Desk´s typical composition

Hi everybody.

I´d like to know what´s the typical desk composition on average. I mean, how many senior traders, junior traders, etc does a desk usually have? Does it vary depending on which products the desk trades?

Thanks

5 Comments
 

what is a "desk"? I've worked at an institutional broker where basically everyone was a mid-40's (skill-less) sales person, and a quantitative hedge fund where everyone was an aggressive, young computer programmer (like me, although at 25, I'm getting up there). So, my question of what a "desk" means is actually meaningful, and not a dickish way of dodging the question. It totally depends on firm/culture/location, etc.

 

There is no one blueprint, it can completely vary. It doesn't really depend on product.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 
Best Response

Let me explain my situation. I live in a major emerging markets country (Think Brazil, Russia, India, China) and was offered a Trainee position at a US BB (but here in my home country). I will stay one year doing 4 rotations before joining the trading desk I was choosen to work with (you know this info beforehand at the time you´re accepted in the Trainee programm).

I'm a bit worried because there´s already 2 juniors on the desk, There´s a total of 4 senior traders (The Head traders + 3 other senior traders). Wouldnt 3 junior traders be a bit too much? (That is the true reason behind the question of this thread). Im worried I might not get a full-time offer after the end of the Trainee program, even if my performance is good, because the desk is already full of juniors.

Thanks again!

 

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Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock

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