Buy Side Equity Execution Trading
Currently about a year into my career in a front office financing role at a bank and I'm looking to make a move into something more markets-facing. I have an opportunity to apply for an Equity Execution Trader (Analyst) role at a large fixed income-focused asset manager. Essentially execute equity/derivative transactions, work with PMs, monitor market activity/liquidity, provide color throughout the day etc... My main hesitation is that it's seemingly pure execution - implementing PM decisions, not generating investment views myself. A few things I'm trying to figure out:
- Does execution trading experience actually hurt you if you later want to move toward a PM-track role, or is that a non-issue if you've got CFA + can show you've been building investment thinking on your own?
- Are there realistic exits from an execution seat like this - into PM, or even other trading seats (rates, vol, etc.)? Or does it tend to be a track people stay on?
- Is this a better move than trying to grind for an S&T seat at a bank instead (sales or trading, something with actual risk-taking)? Trying to figure out if buy-side execution > sell-side S&T for optionality, or if it's the opposite. Obviously think that just being in the buy side building has its own benefits.
Anyone who's made a similar move, or who's closer to trading/PM hiring, honest takes appreciated - trying not to make a move that looks good on paper but boxes me in. Thanks!
