What do you think about repo trading?
What does everyone think of government bond repo trading/market making? In terms of excitement, pay etc. P.s. Ideally I would have been in rates trading. Thanks for your opinions.
I'll say this much... it's not what it used to be. Being in this industry this since 2011 (I guess you can still say post-2008) I've seen a lot of firms selling that business to other firms.
repo desks are still profit centers...they take interest rate risk...you learn about markets...so its still not abad place to get your foot in the door. Its not a top rates choice...that would be the actual treasury, swaps, or options desk (of FX, EM, etc..)...but its better than middle/back office...and its a relatively secure job. You don't hear about repo traders getting fired very often.
Thanks all. Given that you've seen it being sold off, do you think there are decent exit opps still available for the role? Do many repo guys tend to move onto a main rates desk?
Firms exiting repo business creates opportunities for others, especially given death of dealer balance sheets post-crisis. Matched book trading nowadays basically huge carry trade, with regulatory constraints and credit tiering almost entirely responsible for spread widening. But not necessarily much actual trading/skills to learn, just renting out balance sheet to highest bidder.
Traditionally repo guys have had moderate success moving to rates desk. The short-end 0-2y is an obvious jump, and a "move" I personally made since we spun out of Treasury (not USTs, but the funding group of the bank) and now trade short-term rates. Relative value trading is another domain where having a repo background is useful. For example, you'd be hard pressed to find someone from Capula or Field Street who doesn't know repo: some started out in repo, and some have written papers on collateral agreements. Survivorship bias definitely element here and the skill set is different, e.g. many guys started out when the short-end was in the vicinity of 5% and relatively volatile, with abundant dealer balance sheet. But if you join and learn broadly, you can trade most rate products, work for hedge funds, mortgage REITs, public sector (e.g. Fed/Treasury/FHLB).
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