I have an interview at Trillium coming up. Does anyone know what kind of questions to expect? Does anyone know how much the average trader makes (including bonus, I understand everyone is paid $25k salary) as both a first year and then a few years down the line? Thanks for any and all information you can give.
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General Questions Regarding Why You Want That Job! Trilluim is not what it was once... Down The Hill.
Could you say why you say that? Do you have any specific reasons/examples?
Shorttheworld works there, shoot him a pm
Well yeah, I talked to him and he seems to like it.
shorttheworld is kind of a big deal.
That's neat. I've been talking to him and he strikes me as a pretty nice guy too.
Big up to shorttheworld really awesome dude
shorttheworld was one of the few people who I messaged who not only got back to me, but also was working as a trader! super nice man and really helpful. is it just me, or are most of the people on this site either unemployed or students? don't get me wrong... some of the posts are very informative, and some of the members unbelieveably helpful, but you have to wade through piles of nonsense written by students or recent alums who know next to nothing (like me).
Eh, I feel you, but you gotta understand. The only people that have time to talk shit on message boards, for the most part (not that there aren't exceptional people that are super helpful), are people who are either unemployed or students. It is the way it is.
Eh, I feel you, but you gotta understand. The only people that have time to talk shit on message boards, for the most part (not that there aren't exceptional people that are super helpful), are people who are either unemployed or students. It is the way it is.[/quote]
I hear you monkeysma, I just find it strange that the people who post the most negative comments "So and so isn't what it used to be", "ABC isn't 'all that'" "QWERTY is a scam" don't respond to questions asking them to elaborate, or when pressed for how they know in a private message, admit that they don't work there, never had worked there and don't know anyone who works there. This site could be super useful if more people in the know posted comments.... but I guess they are too busy making money. LOL
-girl not "in the know"... yet. ;)
in terms of berts comments i guess sure that prop trading is a lot more slow and grindy than the come in and do nothing and make big money like it was when i started, i was still able to put up around 14k of PNL this week so thats ~8400 take home.... granted i wont be able to kick that out EVERY week if its slow but even if i put up a g a day through putting together small trades still end up taking home a good amount of cash for the month.. but also im working
so no it isnt the days of walking out 10k in cash a day like in sept or oct 08 when everyone was killing but still money to be made. so i guess 'not what it used to be' may be true but the market isnt what it used to be which is what id base it on... and we arent chopping people left and right like schoenfeld or folding like assent so if you look at a lot of the other big players in the game we are doing well and our systems were one of the few able to handle the stress of the may 6th flash crash and remain up so we could trade and chop it up
sooo ya lemme know what questions you have either in PM or can phone convo
Again... shorttheworld is a class act---responding thoughtfully to a person who signed up a week ago to sh*t on 3 firms, all of which, based on his barbaric treatment of the English language in his previous posts, would presumably never hire him.
That can't be deducting taxes, though.
what?
Do trillium do internships?
Only if you write coherent sentences...
OMG thats a good joke im not writing a fucking letter
To whom it may concern,
I am writing this POST to inquire about a summer internship opportunity at your firm. .................. LOL
Take a fucking joke man damn....
Why should we take you over some one who doesn't come off as an ass?
In fairness you just got owned? I'm not bitter, sorry for being a dick
Short is legit.Very nice guy.
+1
This is why we won't take you and shorttheworld, please, do not disclose your salary information.
Sincerely,
Human Resources
Ha I was only messing, on a more serious note do you offer internships? My sentences are coherent now, I think?
squirtlez do you work at Trillium too?
Better than me at the moment.
Details? I'm actually a nice guy...and hugely interested in breaking into this business after university
Blastoise?
lol@hr. its not salary its my own performance so i can rant about it ;) lol and was just using it as a comparison. . take home after pNl but for those epic months that was average take home net taxes and my cut
60% of PNL after the firm's cut and taxes. That's pretty incredible...I would think NYC's taxes would be around 30-35% alone when you consider federal, local, state, social security. Marginal taxes at that income would ofc be around 50-60% I'm guessing.
and no we generally dont take interns
K thanks
8400/14k is 60% PNL.
Even if we take this number, and you make 1k a day, that's 600 takehome per day out of 5 days a week (3k a week). 52 weeks in a year so u make 156,000 a year pretax. Add to that the 25k base u get and u got 181k a year pretax.
That's not counting the days you lose money though.
Shouldn't that be post tax...
At 60% PNL, shortheworld was making 8400 per week. Lets say that an average week over the course of the year is 4500, then that's 4500*50 + 25 = 250k before tax for a 40 hour week. Compare to a banking associate making the same change at 80 hrs, or in PE at 60+...
For extra lolz, get a trading job at SIG, pay 12% less tax, have half the cost of living, earn more than the bankers/pe dudes, work 45 hr weeks, and never have to waste two years and 100k+ in b-school. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
Also shortheworld, lets be honest. You make your $$$ baiting HFT don't you, LOL?
