Pls Help!!! Cross Asset FICC Sales desk - LatAm
Can anyone shed some light on the Cross Asset FICC Sales Desk, especially with a focus on LatAm? I’m currently sitting on a US Rates Sales desk at a low tier bank (think Barclays, Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse, DB, UBS). Would it be worth to join a cross asset sales desk at a top tier BB (GS, JPM, Citi) keeping the same position? What are some of the pros/cons? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!!!
If you can get a pay bump or even flat, I would go for it. Wider product set in more currencies in markets that have wider bid/ask, seems like a layup. I think your biggest risk is job liquidity, you can do US rates a lot of places, EM is not something that everybody does. Would have some very cool travel opportunities and I am sure you could find a Miami office to work out of during the winter now. Do you speak Spanish or Portuguese?
Thank you for the quick response! I do speak Spanish, lived in Mexico for 10+ years as a kid so def bilingual. The job liquidity as you mentioned concerns me, it seems that this desk is only available at certain banks and in few locations (NY/MIA/LatAm locations)
I’ve lived in NYC before and I’m not sure how i feel about going back given the whole pandemic issue and cost of living (currently in NC, very cheap vs NYC).
Nonetheless, I do find the role very interesting. I wonder how much leverage one has as a potential 1st year associate in working at a different location maybe in TX or FL given covid new standard.
I wonder what kind of exit opps one has after 3-5 years on a desk like this? Any thoughts would be deeply appreciated!!
I highly doubt that you would have leverage to live elsewhere as a new hire that is pretty junior, they are going to want you on the desk to learn from the senior people. If you take this job you are most likely going back to NYC and maybe getting to spend some time in MIA when you are visiting clients as I have heard a lot of the larger LatAm/Caribbean based clients will have people in MIA who focus on US based products (UST, MBS, US based IG issuers, etc.) and the home country will focus on Latam issuers and local currency based stuff.
In terms of exit opps, you could move to another bank that does EM or maybe a buyside role doing EM. There are a lot of smaller brokerages that have offices in MIA that focus on EM and Latam based clients, I would imagine they have pretty nice payouts and I'm sure there are some people making serious money at those places. Something to think about after building some nice relationships.
In terms of comp/growth- You don't really know anything until you interview and get a feel for how many people are on the desk and what they are truly looking for in the role. Every desk and every firm is different in how they assign work and what is expected out of various levels. My gut feeling is if they are hiring a junior person it means that there is enough business being done to hire somebody who is not really producing any revenue, so I would imagine they would pay standard analyst/associate level salary/bonus. I would gun for an associate title and I would ask for a small coverage list that can be yours from day one. You are most likely a year or so out on this at your current firm so you have some leverage there.
What to know- I would read up on local news and how various local currencies are trading vs the dollar. Also might be helpful to look at how yields on local sovereign bonds look vs USTs. If your current firm has anyone who covers Latam based clients I would reach out to them if you feel comfortable and see if they can offer any insight.
Wow thanks for the thorough response, extremely helpful. Unfortunately, no LatAm s&t desk at my firm. I’ll def do some reading and stay informed, will keep you posted on interview/hiring process!
2nd this...if you speak Spanish or Portuguese this is a slam dunk...their markets are only getting more sophisticated
I do, lived in MX 10+ years. What are some things you think i should research/must know for a potential interview at the sr analyst/1st year associate level? Recently applied to a job posting on this and I believe I’m a strong candidate for the position. Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!
Depends on what you like. Speaking Spanish and/or Portuguese is a must. Almost no other way around it.
Just to add to what the above poster said, Latam sales is not a big business. And if this is for a local sales job, you are not working with US clients interested in Latam, but rather Latam-based clients. So the teams are usually very lean since there’s not much comp to go around.
I will say, though, it is a very interesting business. Latam clients will almost exclusively go through you so, even though you have a specific mandate, you’ll be exposed to an array of products/asset classes. Good learning opportunity.
Thanks for chiming in! I do speak Spanish, lived in MX for 10+ yrs. Do you think the idea to grow rapidly is somewhat limited since you mentioned teams tend to be small on this desk? Also, do you know what comp is like compared to other desks? For reference, my bonus was in the $45-55k range as a 2nd year analyst. I wonder if you take some kind of pay cut given the opportunity to work at a top-tier BB (resume boost)
I would appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me!
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