What does it mean to work on a "desk"
Often times at the business school here at my university, students say they worked at a _______ desk. I've heard things like interest rate options, fixed income sales and even stuff like equities.
What does it mean to be a "trader" on these desks?
On a side note, if you work on an equities desk, isnt that technically prop. trading? I thought that stuff was illegal/limited now?
Would love to hear any insight onto the world of S&T if someone could take a shot at my questions. I feel that I have kept only thinking about Investment Banking as a career and have lately started wandering the world of Sales and Trading.
thanks monkeys
The desks refer to the security/product being traded, so it's pretty straightforward. For example, if you're on an equity index futures desk, you'll trade things like the ES (E-mini S&P future).
Officially, there is no proprietary trading at banks. Inevitably you're probably going to end up with a position even if you're acting as a market maker/execution trader, so you can see there is potential for a blurred line between hedging/taking a position.
This goes for all desks, not just equities. You can say the same thing for any of the FICC desks. But officially, banks are to act as institutional execution traders, not proprietary traders.
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