I think that an important point to make is that SS taxes aren't computed on anything but PAYROLL taxes, which he only pays on his base.
applaud your math skills.
we can break it down and do an hourly rate comparison of banking analysts vs what ive taken in and see how those tee off verse one another, since youre obviously trying to be a dick and aim at the compensation comparison. we can compare my 08 to your 08 and 09 and whatnot too if you want and then build some models if you want.
but also that is looking at a conservative income scenario out of it all as an experienced but i still want to know what your point is, other than trying to be a dick.
shorttheworld what do you trade? what type of holding periods are allowed?
SIZE. HE TRADES FUCKING SIZE.
He might as well be in his under wear playing online poker.
I'm not being a dick, I"m just summarizing the numbers for the other readers. If I were to be a dick I'd mention your numbers are obviously from an experienced trader and doesn't take into account all the people who don't make it or can't consistently make 1k a day.
Or I'd touch on the fact that the best you can do is beat the 2 analyst years and after that associates and PE/hedge fund kids beat the crap out of you.
Or I'd say that you aren't going to get a 30% increase in take home every year or in trading ability while those in banking/buyside see large increases in salary.
A person who is a prop trader will never be a banker. A banker will never be a prop trader.
There is no point to compare the two, whatsoever.
Also your assuming PE/HF kids become amazing too, there is just as many stuck in the middle PE/HF kids as failed prop traders, thats why they all go back to bschool.
Not every investment banking analyst is going to end up a MD, or Head of Banking.
i do a lot of behavioral finance/market psychology induced trading and event driven momentum for fraud/FDA/buyout and binary plays. mainly contrarian stance though. equities. can hold as long as you want, personally im generally intraday unless there are liquidity concerns.
and no my average salary+bonus for the first three years has easily crushed and will crush compensation for those general BB types, and im not a top 20 trader out of 100... and sure im not at citadel im fine with that. lol @ best i can do. youre assuming that i would make that lower end of the scale continually and or not move onto something else.. and as marcellus says all career paths are as easily killable with a brick wall.
theres also james simons and paul tudor jones and steve cohen who also crush everyone else, so in the end the 'who has more money' is pointless and thus your commentary was just to try to be a dick.
besides boutique guy, youre just a state school kid like me no reason to get all huffy
Hey shorttheworld, did u have to get your s7 to work at trillium ?
Thx !
yeah i have my s7 and s55
don't need those anymore do you?
I don't know thisdude. You don't have a job and neither do I. But the difference between you and I is that I don't shit on people who do.
Oh and you went to Princeton.
Nope no payroll taxes cuz all income is from securities
shorttheworld -
Do you get a K1, 1099, something else? I trade at a place similar to yours.
k1
Ahhh, me too.
What's going on with closed end muni bond funds? I'm getting run over here. Long a bunch of different funds against short MUB. SUB trading $3 below intraday NAV. This is like 2008 with stuff trading way out of line...well, maybe not quite...hah
shorttheworld class act I'd think so. As for Trillium another great place funny people, if compensation is your concern go apply and get a job and tell us how it is for you.
nope lol :*(
but do they allow you to "hang" them so they won't expire ?
noooooooooooope. lol
how come ? don't you need them to do what you are doing ? why did they have you get licensed in the first place then ?
thx
shorttheworld... you have a few people here who would love to do your income tax next year
were you on panels with them a week ago ;p
it depends how the firms are structured--some places only need series 7, some need 7 and 63, some need 7 63 55, some need 7 55 blabla some need none.. i dont know the technicalities but i know it widely varies among firms
It depends on what self-regulatory organizations the firm belongs to. FINRA requires series 7/55 for equities, NYSE/NASDAQ have their own, CME has their own, etc. The only one that I'm aware of that doesn't require a license currently is the CBOE, though I think that might be changing soon.
"In fact, I probably know more about trading than you do, even if you work in the industry. I've been reading on trading and algo trading since I was 15, and have read everything in the Wiley Finance series." - thisdude aka tool HYP kid.
shorttheworld does your firm allow options trading? Do they have backtesting capabilities for equity options?
do they allow swap buying ?
what about shorts? do they allow shorts? (1/2 trousers, not positions) ;)
we dont do options internally those shops are largely in chitown, no swaps.. wea rent fixed income squirtle lol and yes shorts of both are allowed ;p
This is why I want to be a trader..... http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7711959/ LOL
Hey, that was hilarious! Have you ever seen the one where the guy wishes really really hard that he was poor working really REALLY hard making no money and still sitting in a cubicle all day?
Yeah me neither. So shut up.
LOL +1. SB for you.
Yay SB! Nom nom nom.
