Exotics Trading
Was discussing this with a few sell-side friends - exotics are nice PnL centers for banks given wider bid/offer, but do end users of these products actually make money on them?
For instance, FX second gen exotics are more levered but you can really get whacked on strike selection. SPX/rates trades are also tricky, etc.
This also feeds into exit ops - is it then difficult to transition away from an exo trading role into say a macro fund (or is it lucrative enough on the sell side that you just don’t need to care?)
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Also wondered this… I always hear the importance of learning risk management from trading for HF exits which exotics seems perfect for given the strange greek profiles traders face. But maybe the niche products limits exits to only specific hfs?
Not really sure honestly. Hopefully someone with insight can comment.
EQ - no real idea, so will refrain from commenting
FX/macro: lots of end-users (especially for FX which usually sits at a low vol) are using the exotics for leveraged directional punts and therefore P&L outcome depends on whether view is correct (or atleast the market aligns such that they can unwind the structure at profit prior to expiry).
For the vol clients, I presume they wouldn't do trade if they didn't think they had edge and/or it provided value to their portfolio dynamics in a favorable way. Realistically, I don't think these are liquid enough to make anyone's year but I'm sure there are ppl who use these exotics to enhance their vol, RR, and fly dynamics.
Exotics can teach you about managing risk as usually can't unwind line items, but important to not get too caught up in niche LSV model parameters which I don't think adds anything to becoming a risk-taker.
Currently reading Frans de Weert's exotics and I've had growing interest within the field. I've got a lot of questions and I'd love some guidance. Can I dm?
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