A Response to "Which desk is best?" Type Questions... Please Read Before Posting

I've read plenty of threads on this forum asking questions along the lines of "which desk is most profitable/more desired/"baller"/allows me to start a supertight hedge fund in X years/prestigious/has the best upside and opportunities etc".

The answer is NONE of them and ALL of them. By far the most important thing to consider are what are YOUR interests and particular skillset, then target appropriate desks. There is no point joining what half this forum thinks is a "baller" desk at GS (i.e. GSPS) when you are neither 1) interested in equities/credit 2) have little ambition to do balance sheet analysis/valuation. I did a rotations with them last yr on the summer programme and thought it was one of the most boring places on the floor.

Profitability of desks and products changes YEAR TO YEAR. In 2006/2007, structured credit was where all the action was, 2008/2009 it was vanilla rates and FX trading. Next 2 years, it's probably going to be M&A and equities trading, after that, who knows! You simply can't base a career choice by jumping onto the bandwagon of "what's hot now", as the chances are that by the time you get there, the product class will be having a 30% drop in flows. At GS, all the traders had a running joke: the desk which most of the interns want to rotate on is the one where the market is in a bubble the most. Funnily, last year, hardly anyone wanted to rotate on credit or prop.

Finally, your ability to be a baller hedge fund manager 15 years down the line has minimal bearing input from which asset class investors are fighting over right now. I've known hedge fund managers making an absolute killing but started their careers equity trading in October 1987, guys who started EM trading post-Asia crisis and people who were into credit in 2007. Oh, and btw, the large majority of them did NOT start at GS or MS. Key point: stop chasing a bubble/prestige, research each product/asset class, decide what YOU enjoy the most, meet ppl from your choices and then make a decision. Good luck!

 

Stickied, agreed, way too many threads on this topic.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 

Thank God you put it into writing. I wrote this/something similar so many times I just stopped posting on those threads. This should be on the homepage so we don't have to deal this shit anymore. Asking about specific desks is fine, but we have covered them and all the products in such detail that users just need to learn to use the search function. And get creative with your search words people, don't just type credit trading and think those are all the threads.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Good post, a sentiment that I fear will remain unadopted throughout much of the population however.

"At GS, all the traders had a running joke: the desk which most of the interns want to rotate on is the one where the market is in a bubble the most."

That is so funny! Every intern wants the product they saw with a green arrow next to it on Bloomberg right!

 
ElliotWaveSurfer:
My question is: How do you know which desk fits your skills? Are there certain types of people that would work better in commodities vs. FX?

I'm with you Elliot. I'm coming from an Engineering background and I'm not sure exactly where I would fit best. I just finished the first year of my MBA and have been reading a lot on commodities trading, trend following, etc. and I have quite a bit of interest in S&T. Though, who's to say I would be better in Equity Research, Credit, etc.

 
Best Response

The most important thing IMO (which you should take with a grain of salt as I am not yet successful) is the people on your desk not your product. You could be on the most active desk which traders printing big bucks. But if you don't get along with those traders, salesmen, and analysts, you will not have a good experience. Trading/Sales is still an industry similar to the old apprentice model. Senior traders take you under their wing and teach you stuff. The product you trade is less important than your teacher. If the senior traders don't take an interest in teaching you, you are kind of out of luck.

Secondly, you can do a lot of things to figure out what you MIGHT like. Do you religiously follow central bank announcements and read macro blogs/reports? Did you really enjoy that comp sci project where you worked with a massive data set? Or do you like reading annual reports, 10ks (I do)? Each of those can give you an indication of something you might like. It doesn't mean your preferences are set in stone but its a way to gauge what you are interested in.

Finally, stop being shy and start making some phone calls. If you are an MBA your career trajectory post-grad is pretty important. I am sure there are alumni from your school involved in everything from equities, to distressed debt, to rates. Shoot them an email and ask them for an info call. Ask them what they do daily, what skills are needed to trade their products, what they analyze daily etc.

Also, depending on the institution and your boss its easier to move around desk at certain firms if things aren't going too well. Some banks (specifically Deutsche) actually have structured rotational programs as well. So you could join those.

Lots of ways to skin this.

 

There is no ''best desk'' in my opinion. I was working at a firm who considered themselves a ''best desk'' and then in May lost twice what we have made in the past 12 months and havent recovered since. Things happen to even a good desk. Lucky other desks at our firm earned money to even it out but still

 

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