Entering Commodity Trading in US and Europe
Hi guys, I'm interested in any advice of yours regarding entering into Commodity Trading positions at US or Europe? specially for someone from outside those hubs. I'm focusing on Houston/New York, Geneva/Zurich, London and Denmark.
Some background: I'm 4Y Senior Analyst in Brazil, working in Trading Operations for a large Sugar and Biofuels producer. We own several sugarcane mills and we trade our prop commodities and market origination, domestic and also exporting through maritime operations. Oil is also relevant part of the trading portfolio.
It's a middle office job, so i'm scheduling, following clients/suppliers performance on physical, and supporting the Financial Desk (Paper S&T) with credit, futures and options within all Trade Finance tasks. We do have offices in Houston and Geneva, but very small team and quite low opportunities.
I've also previous experience as backoffice analyst at an Investment bank, working with collateral, credit and derivatives (OTC and Futures), doing risk management, P&L and MTM modelling, loads of structured reports and analysis with Excel/Power BI.
- Should I try to move to a Front Office/Trader position first in order to broader my chances before applying abroad?
- Which Tradings or Majors you recommend for applying? Trying to land CVs on Trafigura, but unfortunately any luck yet.
- Would be nice to hear if someone here did a similar move like this? coming from South america, Asia or Middle East and breaking into the Commodity Hubs.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights and advice for entering Commodity Trading positions in the US and Europe:
Steps to Broaden Your Chances:
Recommended Trading Firms and Majors:
Top Trading Firms:
Major Hubs:
Personal Experiences and Networking:
Additional Tips:
Leverage Your Background:
Enhance Your Skills:
By following these steps and leveraging your existing experience, you can increase your chances of breaking into commodity trading positions in the US and Europe. Good luck!
Sources: Have I messed up my future?, Move from back office to middle office to front office, Ask Eddie: Should I Bail On My Trading Job?, Getting into Trading after 1st Year Recruiting, How One Student Did Coffee Chats Right - Received Offer From A BB
I am currently working in one of those hubs and myself made a similar transition (although from European periphery), so here are my 2 cents.
In terms of difficulty, I would rank it as follows:
Easy - lateral move within the same location
Medium - lateral move to a new location
Difficult - "upwards" move within the same location
Very difficult - "upwards" move to a new location
So if you goal is to find a FO role in one of those hubs, I would recommend trying to get promoted where you are and then look to move geographically. From your current position, I'd say it is very difficult. If it is just about location, and you are happy with Ops/MO, I think that is doable.
I won't recommend specific companies, but would suggest to look at firms/desks where your unique experiences would be valued.
As an example, bringing a guy with several years of sugar/biofuels MO experience from Brazil to a gas trading desk in Denmark does not bring any immediate benefit to the company. Having the same person on a biofuels trading desk of a company that is expanding into South America is, on the other hand, a hugely attractive. I would think of it in those terms.
Hey mate, tks for the advice. Your scale of difficulty make a lot of sense. And the expertise on the product specifics It’s also a good tip.
Regarding Front and Middle positions, I feel that my CV is quite ok for landing to these Commodity Hubs by keeping the same position as operator/scheduler or even paper/hedge desk.
However, as a Senior OPS analyst I’m also in the sweet spot for transitioning for a Trader Position, this is my end goal for sure. I agree with you that making this move locally would be much easier.
— And let me ask you, are you working in Denmark? how did you break into the Hub? Just cold emailing/linkedin or anything else? Tks!
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