How (if at all) is financial modeling important in trading (compared to M&A, etc.)?
Currently working on my MSc in Finance, have to pick classes for Fall semester. Pretty sure I want to take a trading track.
Anyways my options:
FNCE 6340 - SECURITY ANALYSIS AND FIRM VALUATION
FNCE 6350 - FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS
FNCE 6480 - FINANCIAL MODELING
The first two classes are the same time so I can take one or the other. Currently signed up for Financial Innovations, bc I assume it deals w/ fixed income securities, including zero coupon instruments, floating rate instruments, collateralized mortgage obligations, stripped mortgage-backed securities, Eurobonds, and interest rate and currency swaps, how these securities are priced in the marketplace and how they respond to changes in the interest rate. Only taking two total bc I work full time.
Other option is waiting for another prereq to open
FNCE 6300 Macroeconomics and Financial Markets ; which I know will eventually open bc its required for the degree but would rather knock out these advanced classes when I know they are available.
wonder the same thing
if you're on a flow desk, your clients/PMs will do the financial modeling.
trading is largely divorced from long-term considerations, whether you trade volatility, structured products, commodities, or vanilla stock/bonds.
i.e., if you're trading a stock, it won't help you muc to know how to calculate the book value/DCF of the underlying company.
FNCE-6350-H01 FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS
FNCE-6382-001 FUTURES, OPTIONS, SWAPS: FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES
Seems reasonable enough.
I'll still have three other electives to take so should be alright...
Edit: well nm, I found that the latter course is a survey course for people who want conceptual knowledge on the subject; going to have to wait until the formal futures and options class is opened...
Financial Modeling during Trading Internship (Originally Posted: 05/18/2009)
For those of you that have had S&T internships, specifically FICC, did you have to do any financial modeling during it? If so, can you elaborate on it. Thx
No, next question
Okay, so what kind of responsibilities did you have? What skills do you think were most critical during the internship?
Being a team player, personable and doing what is asked of you...
What were the typical things asked of you?
this has been talked about quite a bit already. search for some older post
all desks running pricing models.
if you're talking fundamental valuation, it depends whether you're HG or HY. HY guys definitely become familiarized with the models - probably enough to change some of the input cells, but you won't be building stuff.
Like FX? Are most of the daily work tweaking existing models to accomodate for new products?
Where would the interest rates desk fall?
Sorry, but what does HG and HY stand for?
Monty, I searched and didn't really find anything. Would you mind posting the links. Thanks.
HG - High Grade (AAA rated) ; HY - High Yield (Junk Bonds)
The higher grade the bond, the less you're worried about company risk and the more you're worried about yield curve risk. In general:
-Everybody follows the curve
-Riskier the product, more time you spend researching the company (credit). First years on HY desks may spend all their time with research (desk, publishers, and strategists). HG desks are closer to 75% macro/curve, 25% credit (and the credit research is often relegated to looking at AAAs and AAs within industries, not companies specifically). As a jr person, you ususally work later/come in earlier to do admin stuff and tweak models
-Rates traders don't do credit analysis, neither does FX.
-All desks will sensitize their pricing to different yield curve movments. I don't know how FX works much beyond that.
-Most of the yield curve forecasts are done by rates researchers with more quant ability - they employ splines and higher level econometrics.
Point: If you want to do more financial/fundamental modeling stuff, get on a HY, or better yet, a loans desk. But you will not develop the modeling ability of researchers and IBDers.
Trading and Modelling (Originally Posted: 07/18/2012)
Hey guys, despite my username, I really want to be a trader. I just finished my freshman year of college and have spent a lot of time learning about technical analysis, strategies, fx, derivatives and so on. The area I'm lacking on to a degree is fundamental analysis.
I was wondering what models are most useful for retail traders doing some fundamental analysis (DCF, comps)? This is assuming one has done the top down analysis and found a sector/industry that he wants to invest in, but has to find the most solid firm in the industry.
Also, for professional traders at big financial institutions (agency or prop), do they run their own models or are the models already run for them by someone else at the firm? If they don't run models, how do they make investment decisions (prop only)?
Thanks a lot for your help!
bump squared
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