Q&A: Equity Derivatives S&T
Hi all!
Open to any questions regarding my career path so far as well as questions about Equity Derivatives Trading and the differences between trading at a IB, at a market-making firm, at a prop-trading firm or at a buy-side firm.
Here is a little bit about myself:
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studied Mathematics in Canada (had a mediocre GPA);
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did a few finance-related internships (WM, Trading, Risk Management, etc);
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worked in Equity Derivatives Sales at a French Investment Bank where I covered top Hedge Funds for Volatility strategies;
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had a good GMAT and went to business school in the UK for a year to study Finance (MSc);
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recently started a job as a Equity Derivatives Trader at Market-making / Prop-trading firm in Amsterdam.
Best,
TeddyRoze
WSO Mentor
Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.
Hi! First of all, congratulations on your offer! To be quite honest, the answer is quite dependent on the exact position but I'll tell you what helped me most:
1) Don't be shy! - Talk to as many people as you possibly can, even more senior people. You want them to notice you and to know who you are. Being nice to others and a fun person to work with is very underrated in my opinion. Of course, pick your moments and don't be too pushy in general but you will quickly develop a sense for that.
2) Be on top of things - at the start, it's always hard to multi-task and understand everything that is going on around you but that's normal and no one expects you to know everything from the start. However, when given a task, always make sure you understand what you are asked to do (so always ask questions and clarify) and do it as well as you possibly can (that goes without saying). There is a tradeoff between speed and quality and no clear answer as to what is more important, it depends on many things but you will also develop a sense for that over time. Finally, as you become more comfortable in your position, try to always have an answer: what I mean by that is, people will ask you questions and most of them you should expect from the start, so know what your answer will be. (Don't lie if you don't know though)
3) Adapt to the person you're interacting with - you will find that there are many different personalities in the industry (buy side and sell side) and it will always play out in your favor if you are able to understand people (what they need, what they want, what they like and dislike...).
4) Be pro-active - whenever possible, try to add value, let your team know about the ideas you have, how to make processes faster or more efficient for example.
5) Leave a written trail - that one saved me countless times! When you are asked to do something or you confirm something to someone, always send an email (or chat) to confirm, even if that means repeating exactly what you just said out loud. Something like " Hi XXX, As discussed, ..." will do just fine. It's very hard to pin the resonsibility for something that went wrong on you if you left a written trail showing you acted in good faith/the right way.
I hope these will help you and wish you good luck!
Hi! Congrats on your offer for this summer! I'll try to answer both questions:
1) First of all, I have to be honest I was not aware you could choose your rotations, I thought they were imposed at most banks but if you get to choose or at least express some sort of interest that's a good thing! Given your profile, you would most likely do well in trading and in sales so if I were you I would ask myself what my long-term goals are. If you think you want to move to the buy-side at some point, go for trading. If you like the sell-side and want to progress to managerial positions, sales will do fine and it can be a lot of fun! If you don't know, that's totally fine and I'd recommend trying out both. Also very important is the asset class you will pick as it is quite likely that you will end up specializing in that specific asset class. You mentioned you are quite technical and good at Maths, I'd look at Derivatives (Equity or Fixed Income) for sure.
2) The Equity Derivs Sales desk I was working on was extremely stimulating, some of the salespeople were extremely technical and taught me a lot about the asset class. I also discovered the world of volatility trading, which is one of the most interesting subsets of derivatives. It's a misconception that Sales is not intellectually stimulating in my opinion. It could be the case for certain asset classes (namely the ones that will get automated first) though. In terms of exit opportunities, it gets slightly more complicated. As mentioned before, Sales is a fun job but it's harder to move to the buy-side, compared to trading positions. That is the reason I decided to go back to school after being in Sales for a full year. The transition from Sales to any other role is not that straightforward so bear that in mind, a lot of people get "stuck" there. But nothing is impossible and networking is definitely your best ally when you are looking at exit opps in general. Prop Trading was my exit but you can definitely go into Hedge Funds as well!
I hope that answers your questions, best of luck for this summer! Try to enjoy and learn as much as possible!