Securities Lending Desk - Back Office?
(Orangutan, 282
Points)
on 3/25/10 at 7:04pm
My friend tells me that the securities lending desk is considered back office at his firm. (Even though they generate revenue and meet clients). This is because the MD of ops watches over the desk.
What is your opinion on this? Do you consider this back office? Front Office? What are the exit ops for someone who's working on a securities lending desk?
In my company it's considered
In my company it's considered back office...
And the exit ops are not as great as one might be led to believe
Bump....Also interested.
Bump....Also interested.
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my friend is at jpm rotating
my friend is at jpm rotating through their securities lending desk now and i know he didn't get into a fo rotational program so i'd say more like a mo spot seeing that they are revenue generating
Is it agency lending or a
Is it agency lending or a custodian bank? I would feel agent lenders operate more in a front office role-- they typically have a relationship management and sales function that make their living off of bringing assets under their arm. I would at least consider those working in the client service and prospect generation group to be front office.
I would agree that the exit ops are poor at best. Most people born in stock loan also die in stock loan... and while they work the easy hours, talk to most on the desk and your rare to find anyone that is genuinely happy they lend stock for a living.
Granted that it might not be
Granted that it might not be FO, but in terms of a rotational program, wouldn't a rotation through the desk be helpful in terms of transitioning elsewhere in the bank? I would think that its would be fairly quantitative work, and would probably help if the ultimate goal was to get to S&T....
It started as a BO function
It started as a BO function 20-25 years ago, and that may be why it still has that stigma at some firms. It's not BO, though. If you're speaking with clients, generating your own revenue/manage a portfolio of securities, and pricing anything for the market, you're FO. If you process trades and bug traders about their PnL and risk limits, you're MO. If you order the pencils, actually make the payments for trades, and fix computers when they crap out, you're BO.
Sec Lending guys (at least in the buy-side) manage a portfolio of loans to clients. They're the only reason that equity long/short funds exist, and since VERY few people understand the mechanics of going short or have ever managed a portfolio of shorts, sec lending guys can exit to equity l/s funds without much difficulty.
It's not something you want to do for 10 years, but 2 years on the desk isn't bad. You'll get some good interaction with the other traders on the floor, understand a bit more about the markets, and learn about a niche area of the business. If you do your CFA at the same time, there's no reason you can't progress to running some sort of equity portfolio.
MurrMade wrote: Is it agency
Is it agency lending or a custodian bank? I would feel agent lenders operate more in a front office role-- they typically have a relationship management and sales function that make their living off of bringing assets under their arm. I would at least consider those working in the client service and prospect generation group to be front office.
Agency Lending....
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