Episode
This City Trades Different: Yogi, the Floor, and Building RCM
- Podcast
- The Derivative
- Published
- Jun 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4671
- Processing state
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Summary
Former CME floor trader and RCM co-founder Bobby “Yogi” Schwartz joins Jeff to close out our Chicago month and walks through a wild career arc: from generational hog pit roots to dominating the Nasdaq futures pit during the dot-com bubble, then building prop firms, arbing minis vs. big contracts, and eventually stepping into Hollywood film finance before returning to launch RCM. Bobby shares vivid floor stories: badges, hand signals, full-contact fights, and multi-million-dollar errors, while explaining how open outcry actually worked, why Chicago produced so many elite prop traders, and how the e‑mini revolution rewired the futures landscape. He breaks down building and backing 100+ traders, deploying early “gray box” tech, and structuring option and index arb trades that bridged futures, ETFs, and cash baskets. The conversation then shifts to what RCM does today: multi-FCM clearing, outsourced trading, ETF and mutual fund infrastructure, ag and global trade finance, and navigating the explosion of new DCMs, prediction markets, and perps. Along the way, Bobby drops Hollywood war stories, Chicago steakhouse lore, and a candid look at where derivatives trading is headed next. Chapters: 00:00-01:12=Intro 01:13-10:06=From Yogi’s Jacket to a Generational Life on the CME Floor 10:07–20:20 = Inside the Nasdaq Pit: Dot‑Com Vol, E‑Mini Arbs, and Human Algos 20:21–31:36 = From Floor to Screens: Building Prop Firms and Hollywood Film Arbs 31:37–41:42 = Hollywood Trades: Indie Film, Oscar Winners, and Risk Like a Trader 41:43–58:06 = Building RCM: Clearing, Outsourced Trading, ETFs, Ag, and China 58:07–01:10:47 = Chicago War Stories: Pit Fights, Steakhouse Nights, and Trader Royalty 01:10:48-01:17:51 = Life After the Pit: Chicago Nights Check out previous Chicago episodes from th…