Mathematics for Sales and Trading
Hi All, I’m just about to graduate university doing Computer Science, however I’ve been interested in trading for a while, I’ve done some modules in my free time, however nothing advanced. I was wondering, what kind of maths do you need for roles within sales and trading. Maths isn’t my strong point, however willing to freshen up. I like the sound of sales traders, having that interaction aspect. Any advice and help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Hey there,
Great to hear about your interest in sales and trading! Now, let's talk about the math skills you might need.
For roles within sales, sales trading, or trading, the quantitative ability required is quite similar across the board. You don't need to be a math genius, but you should be comfortable running a few models and using a calculator. For instance, it's worth knowing about Black Scholes, a key model used in options pricing, even though you might not use it often.
In the trading world, your value to the business is often derived from your ability to gather information and create trading opportunities. So, while math is important, it's not the only skill you need.
If you're looking at more quantitative roles, such as those on the XVA desk which is part of the overall risk management of the bank, stronger math skills would be beneficial.
In summary, while you don't need to be a math whiz for most roles in sales and trading, having a solid foundation and being comfortable with numbers will definitely be an asset.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Sources: Conversation with an Equities Sales Trader, So you want to be a Quant?, Q&A: 25 years Sales / Trading Experience, Does sales in S&T require a quant background or programming skills?, Skills needed for a quantitative trader?
Depends on the product. Many won't require any advanced maths, but a rates/em desk it would be very encouraged to have
Thanks for the response! What kind of maths do you need, even if it’s not advanced ?
Are you US-based? I was fine with whatever math classes I took in undergrad as a biz-major.
You also mentioned liking the sales-side, so you shouldn't have to worry. imo sales desk just has to be able to juggle a lot of chats, more organization/quick thinking/memory than the technical side.
You sure you are interested in sales trading? Then no math needed. It is a sales role.
Thanks ! I’ve been looking at internships and graduate schemes, sometimes it mentions- “Strong quantitative skills” I Imagine it’s because you rotating around many desks ?
half right. Some cases, yes when the bank offers rotations to interns and juniors especially if ur looking for graduate schemes then it would be the case.. but other cases its just corporate bs..just trying to write down glorified description to make the job sound technical where it is not.
Sales Trading won’t require any fancy math, it’d be another question if you were considering anything with quantitative, exotic or structuring in the job title
A Math background will be useful for any options/non-linear desk, XVA trading, exotics, and maybe a few others. Definitely not very useful for sales traders tho
Thanks for your insight, i keep seeing the need for “quantitative skills” in the job description for sales trading/sales ? Also, is there away to get into sales without doing a sales and trading internship, they seem to be very optimistic about maths, I can imagine the interview process will contain some element.
Usually Sales will not have a math element, but they may ask you a quick arithmetic brain teaser (34 * 52) just to see. Interviewers will also usually play to your strong suits, and since you come from a CS background they may give you a more mathy brain teaser or smthn of that nature. Typically sales is much less mathematically complex than trading tho
Thanks ! I see, unfortunately for me, my degree focuses more on the technical side rather than the mathematical side. I had one module on abstract data types and mathematical formulas, but nothing advanced. Do you see people come from non mathematical degrees ? What does a typical sales person do ? Thanks again !
99% of sales people will have no math background. It’s essentially useless in sales. You’ll be fine haha
Thank you ! Much appreciated.
I do commodities sales and there is a fair amount of math (and fast calculations) that you have to do. It’s not “advanced” calculus/statistics, but you do need to be very comfortable with numbers to do what I do. We quote fairly complex derivative structures using options and swaps. I’m curious as to what types/asset classes of salespeople don’t use math as part of their job? Do they simply ask a trader for a price and pass it without calculating it/spotchecking themselves?
Sorry, I should clarify. It is beneficial to be analytical working in sales, but it will not require a formal background in mathematics. Mental arithmetic and a natural quantitative ability is useful for all of S&T, but some of the trading/structuring roles will require knowledge of stochastics, pde, etc where sales typically will not
To be honest just a lot of fast arithmetics. Understanding the structures that you are quoting in terms of delta, vega, etc. Knowing what my traders normally would have to do to hedge such position (and therefore knowing how the market needs to move to be in our favor or against us) helps me protect the trade when going live and markets are having huge swings.
Understanding discounting/NPV of positions, understanding how the XVA of each trade should work against the portfolio of my clients.
Adding or subtracting on the go while competing live trades with several counterparts and having to recalc return on potential exposure for a trade with new charges.
a lot of stuff
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