Interview with Trader from Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Interview with Trader from Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Chicago--- Reno Scalise has been very successful while working at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
The 33-year-old Trader has been working in the Standard and Poors’ 500-Index pit since the age of 25. This is when Scalise obtained his own seat on the exchange. Having your own seat means that he trades with his own capital, and not for a corporation. When asked what it is like in the pit Scalise said,” It’s extremely stressful and hectic in the pit, if you don’t know what you are doing you can get burnt very badly.” He also explained how you have to be aware of everyone in the pit, and what moves they are making. The new faces in the pit are usually easy to make money off of, because they do not know what moves to make yet.
Scalise has been working at the Mercantile Exchange since the age of 18. He started off as a runner, which is a person who takes trade tickets from the traders to the people who work fro the exchanges clearinghouse. When asked about how it was to be a runner he said,” It was tough work, because you are constantly moving around, and always on your feet.” This was his way of getting in at ground level, and he has been moving on up ever since.
Scalise has done extremely well for himself since obtaining his seat on the exchange. He recently went in on a venture to be part owner of a restaurant on the gold coast of Chicago. The name of the restaurant is Twelve 12, and ironically it is located at 1212 N. State Street. This is not the only venture he has made; he also owns seven apartment buildings on Chicago’s south side, which generate approximately $10,000 a month. “All this from someone who never even went to college, I love the capitalistic society we live in!!” Scalise responded. Scalise lives a very high-class lifestyle, and this shows by the designer clothes he wears and the vehicles he drives. He owns a Mercedes-Benz SL500, a Cadillac Escalade, and an Audi A8. Those three vehicles alone cost approximately $215,000. Most people could only dream about being dealt the hand that Scalise has. “ I am extremely grateful for everything, and everyone that has made me who I am today.”