FI Pod Analyst
I joined a Macro fixed income/rv pod that is mostly focused on G10 rates products recently as an analyst, and after a few months, it seems like this job is mostly just to be a data monkey for my PM. I spend most of my days cleaning data, runnning regressions on a lot of large data sets, and fixing minor dev issues. I only have a couple friends in the industry in other fixed income pods, and they seem to share a pretty similar experience. My background is pretty normal, I joined straight out of a CS undergrad, and I interned at the fund I am at. I am getting paid okay, but nowhere near what hear analyst in good fundamental equities or quant pods get paid. Is this experience standard at the beginning of a macro/fixed income career, and the beginning is just slower than other strategies? Or is this just an issue specific to my PM/pod?
Is this a firm with a structured grad program like Citadel FIM or Capula or were you hired more ad hoc?
Not going to say to much, but it’s a large multistrat, although not one of the two listed above. I did partake in an internship program and was placed into a pod, but I am not really part of a program anymore, I just work for a PM who runs a small pod.
For a new analyst out of college, that's probably what a PM wants, a data monkey. It would be the same everywhere, including fundamental equity pod, no real PM is giving a fresh grad actual risk. Realistically speaking, a small PM pod doesn't need an analyst. Your value is cheaper than/equal to your PM hiring an external part-time contractor. 1 way to add value to a small pod/self-grow is to constantly engage sell-side sales/traders, be it via IB, phone call, or drinks, to obtain market color/better execution for your PM, while at the same time building your personal brand. Bonus, if you are looking to move for personal reasons in the future, sell-side could connect you to another PM looking to grow their pod.
Do you think it’s fair to get paid about the same as an IB analyst? It seems like most pod or quant trading analysts are paid way more from what I hear, is fixed income just paid less at first? Or are the quant trading comp numbers that are rumored just inflated (I have heard fresh grads get 400-600 TC from both friends at mid tier quant trading companies and online).
What you're hearing about QT is not a rumor. And mid tier firms started increasing comp to compete for talent as well.
It is not fair to be paid like IB unless you're barely working. Macro/FI pods will pay less than quant trading, because even if you were that good you wouldn't be using those skills, but there is a sizeable premium to IB. There's another thread here about BW making between 250-300, and the Investment Associates are paid 300k pro rated as interns. This is out of undergrad. Pod life is way more stressful than BW where you just take classes for a year and get canned for potentially not passing them. There are multiple articles online about C/MLP/P27/BAM comp as well. If you're making ~200k as a quant/analyst in a fixed income pod, your job is likely not important to the team or your PM does not have good track so just learn all you can and leave. Point72 academy pays more than IB and it's a 9 month training program. I think you know the answer here.
I'm in rates on the sell-side and very interested in your experience. Do you mind sharing some of your thoughts via pm? Thanks.
Might be completely off but usually the analysts in equities funds typically have 2yrs in IB
Vs joining a rates pod without any rates trading exposure on the sellside / pnl track record that might be the diff maker
Right move maybe to go to the sell side for 4-5 years at a decent FICC shop, build trade pnl (not franchise pnl)
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