Back Office IT/Ops or Middle/Front Office Analytics?
I was hoping some of the more experienced individuals could provide some insight on a position I was contacted about recently.
All the information I have at the moment was conveyed verbally from a high level contact of mine, so I don’t really have much to go off of. That being said, I was told that it would involve adding additional functionality to a particular trading desk; lets say the munis desk.
Now generally anything involving technology seems to be thrown into the back office category - is this correct/does it apply here? I came across this posting earlier which seems to match the description I was given pretty well, and from where I’m sitting CS seems to consider this part of IBD: https://www.credit-suisse.com/careers/campus_recr…
-It’s with a BB (not CS)
-In their primary building in the financial district
- It’s not on the trading floor but it sounded like once I got my feet under me I would make occasional/frequent visits
-I come from a finance background with a little bit of quant knowledge, not a programming or computer science background
So what do you think? BO/MO/FO?
Any help or insight would be appreciated; I’ll do my best to answer any questions that might help clarify.
Thanks
Not BO. This is straight up MO Quant.
BO refers to the people who build the IT infrastructure and software framework that help data flow through the firm.
This is not even IT - it involves quantitative modeling of instruments to help the traders. On some desks, there's no way a trader can compute for himself all the analytics (valuation, exposures e.t.c.) of the instruments he trades. So, he uses the models built by this group to help him. Respectable position IMO.
JP Morgan?
That was how I got my foot in the door three years ago. The BB that I joined was one of the ones that toppled back in 2008. The bank that took over didn't understand analytics/pricing, and they moved us into IT.
Here are my thoughts:
1.) If the managers there seem smart, easy to work with, and have something to teach, you shouldn't even be coming here for the opinions of prestige-obsessed strangers. You should be taking the offer and the "prestige" will take care of itself once you've turned yourself into one of the best people at what you do in the business.
2.) People from analytics move to trading or research- and sometimes back- all the time. There's an expectation that you'll spend a year or two in the group you come into- and it's always good to take the CFA exam- but you can make the jump to trading pretty easy. The fact that the markets are getting more electronic means there will be even more opportunities to jump in the future.
3.) Outside algorithmic trading and maybe the parts of quant analytics that aren't on it, the smartest programmers at the firm are probably on the pricing system. That's not saying much, but a better way of putting it is that I've studied with guys who've gone off to Google, IBM, and Microsoft, and the guys I worked with on the pricing system are at about the same level when it comes to most aspects of programming- and they're usually almost as good as the traders and quants- and a step ahead of risk management and sales- when it comes to product knowledge.
4.) If you start hearing stuff like "release ticket", "Build the bank", "Run the bank", and "IT Release Process Compliance", DON'T WALK; RUN. It's a warning sign that the people running the show don't understand how to handle technology when it comes to pricing and risk numbers and are no longer interested in retaining strong developers.
Not sure where you're going, but shoot me a PM if it's Citi. I don't work at Citi but know a few people who moved there after 2008, and actually just had dinner with one of their MDs- an old friend from my former bank- last week. Heard a lot about what was going on there. If I were joining a BB group called "Analytics" and felt as ambitious as a typical CS major who wanted into the front office on Wall Street rather than working at Google, that's where I would want to be.
mendeleaf: Thanks a lot for your response. For a prospective trader, I think its a solid spot with plenty of future opportunities.
Guest1655: If you have any information about JPM's group I would certainly be interested in hearing about it, but I don't really feel compelled to narrow down which bank it is.
Illini:
I generally agree, though there are other factors that make the BO MO FO distinction important (to a degree) other than prestige.
Awesome, looking to be a trader. Maybe not on that particular desk, but a very strong foundation nonetheless.
Cool, would love to work with some brilliant people
I'll keep those red flag words in mind :)
Citi or not I'll be shooting you a PM if it all works out, wouldn't be opposed to hang gliding at some point either
http://iac-opal.com/ i have a friend at JPM in the investment analytics & consulting group.
not sure if its the same things as this.
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