Trillium Trading 2nd Round Interview (Originally Posted: 12/02/2008)
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Received a 2nd round interview for Trillium last week and they sound like a good firm. They pay a weekly salary of $500 and you receive a 30% cut of the profit (not positive about this) off a 400K starting trading account. Can anyone give me a summary regarding the format/technicality of the interview? Specifically, since it is an equity prop trading shop, I am wondering if I will need to express specific direction on markets/industries/specific equities. Also, wondering what kind of brainteasers there may be.
Has anyone gone through this interview before? Thanks!
Wow, I have a first round coming up, but that seems really low. How does one live off this in NYC, are you going to get a second job?
I have a first round coming up as well. That's not very much money; how much would a typical first year trade make I wonder (if they get 30%)?
Also, MysticAura, what was the first round like?
I have no idea, the salary sucks but compared to other places that have no salary at all, it's a much better deal. This is really one of my last resorts, I will still be in recruiting in the spring. Sucks but whatever.
The first round was extremely easy. Tell me about yourself, walk me through your resume, question time and just shooting the shit. I have no idea how much first year traders make but its scary to think how many times you would need to turn over your portfolio to take advantage of that 30%. I feel like this would not be a long term career for me and has little transferable skills.
Trading is exciting, just not sure if I want to do it for my entire life. B-school is always an option after 2 years of trading, but still pretty iffy.
Does anyone know what the second round will be like?
if you can make it two years... you could push b school out a bit and make some $$
So I recently received an offer from Trillium. My problem is it doesn't look , contractually like other offers from BB. BB contracts are just that, a contract with a time period of two years. I am hesitant to sign an offer letter since, to me, I haven't discussed this with a lawyer, doesn't seem Iron clad and I want to make sure I have a job in the fall. Any thoughts?
BBs are at-will despite any contract, so there's no guarantee there either.
entry level prop trading wont pay you much or give you a long contract b/c you are probably going to loose money and quit or be let go?
No one really answered the orginal question. Does anyone who has worked with Trillium know about the interview process? Would be good to build up some research for these archives.
If trading is what you want to do, trillium is a great place to learn. It's hard to live off 500/wk but u can see bonus checks after 3 mos if u work hard. If trading is not your first choice, I would not suggest even doing it but keep job searching. Ive seen people come and go after only trading at a prop firm for a little over a year and basicly if its not what u really wanted to do then your chances of success are very small.
As for the interview - its their job to find out if you really want to do it and have a personality for it, and thats what the second round is probobly going to feel like.
Trillium Trading summer intern interview at head office, will they pay for my plane ride? (Originally Posted: 01/05/2016)
Got a request for an interview at Trillium Trading head office in new york and i live far away. do they expect me to pay for my own plane ride for the ride or will they compensate for it?
Did they end up making you pay?
Trillium - First round interview coming up (Originally Posted: 04/29/2010)
Hey guys,
I have a first round interview coming up at Trillium Trading in NYC ... does anyone know what to expect ?? What do they ask you for the first round, second round, and third round ? should i bring docs with me (ie resume, transcript, etc.) ?also, any thoughts on the firm ?
top notch prop traders, better safe than sorry bring everything
I f they wanted all that stuff wouldnt they have asked for it? They have his resume on file.
I have a first round as well coming up. My research has brought me to this site, but most of the stuff I found dates back a few years.
Anyone trade with these guys before? How many rounds of interview? What types of questions? Mental math, brainteasers, etc?
Trillium Trading - First round in two weeks (Originally Posted: 10/14/2009)
I have first round in two weeks. Any insights on this firm? What do I expect?
Try livetradingdemo.com...
is trillium legit? they are recruiting at my school but i don't think they hire interns?
Went to an ivy, interned there awhile back through some weird circumstance. No they dont have specific interns for trading, I dont feel like explaining how I interned there its not important.
They pay you $500 a week for your first year or until you make $50k, then its all commission. I don't feeling their training program is that sophisticated. I believe they give you 50k to trade with, you dont use your own money, and they have strict stops on your losses ie. you lose 500 in 1 days or something like that.. trading is over for the day. Remove positions at night ect.
Not the best place in the world, but its legit you dont use your own capital slightly above an arcade.. if you cant get into anything else its not a bad place to start... but youd have to figure how you would live for 25k a year in new york for your first year, even if you live in queens or something.. then figure if you cant make large profits in year 2, you have little or no income... i do not believe their trading strateg is sophisticated..
