase that if we can catch a 5 cent increase on your option the calculation is correct, but it is not easy to obtain the entire amount of the profit when you catch $5 cents.” Gosh what am I saying? “What I mean is… January’s price of a gallon of Heating Oil in the market is $2.84. Let’s say you want to enter in the market right now, and all of your paper work has been approved etc. I’ll send the ticket over to the floor. I know that your cost will be around $2.93, $2.95. This will be the price written on your contract, and we need to see a move from that point on to be on green.  This is what they call speculation. We are purchasing a contract from a speculator like you, and he wants to sell high. So he goes as high as he can go from the today’s price because we are foreseeing a price in the future. Do you understand this?
“Yes, I understand.”
“I am not quite sure you do Mr. Jenkins. It is even hard for me to explain, and believe me, I have seen tickets when prices were$ 2.80 and they were filled at $2.90 and the client did not like it very much. The reality is… you cannot purchase a contract for the price tag because you are purchasing it through the exchange, sold on the floor from another speculator. Behind this Option contract, there is an underlined contract in the future market that someone will take delivery. Not you! So, this person wants to sell it higher to you.
“I got it Sofia!”
“Good, but there is more!”
“What else more?”
“Let’s assume we got you a ticket for January and your price tag is $2.90. We will observe the computer and when the price of Heating Oil reaches $3.00 you will maybe get $2.95 for that ticket. The floor is buying it from you; therefore, the floor people want to buy it cheaper to sell it high. Now when we are $.5 cents ahead, there is timing value as well.  Option is a wasting asset. It deteriorates as time passes. If the price becomes very volatile it makes harder to get the value we want. In other words, we want the price to go up, and this is all there is. For what I figure in here Mr. Jenkins, I want you to invest $10,000 and when I see an opportunity to make in your hands $35% of that value, I will invite you to get out of the market.
“It makes sense Sofia.”
“I just want to make sure that my explanation from before, the one that looks good on paper, is different from reality because it is.”
Are you in Mr. Jenkins?
“Yes I am, definitely.”
“Fantastic! What is your fax number? What is your email, what is your Mailing Address?”
“You don’t need any of that Sofia. I visited your firm’s web site and I filled an application for an account under your number. I printed all the forms and I already got a FedEx authorization to send it to you tomorrow. Your company has the best site. Very friendly and very easy to use. I also printed all the other stuff I want to take a look at”
“Yey… I see it here on my screen Mr. Jenkins” Let me see…Regulation 135 Risk Disclosure…Option Disclosure Statement…Individual information form…Consent to Jurisdiction…Customer agreement… So far so Good, Mr. Jenkins…Welcome letter…Additional Risk Disclosure….It is all signed and completed…OK…Fees and commission page…Photo ID, Utility Bill…Form of payment…Mr. Jenkins? It says here that you are going to purchase 40 contracts?”
“Yes… We decided to taste the waters with $40,000”.
“Good…Tomorrow around 11:00 I will give you a call to let you know if we received it all.” If we do not see a good opportunity tomorrow, we will stay on the sidelines waiting for a good opportunity. You have a Good Evening Mr. Jenkins.”
“Thanks Sofia”
“You are welcome Mr. Jenkins”
“Click.”

 

The Commodity Broker - Chapter 2 -

The Commodity Broker - Chapter 2 - By Milton Laene Araujo


Chapter 2 – Stonegate Financial Services October 2006 to 2007

 

Stonegate Financial Services, located in Delray Beach, Florida, was registered as an Introducing broker in October 2006.  Stonegate was the lineal descendent of Futuretek Trading Group, a boiler room operation in South Florida. When the NF A issued a disciplinary complaint against Futuretek in 2005, many of its brokers transferred en masse to Majestik Commodity Corporation, another firm located in south Florida. The process was repeated when the NF A issued a disciplinary complaint against Majestik in 2006, and many Majestik brokers transferred to Stonegate.

