Best FICC S&T Products (Trading)
Hello, currently an undergraduate who will be interning in trading at a BB. I was wondering what products are generally the best and worst for starting out in a FICC trading career.
A few things that are important to me are:
- Interesting product/market
- Strong exit opportunities to the buyside or other banks
- Significant and attributable PNL generation/compensation
- Strong desk/franchise at my firm
A few products I’ve researched and find interesting are FX, Credit, SPG, Commodities, and Rates. Any thoughts or insight on those desks and the specific products within would be greatly appreciated.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s a breakdown of FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities) trading products and how they align with your priorities:
1. FX (Foreign Exchange)
2. Credit
3. SPG (Structured Products Group)
4. Commodities
5. Rates
Recommendations:
Ultimately, the "best" product depends on your interests and the strengths of the desk at your firm. If your BB has a particularly strong franchise in one of these areas, it might be worth prioritizing that desk for better learning and career growth opportunities.
Sources: S&T Summer Analyst Lateral to IB FT?, Q&A: BB Fixed Income Trader, 2nd Year Analyst, FICC sales trading desk, The Unfortunate Truth, Physical Commodity Trading
Bumping for some traction.
Take some time to make friends at the firm, so you can kind of get the inside scoop on where each desk sits relative to other banks for that product, you want to me where money is made not lost. Exit to buy side all of these really have some kind of market, I think Rates Commods and Credit are some of the best. One thing I think you should focus on is what YOU want. Fixed income vs FX vs Equities is quite different. Or maybe you want to look at a macro vs micro focused desk. Just some notes. If u are interning and get rotations split it like that, one macro vs micro or like equities vs fixed income so you see both sides of the coin
Do you work in the industry? Do you mind if I dm to give you more context?
Feel free to PM
Something to think about in the future would be to consider what type of buyside exit you want. Macro hedge fund? Rates, FX, macro credit, commodities, would be best. Structured credit and SPG have their own buyside exits. For now, I would largely focus on maximizing your odds at getting a return offer. Agree with above poster to network and figure out where the most money is made and what is a strategic focus of the bank to expand (if any) to try and strategize where you rotate and network the most accordingly.
What are the types of exits/funds for SPG and Structured Credit? I haven't been able to find much about the firms and strategies in the space (not as obvious as the macro funds).
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