Difference between Sales and Trading?

I understand that sales people are the ones who pitch the ideas to clients and traders are the ones who execute the deals, but when people say that “trading is dead and or dying” does this apply to the sales part as well?

12 Comments
 

No, salespeople will always be needed, because (at least for the forseeable future) AI will not have the emotional capabilities that humans have that is are needed to sell to clients and prospects. When people say that trading is dead or dying, most of them don't mean trading as a whole. Human market makers will always be needed, it's just the more simple types of trading like execution trading that will be automated and handed over to AI.

Array
 

Haven't heard of that. Interesting will have to check it out. I agree that the more mundane aspects (grunt work and that type of stuff) will definitely be automated. I work in the sales department of a quant AM firm, and I know that there is a lot of stuff that is being automated. I was more referring to the part where you actually have to sell to people. That requires more than just numbers and data, it requires emotion, which machines will never have, in my opinion.

Array
 

Traders are responsible for the revenue, the risk and will ultimately be the last stop for every other supporting function (finance, legal, compliance, management, regulators etc) they own the books.

Sales want to print trades. They are responsible for pushing products and ensuring relationships are maintained, and in FICC sales do execution. They do not have the above responsibilities per se beyond client onboarding / KYC / ALM type stuff.

 

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