Stonegate's owners, Jose Roberto Jalil and Anthony Rodriguez, and the majority of Stonegate ' s associated persons, had been associated with a string of "tainted" firms that had been disciplined by the CFTC and the NF A for fraudulent sales and trading practices. When Stonegate started up in 2006, almost its entire sales force had worked for tainted firms, most notably Futuretek and Majestic. One year later, by October 17th, 2007, when Sofia applied for an available position as an associated person the concentration of tainted brokers had been partially diluted, but remained high: out of 22 Stonegate associated persons, ten were not rookies, and all ten experienced associated persons - including Peter Zipe, Cindy Marks and Chris Spinster -- had previously worked for extensive periods of time for tainted firms. Stonegate steered its customers into patently dubious trading strategies that were designed to maximize Stonegate's commission income. Although, Stonegate’s principals and brokers probably knew, or suspected, or could have easily discovered these facts, a novice trader, such as a customer, with no knowledge of the commodity options business -- could not have readily known, suspected or discovered these facts. Sofia had no idea about this what-so-ever.

On October 3, 2007 – about, fifteen days before Sofia’s entrance into the firm, the NFA brought a disciplinary complaint against Stonegate and its president, Anthony Rodriguez, alleging that they had been allowing a suspended former principal of a firm disciplined for boiler-room practices –Jose Roberto’s brother, Paul Jalil the owner of Futuretek -- to run Stonegate.

 From Paul’s immediate entrance, Stonegate agents had engaged in misleading sales solicitations. Anthony Rodriguez became a puppet in the hands of Paul Jalil. Anthony had failed to implement the augmented supervisory safeguards mandated by NFA rules for firms with a high percentage of tainted brokers.

Paul Jalil, the man with all the money, was first registered with the NFA in January 2000, as an associated person and principal of a string of tainted firms, including Group Two Financial Services, Inc., Third Liberty Investments, Futuretek Trading Group, and Majestik Commodity Corp. In 2005, the NFA issued a complaint against Futuretek, Paul Jalil and others, alleging that Paul Jalil had defrauded customers and failed to supervise Futuretek. On October 16, 2006, Jalil agreed to settle those charges by agreeing to a variety of sanctions, including a six-month membership ban and other restrictions on his business activities.

 Notwithstanding these restrictions, Paul Jalil had a regular and active presence at Stonegate from the beginning, leading motivational daily sales meetings, offering trade recommendations to prospects, and hiring and firing new brokers. Jose Roberto Jalil, Paul's brother, was an owner and a registered associated person with Stonegate, but his presence in this business occurred when Paul did not have anyone else to use as his puppet. He became a registered principal of Stonegate on October 23, 2006, just as his brother was beginning his six-month suspension.

Luis Vanderval Rodriguez, Anthony's brother, and a want-to-be-broker filed an application for registration as an associated person with Stonegate on December 11, 2006, which remained pending due to his background. By letter dated January 31, 2007, the NFA had given Rodriguez the option to withdraw his application in lieu of submitting additional documentation concerning his arrest record. He remained working for Stonegate even without a license. He made calls, lied to clients and brought a great sum of money to his owners.

Gerald "Jerry" Zaipe, one of the most experienced brokers at Stonegate, was a registered associated person from December 21, 2006. Zaipe first became registered in 2003, and worked for a series of tainted firms, including United Investors, Group, Futuretek Trading Group, and Majestik Commodity Corporation. Mr. Zaipe is what we call a Loader. He received accounts opened by other brokers and worked on those accounts to increase profit for the business. Zaipe, along with all other senior brokers had learned the game, but  they all have  forgotten the human side of life.

The regular commission charged by most introducing brokers is $100.00, which covers to place the customer in the market and on a later date offset his contract. Stonegate was charging $250. A process called churning also was taking place. Senior brokers traded every day until the entire investment disappeared and a large commission was earned.