I could work there now if I wanted to, and I really want to get in trading... but 25k is not physically doable for me
hmm. jesse? we havent had many interns. and if this is jesse you also quit after the first two months so i am not sure how valid your commentary is. strict stops yes 500 bucks which gives you plenty of flexibility, that means you have to lose 5 points on 100 shares or be a complete idiot.. you get 500k in BP to begin and you arent forced to take positions away before the end of night, maybe only if you're new. the 26k to begin with sucks but you learn to live in places and dont go out much.. can live in harlem queens bk etc quite easily.
ive been here for nearly 3 years and have ~330k stashed in the bank after buying tons of furniture and coming out of school with 70k in debt that is now gone... so im pretty satisfied and believe you learn a lot here. PM me if you have questions.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know that working in a trading firm you eat what you kill. However, I am curious if you can ballpark realistic median salaries for people 3, 5 and 10 yrs into it. What percentage of people would you guess survive 3, 5 and 10 yrs in a trading firm such as yours?
Thanks for you help!
Trillium Trading: - Upcoming interview (Originally Posted: 10/02/2010)
Have an upcoming interview with this proprietary trading company called Trillium Trading. Was wondering if anyone knows what their interview is like and what the firm is like etc?
I sent sent out app also, just wanted know did you apply for 2011 or start rigght now, also there is some info on this site , btw when did u send in your app
I'm curious about this, too -- when did you apply, ibanker180?
I just got hit up for an interview. How did yours go?
I got a response within 1 working day from the time I sent the app.
never saw this thread :P pm me with any questions
im looking to apply there for the spring when i graduate, is that when you graduate? Also, did you just email HR?
I graduate from UIUC MS Finance in summer 2011.
cool story bro
we hire for the fall of the following years ie fall 2011 is our current cycle
Hey sorry guys...WSO doesn't give me notifications when someone comments on one of your questions. Anyway, I did not get 2nd round interview on this one partly because I went in with the wrong strategy and partly because as much as I am a natural born trader I want to begin my career as an investment banker.
What I did wrong: If you google Trillium Trading, you will see that a bunch of their traders have been suspended from the securities industry for two years by FINRA and that they were fined. When I went into the interview I acted dumb and pretended I knew nothing about the firm...I mean what was I to do? If you google their name this FINRA action shows up everywhere...I didn't want to bring it up in the interview...The recruiter seemed dumbfounded that I knew nothing about the firm, but like I said I didn't want to bring that topic up in the interview.
Basically they want to see what you know about Trillium, what do you know about prop trading, their competitors. There are no technical questions, but you should definitely talk about your trading experience if you have it.
Also, know the difference between a prop shop like Trillium and a prop desk at a bulge bracket bank. There is a big difference...prop traders at banks will get to utilize the bank's capital in relatively large blocks...prop firms like trillium will start you off with several hundreds of thousands of dollars which you will be trading over and over in very very short holding periods so that you may execute like 10 million dollars or more worth in trades per day. comp is very good...like 30-60% of your P/L...the very good thing about trillium is that unlike most prop firms you don't have to put a deposit or capital of your own to trade.
Thanks man. Gave a silver
FNYS/Trillium Interview (Originally Posted: 01/27/2009)
Guys,
I know a lot have first hand experience with FNYS and Trillium. I did a search but no one had specific questions they ask in the interview...I am looking to find out what technical questions they asked and if they asked fit/personality questions? Also, do you think they will hire a first analyst from AM? Thanks in advance
I'm interested as well, LVIII did you find anything out?
I'm also interested. I've scoured internet forums in search of specific questions and haven't found anything.
Trillium Phone interview? (Originally Posted: 12/05/2012)
I have a phone interview with Trillium and was wondering if there is anything specific that is asked that may throw me off other than the typical "why trading" question. Anyone? I appreciate any help
Thanks
Company Database has some info on interview with Trillium: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/trillium-trading/interview/equity-tradi…
interview at trillium (Originally Posted: 05/29/2010)
i had my 2nd round at trillium this past monday. overall i thought my first round went better, but thought that the 2nd round went just fine, maybe not outstanding but fine. anyway, they told me theyd get back to me by the end of the week, and and when i talked to the head of HR on Friday (i called him) he told me he hadn't heard anything yet because it had been such a hectic week with the market having been so volatile and they've had their hands full, but then went on to say that i should hear back my tuesday or wednesday. is this a bad sign? do you think if he knew i wasnt getting the job he would have told me then and there, or am i simply reading too much into this ??
Probably reading too much into it. HR should have no problems telling you on the spot if you were dinged.
It's also possible you are on a waitlist, but so far so good that you're still in the running.
The same thing has happened to me with another trading firm this week as well. I have 2 friends working there and they told me that it is just the market causing problems (and, relative to what is currently going on there, the firm itself could give a shit whether they tell you on Friday or Tuesday or in 2 weeks). I imagine if it happened two different places, probably not a coincidence.
Trillium - 2nd round interview (Originally Posted: 05/18/2010)
i have a 2nd round coming up at trillium ... does anyone know what kind of questions they ask, any kind of brainteasers, etc. ? also, any insight into the firm itself, as far as how much i can expect to make in the first year (saying that i am profitable in the first place) ? any other insight ?
"So when do I start to get my $2 rips?"
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