Energy Prop Shops

Does anyone have any info about the following energy prop trading shops:

Glencore
Mercuria
Arcadia
Masefield
Vitol
Trafigura
Gunvor

How would you rank them in terms of prestige? How do they compare with trading at a BB? Any info would be appreciated

 
monty09:
adehbone:
lol prestige, guys in energy are out to make money. Even the boys at JArnold's are still country folk at heart. Energy is prolly the most relaxed environment out there, prestige comes with your bank account.

JA has a nice piece in this months Fortune

Thanks for the heads up, I actually saw the video of the CFTC proceeding/testimonies recently, all interesting points from him and the producers, he sure is focued on putting regulations on the physical contracts and leaving the financials alone.

 
marcellus_wallace:
lol prestige, guys in energy are out to make money. Even the boys at JArnold's are still country folk at heart. Energy is prolly the most relaxed environment out there, prestige comes with your bank account.

This is as true as it gets. Traders work for themselves and the company is just a vehicle to help them get paid. All you should worry about in trading is how much experience you can get early on and the rest comes with time.

 

does anyone have a link to JA's testimony? trying to write a paper basically on the CFTC proceedings and i'd rather watch the video than have to read the entire testimony...

------------------------------------------------------------------ "I just want to be a monkey of average intelligence who wears a suit. I'll go to business school!"
 

Glencore was generally considered undisputed #1 before, had a lot a of turmoil however and so there's been a lot of talent shuffle from there, most notably to Trafigura.

Prestige-wise: analyst at a bank beats analyst at a commodities firm.

What you should do though is a question of serious thinking. The most successful people in energy trading quite often come from a strict commodities background and had a junior experience at an Enron or BP which gave them the connections and understanding of the logistics in the business.

If you're seriously thinking about energy trading, take a look at John Arnold's e-mails which he wrote while at Enron. If you sift through the crap e-mails about meetings and attendance, a lot of the e-mails where he's talking about pricing or moving the market would be good for you. Also, there's one particular e-mail where he asks for permission to short Enron stock/buy CDS (can't remember which).

-Advisor

Advisor Prime Elitecollegeandinterviewprep.blogspot.com [email protected]

Academic & Corporate Interview Preparation http://elitecollegeandinterviewprep.blogspot.com
 
Best Response

There are very few firms out there strictly trading energy related paper. The largest paper traders in the business are the physical shops listed in the original post of this thread. Banks move some size too but it is in no way "prop" trading like you are thinking as they are typically just trading in order to offer a service to their clients with a little speculation on the side when they can get away with it. Then on top of that there are a few hedge funds here and there but nothing with summer programs.

If you want to trade paper someday then realistically you need to start at a physical shop or a major such as BP or Shell. From there you can move onto trading strictly paper if that is still want you want to do for some reason.

To answer your question directly, banks and the majors are about the only places that offer formal summer programs. What I would do if I were you though is get on LinkedIn and start messaging every person you can find at smaller shops related to energy trading/logistics and ask them to get on the phone. See where it goes from there.

Energy in general is much less formal than any New York based products and the people in the industry reflect that. Call enough people and assuming you have a decent background I bet you can find something. PM me your resume and I will see if I can help you out.

 
Rotterdam:
There are very few firms out there strictly trading energy related paper. The largest paper traders in the business are the physical shops listed in the original post of this thread. Banks move some size too but it is in no way "prop" trading like you are thinking as they are typically just trading in order to offer a service to their clients with a little speculation on the side when they can get away with it. Then on top of that there are a few hedge funds here and there but nothing with summer programs.

If you want to trade paper someday then realistically you need to start at a physical shop or a major such as BP or Shell. From there you can move onto trading strictly paper if that is still want you want to do for some reason.

To answer your question directly, banks and the majors are about the only places that offer formal summer programs. What I would do if I were you though is get on LinkedIn and start messaging every person you can find at smaller shops related to energy trading/logistics and ask them to get on the phone. See where it goes from there.

Energy in general is much less formal than any New York based products and the people in the industry reflect that. Call enough people and assuming you have a decent background I bet you can find something. PM me your resume and I will see if I can help you out.

agree and great reply

 

While the pure "Commercial Trading/Rotational Programs" should definitely be something you apply to and strive to get they are fiercely competitive with 1000s of applicants for very few positions, making the odds of you landing one slim to none. I would also look for internship roles within operations, risk, or even contracts/settlements as that is where you are most likely going to be starting out in/spending a majority of your time anyways in order to learn whatever product you wind up working with. Physical Trading is a lot different than banking in that almost all of the "front office" guys come from the "back office" and not just through these specialized rotational programs. When you go to apply for full time positions having an internship showing that you have at least some understanding of operations/risk/contracts will be a huge leg up. Do not think that just because you were rejected for one of the prestigious rotational programs that you're shit out of luck.

 

Necessitatibus quae perspiciatis quam minus ea sunt. Enim omnis nisi aut voluptatum et. Veniam possimus porro aut et.

 

Quia molestias quas et. Repellendus accusamus sunt reiciendis assumenda.

Aut consequuntur maxime magni eos aliquam. Debitis atque incidunt est dolor. Nam tempore pariatur est reprehenderit quisquam voluptate. Fuga omnis voluptatem consequatur et enim.

Animi quidem voluptate optio aut. Corrupti voluptate sequi qui accusantium eos tenetur. Rem nihil earum nemo neque id.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”