One of the things you learn in this business after you have been in it awhile is it takes money to make money. Not leverage, MONEY! There is a difference. You need to be able to withstand the draw downs. Leverage does not allow you to do that. At some point you need to have real cash behind you. That is why guys start hedge funds. You want to be able to make real money with as little leverage as possible, not as much. Think about it, would you rather take home 50 million a year making 10% to 12% a year or take home 500k to a million but having to earn 300% returns to do that and exposing yourself to a catastrophic risk every day to do it.