Best major for trading
Looking to get into BB trading (generally looking at rates vol, fx vol, macro credit) and Im essentially caught between majoring in Econ + Applied Math or Econometrics. Can't find much about people taking econometrics but the general overview of the major seems perfect for more quanty/technical trading desks and many schools Im looking to apply to offer it and have a pretty strong program for it. Would there even really be much of a difference in how it looks for recruiting? Would either route be more rigorous/difficult or provide an upper hand as far as how the knowledge transfers onto a desk?
On another note what value does a CS minor add for these roles? I know coding is a must for a lot of these desks but many people just say its easier to teach yourself with MIT opencourseware or similar resources. Could it still add value to recruiting, or would it just make my college life unnecessarily more difficult? Any answers help, thanks
The best majors would be a combo of Finance + applied math or finance + statistics, with self-studying of coding languages and game theory. Minoring in comp sci could help but I don't think you need to if you have a decent grasp of it by the time you graduate.
Ive had so many people telling me that finance is more or less a bullshit degree for trading, so just wondering what u think abt that claim. Economics does seem a bit better, especially with the end goal of trading at a macro HF, but obviously I could be seeing this wrong. lmk what u think
Finance is a much better undergrad degree for almost all finance jobs imo. Economics is only better if you want to go to grad school for a quantitative topic. Finance is a much more practical degree for the job market since it teaches things like modeling whereas economics is more theoretical and much more math heavy, which you wouldn't need if you're double majoring in something like applied math or statistics already. Almost all companies will prefer a finance degree unless you're looking at more of a quant job than a trading job in which case a STEM major would be better than econ anyways.
I agree with congressionalbateman, and I do not understand the hate on the opinion. I just landed a rates vol seat at a top bank, and finance + applied math is what I studied. n=1, sure, but here’s why I thought it was a good decision.
I felt that my finance degree, although clearly less quantitative than my applied math degree, helped build a more solid foundation in the underlying instruments in fixed income (think swaps, bonds, forwards). The math side of things only give you a “language” to communicate concepts such as option pricing, but I felt most of my intuition came from thinking commercially, not mathematically.
I think a path towards macro credit is easier via finance + applied math as well. Getting a good foundation in business & accounting helps more in the credit space.
If you want to do FX vol, I think econ is a more solid choice than finance because you can understand the whole shabang of international capital flows etc better.
As I mentioned, this is my specific case, which doesn’t guarantee how it may turn out for you. However, I felt that the education I chose for myself ultimately helped me stand out on all 3 desks you mentioned. This gave me optionality to pursue the one that interested me the most as opposed to scrambling for a seat.
Would disagree big time. Just do the economics and applied math and self teach yourself finance. The macro concepts will have a lot of math / data science involved which you wouldn’t be able to self teach as easily as finance. You can read finance textbooks and anyone with a functioning iq can learn the different concepts while also having the economics background.
If you’re still not in college yet then it’s a no brainer. You can start reading finance textbooks under course literature for finance courses right now and you’ll realise why doing economics at college is a better idea. A vast majority of people in this forum did finance and you’re gonna get biased answers.
On the contrary, wouldn't finance over econ make recruiting and overall rigor easier? If a vast majority of people in this forum are both in sales and trading and did finance, couldn't I get to the same place doing either? If that's the case I feel like for many schools I'd much rather go finance for the brand name and applied math for the technicals, as many traders also say that everything outside of the pure technical skills they teach you on the desk fairly easily. I really wouldn't be opposed to finance being more of just a fluff degree that helps get the first rounds, regardless of what i could be learning with econ, just cuz im still doubling up with math. Idk just tryna think about everything people said here, especially cuz theres a good mix of answers and Im just tryna think every perspective through, but lmk
It def depends what school ur at - ie at a big state school with a shit business program but top 5 engineering program that should influence ur decision. Also nothing you learn in undergrad as finance major is going to prep you for a sell side vol seat, much better to come in with a solid quant/math background. the desk will teach you what you need to know. id pick some sort of applied math major and pay attention in lin alg plz cause youll need it if you end up on a vol desk
Still got a good bit before I apply so I'm tryna figure that out. Wondering if going to an undergrad b school (likely something like ross, mcintire, mcdonough, marshall etc.) will still help just for the fact that they are considered targets for finance and will prob make recruiting easier, but definitely going to be trying to double with something technical, again prob gonna be applied math or stat. Or would it just be smarter to try to go to a school with better technical programs (georgia tech, cmu)? Any info helps thanks
nice that ur thinking so ahead and sounds like a good plan but would just try to enjoy ur senior yr in hs before worrying about recruiting when you get to college. apply to both types and see where you get in. math can be a grind in college but if you enjoy the material its not bad at all. what im trying to get across is it doesnt really matter what you study but its obvious that studying something technical will give you the math background needed for sell side vol stuff and that going to a target/brand name will make the recruiting process "easier" - imo hardest part about snt recruiting is getting the first round haha.
forgot to answer the second part of ur question - the few lines of python needed to pull data -> mess around with the data -> make a pretty chart doesnt require a college degree/minor and the free resources on the internet is more than enough. does it add value in recruiting? sure it can and give you something to talk about.
IMO major doesn't matter, but you want a few classes in computer science (enough to be useful with pandas), stats, and any of the econ or finance classes that cover bonds/swaps/options. Studying any one of these is fine, though I would say higher level math (more than calculus and linear algebra) is completely useless for trading applications, though it is good to exercise your brain.
Math + econ
Pick something quanty, one of Math, Physics, CompSci, Stats, Eng.
If you want to add another major, maybe pick economics or finance -- but this isn't helpful beyond a few intro courses.
What you do outside class - the books you read, following markets, coming up with trade ideas, backtesting strats, speaking with traders and seeking feedback on your work - is infinitely more important.
Thanks. Wondering what ur input would be on the question of wether or not going to an undergrad b school would be worth it for recruiting. Obviously still going to double with something technical, likely applied mathematics or stat, but I'm kinda lost with the whole recruitment process. For IB it was so cut out with targets and semis, and seemed like there was a lot more info available, but with S&T does any of that even matter? Im assuming going to a business school would give me good exposure to be able to find trading opportunities at BBs, but how does that go at more engineering focused schools? Would it all just consist of cold calling/emailing, or do some still have strong alumni networks for trading?
Trading roles also have their own target school/ programs, but there are more avenues. There's scope for precise skill evaluation in trading. Its not unheard of to get a role at a S&T, prop or even hedge fund role by winning a mock trading, open-outcry, or poker competition. That does not exist in IB. GPA/ target school limits are more flexible if someone shows outlier promise in terms of technical and/or market competence.
I'll re-iterate: What you do outside of class is far more important for trading.
This is the right answer. FX and Rates Trading is highly Quant. So you need to be very sharp at picking up math and implementing complex models. So being mathy and computer savvy is EXTREMELY HELPFUL. The financial stuff you can learn on your own really (as an analyst being quanty is much more valuable than being a market nerd, it flips as you go up the ladder ofc). If you want equities trading or something else, perhaps finance is better because it is much easier.
It depends also a lot on which field of trading do you want to do
Energy trading power/nat gas
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Heard there isn’t a lot of space at Barclays macro credit
Heard there isn’t a lot of space at Barclays macro credit
Heard there isn’t a lot of space at Barclays macro credit
Heard there isn’t a lot of space at Barclays macro credit
Heard there isn’t a lot of space at Barclays macro credit
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