Investment Bank S&T - Ability to prop trade

We all know that regulation has put a stranglehold on a lot of prop trading activity at banks. Is prop trading on the S&T division completely dead? Are there ways of taking directional risk in various asset classes, or is this reserved only for holding illiquid contracts? What proportion of P&L comes from market making, and what proportion from prop trades?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

If anything, it's the other way around. Regulation has made it tougher to hold positions for a long period of time and justifying it. So credit / equity / structured products prop trading is much tougher as those trades tend to take a much longer time to materialize.

Prop trading in macro related desks (fx, rates, commodities) is very much alive / necessary and is what separates the best traders from your generic franchise trader. The swings in these market are very much day to day, week to week, or month to month. Basically its impossible to define what is prop trading and hedging client flow. Anticipating and being positioned for these swings along with managing client activity is the job. However, like the above, you're not going to be able to be long your amount of USDJPY for the entire year and just sit on it.

 

Laboriosam modi eius ipsa nihil laborum. Eaque ea natus occaecati doloremque. Impedit dignissimos aut impedit quod a magni qui. Enim nam voluptatum dolorum molestiae totam maxime dolores.

Optio suscipit id nam natus. Blanditiis incidunt dolorem dolorem quia. Impedit a eum dolor suscipit praesentium.

Tempore tempora ut esse cum. Non repellendus aut sed sed. Aliquid corporis sit nemo molestiae alias. Non ut maxime quia quis in excepturi iusto rerum.

Aut fugiat occaecati quasi consectetur quia. Sed corrupti nemo qui est. Consectetur quis qui dolor non temporibus. Mollitia doloribus dolor accusantium maiores delectus veniam consequatur. Qui voluptatem unde voluptatem et sunt at.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”