Trafigura Commodity Graduate Program - Accepted, What to expect ?
Any idea what to expect from the Graduate Program of Trafi ? I’m terms of responsibilities etc ?
Thanks
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First of all, congratulations on this. They will work you hard and expect you to learn very quickly but they'll teach you everything you need to know on the job and it's your responsibility to become a sponge and take it all in. Here are some tips (FYI i work for a trading house just as big)
1. Make sure you take really good notes (I'm serious)
2. Don't ask the same question twice.
3. Read the book Oil 101, and King of Oil (Also the white papers that Trafigura has on their website i think)
4. I have heard Trafi's culture is pretty cutthroat (they're still a private company)
Is there any program to start as a trader assistant or trading trainee directly?
No. They do not promote from their Graduate Program to a trading desk. They mostly hire experienced trader from outside.
Received the offer last year but ultimately didn't take it. Something to keep in mind is that Trafi's program is not a commercial program. You are doing middle/back office jobs and your experience is likely to be highly idiosyncratic. If your end goal is to become a trader just keep in mind that it's a nonlinear path and the program in no way is meant to set you up for that.
If the goal is to be a trader, which pathway will be better?
At best you could move to Geneva or Buenos Aires and do the same role for Traf, lots of international mobility and i'm sure you get to learn alot. All depends on your career aspirations. If you want to be a trader or front office role its probably small chance Traf gives you the chance but it does get you a good network and good brand name to leverage to a junior trading role or other front office position at another major or smaller physical shop
Is there any program to start as a trader assistant or trading trainee directly?
I recently completed a masters which specializes in physical commodities trading. And learnt some hard lessons about getting a front office job in this industry. The unescapable truth about physical trading is that you will have to rot in operations or middle office for 5 years before becoming a Junior Trader. Trafi just explicitly says that on their program brochure unlike other firms who lie. You cant become a trader after completing 2 year graduate program. I met a crude trader at exxon who worked in three different roles in last eight years before finally becoming a trader. For one of his business development role he went to major african crude exporting countries and lived there for years. That actually gave him an edge to become a crude trader. African crude can help you earn huge profits during canal transit issues and macro issues which affect crude supply chains. So even if you have option to work in middle office its not necessary that you will end up having a great network in this industry which simply is reluctant into becoming a transparent market. A guy who gave us lectured on big data said that their analytics are useless without knowledge they have acquired from traders. you get my point?
Just want to clarify that this is true about crude trading. For some reason natural gas trading does not require this kind of hassle. I have a friend who went to work in aalborg, Denmark and became a trader only on basis of internship and MSc. Another friend went to work as trader assistant on a coal trading desk in indonesia. So you should try to be creative and also consider places which have shortage of quality junior staff.
Charlie makes a great point.
In a way biz dev experience is as front office as trading is...though without the risk taking upside. I may get toasted by the community for this, but biz dev is a better experience for a Jr. Trader than Ops.
As long as you have a strong enough understanding of the ops side, knowing how to generate business/manage suppliers and customers is almost more critical to success.
Let's think in metals, you have to manage the supply side (neg. an offtake) and the sales side (neg. LT sales contract/spot sale).
There will always be more ops people than people that can generate new biz.
I could be biased because I was a much better biz dev guy than a risk taker
On a couple of Glencore desks I can think of, its almost more of a 'deal team' than a true position taking group. The whole emphasis is to 1) secure off takes 2) market said off take material 3) close LT deals. It's less flipping a position thats a million dollar winner and more of a "lets use our balance sheet to finance this supplier, secure their supply & find buyers for it in a fashion we are happy with"
Again, this could be totally different on the energy side...so take w/ 2 grains of salt.
This approach is much more sustainable LT...but different than the idea of the smashing the bid and offer buttons when arbs open and close on weekly basis.
Honestly I would prefer a deals-oriented desk than one focused on trading time spreads
I don't know if I would characterize that as not "true position taking." The execution looks different but you are still taking on basis risk, maybe quality risk... and those are the things you are trading. Commercial margins can matter enough it can feel like a biz dev job but at a Glencore/Trafi/IXM/Mercuria... you are still looking at your P&L in a very different way from your typical producer.
You should get toasted. :p
Biz dev is good but without knowing Ops going to a desk to trade physical is shit. I dont see how would someone learn Ops without passing through Ops. If you're proactive in Ops you'll get the opportunity of managing relationships as well. Ofcourse not at the level of biz dev but still. If you do not know your refinery system, trade routes, nomination clauses you will be skimmed alive on every deal.
The best Ops people make some of the best traders because apart from trading there is no other role as stressful and demanding as Ops.
This is more on the Energy side btw.
Haha! also a very fair and accurate view here. There are many avenues to managing and growing a P&L
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