Equities vs. fixed income in HK/SG

Received a few offers for trading desks in equities/fixed income in hk/sg. Here is what I understand now: Equities trading is mostly based out of hk. The location of fixed income desks (rates, credit and forex) depends on the bank, though commodities is mostly in sg.

So,

Could anybody shed some light on the rationale for choosing between equities/fixed income and hk/sg? More specifically, equities trading desk with Credit Suisse in hk and fixed income trading desk with JPM in sg. Anybody who has experience with these banks in hk/sg please feel free to weigh in and comment on their internship programs and relative strengths of different products/desks.

Thanks!

 
Best Response

I've completed internships with both JPM in SG as well as CS in HK. The former was in IBD though, the latter equities trading. Bluntly put -- I think there is no future in equities trading. The profit margins are almost nonexistent, and pretty soon they'll be paying out bonuses to computers. Also, I do not feel that the CS brand name is as prestigious/well-recognized as JP Morgan, even if this is in Asia. Furthermore, the JPM building in SG has a sick view, which I really enjoyed when I needed a break from slamming my fingers repeatedly on the keyboard doing Excel spreadsheets. Basically, unless you are REALLY set on equities trading (i.e. you relish the prospect of personal bankruptcy), I would go for the SG offer. I don't have experience in fixed income, but how hard can it be? It's all fixed payments anyway.

TL;DR: Equities bad, JPM>>CS, JPM SG building>>CS building HK, take the SG offer imo..

Also, did I mention the significantly higher pay in SG?

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