Looking to trade equities/futures after graduation, where should I go?

I'm on sophomore at GaTech and have been trading for the past year now, 3 years now in the markets. I really want to obtain a trading internship this summer, but I'm having a little trouble deciding where I actually belong. If I could trade equities/futures using a firm's capital for the rest of my life, I'd be ecstatic.

I know a lot of the big boys (GS, JPM, BAC,etc...) do trading, but do they specifically trade equities/futures? Should I instead be looking for a random prop shop? If so, who? I know a lot of firms are moving over to the quantitative side of things, but having an algorithm doing all the work for me is just no fun.

All responses are appreciated.

 
Best Response

All of those firms trade equities and futures as part of institutional client services- where hedge funds, pension managers, and mutual funds will call up the firm's dealers and do large trades where they need more liquidity than the exchanges alone can provide in a short time. Some of them also do proprietary trading where they will take bets on the direction of the market.

It is a good place to get started as a trader- those firms probably offer the widest variety of experiences in the capital markets, but they don't really specialize in proprietary trading. For that, you need to work at a hedge fund or a prop shop. That said, with three or four years of one of those firms on your resume, you can get an interview just about anywhere.

 

Tempora et placeat excepturi. Omnis sunt est velit quae excepturi sed. Eos perspiciatis quibusdam et. Repudiandae at similique temporibus nesciunt a incidunt rem et. Recusandae facilis non voluptate odit rerum laudantium.

Iste a similique non odio amet autem. Ea nihil autem cupiditate recusandae repudiandae veritatis. Sunt quas rerum aspernatur rem incidunt non. Nihil odit numquam quis dolores.

Vero nostrum ea iusto repellat deleniti voluptas architecto. Voluptas nisi est id quas cupiditate et cumque. Dolores et ipsa nam ea velit delectus modi. Aut quidem eum qui aut.

Doloremque doloremque repudiandae nam quo. Optio est laudantium quia. Dolore rerum eius itaque nulla voluptatem est eaque voluptatibus. Qui voluptatum animi nam enim unde. Magnam natus pariatur laudantium iure facere excepturi nihil exercitationem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Lazard Freres No 98.9%
  • Harris Williams & Co. 25 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 04 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (21) $373
  • Associates (91) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (68) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (147) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”