Q&A Sales and Trading Post Internship at a top BB (JPM/MS/GS)

Yeah for sure. So for Rates vol and exotics. Definitely a CS major will have an advantage. Personally, I didn't have any coding experience when entering the desk but I learned on the job. I built an algo that was able to extract SDR data and build out a simple chart that expresses what index it was and how much notional it was in whatever time frame they chose. I also built out a multi variant linear regression model so you able to see if certain tenors are relatively cheap or expensive compared to another. So Python, Pandas, C++, and R are used quite a bit. For FXO, honestly I didn't have to do much since QR did a lot of it. However, I still highly recommend you learn it. It's always good to know how the QR team is doing there job so you can get a better understanding of the desk, product, and how it can create efficiency in the desk.I didn't rotate on sales, so can't really speak to that side of it. I can say though (at least in my experience and talking with traders) sales is managing relationships with the clients even though traders do that as well. You make money on how much you charge your client. That's all the color I can really provide on that front.

Firm around 80-85% for FXO I was the only intern to get a return.

Honestly, you know your competing with Iveys so try and create an engaging story to whoever you network with. For me, I started college off majoring in neuroscience for 2 years and then transferred to Finance. I've also been trading options for the past 2.5 years. I lost a lot of money in the beginning but I didn't give up like most people did. I was able to develop my own strategy that consistently made me money and then scaled it from there. I was able to turn 5k-> 82K from June of 2021 to June of 2022 (the volatility this year helped me a lot). Coming from a non-target you won't have the same resources as others so you have to be pro active, be resourceful, take things into your own hands, and honestly just how bad do you really want it.

Well first off, congrats on the offer!! Honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about competing with Ivey league kids. I mean in my experience and personal opinion I really don’t think it matters what school you go to. Are you smart, do you work hard, etc. there are really intelligent people that just can’t afford to go to Harvard or maybe there are other reasons. I know that there were Ivey league kids that struggled during my internship and non target kids that struggled.

To answer your question though

1.) just have a lot of face time and be personable. A lot of people actually want to see you succeed. If you develop relationships with the people on your team I’m willing to bet they are willing to help you.

2.) have insanely good EQ. I cannot stress this enough. The amount of times this summer I had my team thank me because I knew when to approach them with a question compared to some of my colleagues. Write down what times the desk is busy and when’s a good time to approach them.

3.) when you have questions about a project or whatever you are doing if the person is busy that’s okay make sure you ask them when is a good time for them then. They know you have a deadline too so make sure you do that and create time so you can get your questions answered

4.) work hard. Plain and simple. It’s very easy to tell if someone is working hard or is lazy. Especially if it’s something you are struggling with. People will appreciate you trying your best, getting in at 6am and leaving at 10pm. The whole FILO thing is actually a very important thing I’ve noticed.

5.) help other interns. You should try and help anyone with anything they have. This includes interns. It shows teamwork and that you are willing to help others.

6.) insert yourself into the machinery of the desk. Whether that is morning emails, overnight news, maybe an analyst prints something out every morning do that for them, anything to make their lives easier and become a part of the desk.

7.) talk with seniors as much as possible. Ultimately they are the ones making the decisions so if you can get close with them chances are you will get a return.

Things you can do to help prepare. I can’t really answer that unless I know what division you are going for but nonetheless keep networking with the firm. Ask to go visit as well shows you are proactive and determined.

Definitely, so my interview was mostly technical probably a 70/30 split between technical and behavioral. Keep in mind though I had options experience so that was expected. I got asked the basic questions like what’s your view on the market, what’s a trade you would put on, the tell me about a time questions…I wouldn’t expect most applicants to get the same questions I got when it comes to the more technical questions.

Some more technical stuff was if you had. A call option ATM and the stock went from 150–>135 in 10 seconds and 10 seconds later went back to 150 and it kept doing that for 10 minutes would you make money, lose money, or be neutral?

How does gamma effect a position, what are some characteristics of Vega. Those are just some I kind of forget the rest to be honest.

Things you can do is ALWAYS have an opinion. It’s not about whether you are right or wrong, it’s about the way you think and can you articulate a reason as to why you have that view. Be up to date on the markets, be personable, make the interviewer smile and laugh (remember they have to work with you for 12 hours a day so a big part of the interview is do they like you)

You’ll know if it’s going well if it feels more like a conversation rather than an interview.

All the above. Every aspect is just as important. You need to be aware of what's going on at all times around the world. Whether that's macro policy, elections, Brazils CPI, etc. nothing can get overlooked. The macro policy is just as important and the math/technical aspect. You also need to have day weights for each event and how much needs to get priced into your vol. without going into too much detail, everything is equally important.

mynameisnaabro

Did you have a notebook where you just wrote stuff down with all info/questions?

Def do this from day one, most/all of the interns at my firm did.

To answer your question more precisely I guess, updating pricing models and executing trades kind of goes hand in hand. In order to make a price for a client you have to update the model and whether the clients accepts/doesn't you then execute/don't execute. So they go hand in hand. There's also like different things you have to consider. Some clients get different pricing like HFs will get a different price than real money. Also are they a special client? Do you have a good relationship with them? Like a huge aspect of this job that often gets overlooked is RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT!!! As a trader you still have to manage the relationships with clients (it isn't just sales)Rates vol:pretty flowRates exo: slow paced but very complex riskSTIRT: balanced I'd say slows down after 1 (London close)FXO: pretty flow until 1 (London close) also very proprietaryAlso yes bring a notebook!! Write down everything

Also my hours were FXO everyone is dialed in from 7am-5:30pm

9:30-4 that’s equity markets since FX is OTC and trades 24 hours a day pretty much all week we run a global book. So London hands it to us, we hand it to Tokyo, Tokyo gives it to London.

Hey man, so I was a neuroscience and cell biology major until halfway through sophomore year. So I was already late to recruiting and what the hell to do. I busted my butt o start networking. I would send out 20-30 LinkedIn messages a day and connect with as many as possible. That really how I managed to get into the industry. In terms of books, I relied more on experience and mentors. Like I said I traded on my own and was able to find some kind of success based on what mentors provided me. I was committed to a small firm until a recruiter called me up to apply. So I did and then I got a superday from it. Next thing you know here I am.I would recommend, networking as much as possible, read the WSJ, Bloomberg news, FT, any resource you can to keep up to date. From there develop your own opinion on the markets and find ways to let your intellectual curiosity take over.