Why is Equity Derivatives so prestigious?
Been trying to lateral into trading, particularly EQD and have been told by many people on the other sude that it’ll be next to impossible for someone of my background ( finance undergrad, BB) to make the switch.
Any advice?
It’s not “prestigious,” you just aren’t the background they are looking for lol. They want people who can code and understand complex math topics as with any vol desk
I get that but at the same time don't understand why it's so competitive and sought after
You just described every front office job in this industry.
Prob should not be on a vol desk then bro
It's prestigious bcuz it's got both micro/macro, exits well to macro HFs/vol HFs/prop market makers, and pays very well. But very limited number of seats however.
Fair enough
I'm mostly an equity vol guy on the buy side and I wouldn't call it super prestigious. Best sell side desks for HF exits/risk taking/fast promotions/etc are usually in rates and credit. From a buy side perspective there are only a few trades that give you diversified exposures with good capacity and I don't know of any equity vol guys printing 100mm + PNL most years (which does happen in rates). I can think of guys who trade equity vol who have such PNLs but they also trade a whole bunch of other stuff so other sutff probably contributes a lot to the total number.
Equity vol is a relatively quanty product and you need maths and coding to get hired, maybe that's why you find it tricky to break in. If you have more of a fundamental background a good trading seat for you would be in less liquid credit - High Yield, Distressed/etc. Or you can work on a way to signal about your maths/coding chops a little bit better if you want to try for vol seats.
Appreciate it, thanks. I'll lean towards the less liquid side in that case
Dumb question. What is meant by “vol” as in rates vol desks, FX vol desks, equity vol desks. I know it’s volatility but what products are being traded when we say a desk is a “vol” desk. Are they just options desks or is it more specific than that?
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