Trading to Research

If moving externally, I would say slim to none. If moving internally, it would depend upon which area of trading you are in and your relationships with the various interested parties - but it won't be easy and you have to be careful not to tread on any toes.

The skills for being a trader and a research analyst are not mutually exclusive but they are viewed as being very different.

If you are trading a particular sector, you should be fairly close to the research team anyway. Ask the top research guy in your sector out for an informal drink after work and see what he thinks. If he views you favourably and he has a spot on his team then it could be a goer. If it is then approach your own boss about the idea. (s)he will be pissed as they will need to replace you - that's why you feel out the research guy first.

agreed-- internally is really your best bet..if you can do it, after a yr or so, you should be able to move externally or to a HF if you want.

i've heard of a lot of researchers moving into trading - the only ones I know who did it went into prop. does anybody know somebody who went from research into flow? i agree the jobs would be very different and demand different skillsets

it doesn't make sense to move into flow - why would you? It has nothing to do with research, whereas prop does. Prop is useful and linked to research, as you're making trading decisions.

to the OP what kind of trading are we talking about here. May i ask why you think you would want to move from trading to ER?

said that wrong - I don't know anyone who went from flow into research. we usually put new hires with our desk researchers so they learn about the cos and industries we cover, but the desk researchers don't do near the level of stuff that the publishinhg team puts out.

prop is definitely more close to research than flow, but i wouldn't say flow has 'nothing' to do with research

What does flow have to do at all with research? I'd say close to nothing.

you don't actually compile the research or write a proposal, but you read plenty of them - that's got to count for something, no?

it just helps to understand the financial statements and how to analyze companies before you start trading them

I find myself agreeing with Ratul.

Flow traders rarely bother past the first page - research reports are structured to get the main points there.

Most flow traders are smart but it's street smarts, not necessarily book smarts (the best ones combine both). Research analysts have to be book smart but not necessarily street smart (the best ones combine both).

Prop traders are more akin to hedge fund managers than flow traders - they're just running the bank's, rather than external clients', money. There's less emphasis on portfolio construction than a hedge fund and generally shorter holding periods but the basic job description is the same. A street smart analyst can move into prop, as can a book smart flow trader - just two different paths to the same destination.