Interview at CTA

Hello fellow monkeys,

I am interviewing this week with a systematic CTA market maker for a junior execution trader role on the O/N desk. I am not really sure what to expect from this interview as I have never had one with a CTA(or buy-side) before. If someone with similar experience could point out a few things that I should know, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

What ever happened to the subscription feature? I always hated having to post 'in for later' on threads. I try using the bookmark feature but it's only accessible through 'View My Bookmarks' on my profile, and even then, I have no idea when there are updates. I may be remembering this incorrectly, but wasn't there a subscription feature where you could subscribe to a thread and still see it in your 'track' feature?

@Wallstreetoasis.com

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

"My Bookmarks" also available under the Recent menu, so you can jump straight to it, not just from profile page.

Above the comment button, there is a "Notify me when new comments are posted" check-box. We are in the process of fixing that and simplifying notifications soon. There will be things/actions you get PMs for (will be able to control this) and you will be able to determine which of thos PMs also trigger an e-mail (or not).

@jgsantos (what we discussed)

 
WallStreetOasis.com:

"My Bookmarks" also available under the Recent menu, so you can jump straight to it, not just from profile page.

Great, thanks. Was not aware.

Above the comment button, there is a "Notify me when new comments are posted" check-box.

Correct me if I am wrong, but that does not allow you to be notified without posting, right? As in I only get notified if I check the box and add a comment. I would love to be able to see notifications in my 'track' function without posting in the thread myself.
I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
Best Response

you are correct that the way the system is supposed to work is that you'd have to post and check that box to be notified over e-mail.

Ideally, we want to provide enough flex to allow you to select what types of notification you get over PM and over e-mail...right now, admittedly, the notification and PM settings are a bit confusing. We are soon adding PMs when you get a SB or MS too...right now, the closest thing we have to what you're suggesting is the Bookmark feature, which currently allows you to track threads you have not commented in, but right now does not have e-mail notifications or PM notifications attached to it (this is something we can work on).

We are in the process of bringing in more help on the web dev side because no matter how much $ I am throwing at the issues, we seem to be spending a huge chunk of time fixing things we break instead of moving forward. I'll make a suggestions thread now to update everyone on the latest improvements...some minor things but cool things...

 

What is a systematic CTA market maker? I know that most CTAs are systematic, which mostly entails a directional, trend following style. Most traders at a CTA are simply tasked with achieving best execution, i.e. getting the best price they can when the system gives them a signal to buy or sell. I'm not sure how market making (other than the fact that they inherently do provide liquidity to the market) fits in. I could be wrong.

Unless you are positive they utilize a discretionary trading style, I don't think supply/demand or other fundamental knowledge is relevant.

 
Simple As...:

In a [possibly futile] attempt to make my presence in the thread at least a little value added...

If I'm correct in assuming that O/N desk means overnight desk I would try to be as knowledgeable about the specific exchange(s) you would be trading.

Thanks for the reply. I am not sure what exchanges they trade on, but what types of things should I know about he exchange? I haven't traded futures before, and right now I'm in prop equities so this would be a change.

 

Well, if you're working at night it's likely going to be Asain - Pacific index futures. I'd just try to know the basics -- where the futures are trading, general stuff about the economies of the region. You can PM me with any information about the firm / position you may have that you don't want to share here so I can possibly give you a better idea if you want.

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 

So I am unsure what you mean by CTA "market maker", but regarding an execution role interview, I think it would be critical to be very knowledgeable about futures + exchanges, the funds specific strategy (most CTAs are trend following oriented, but volatility arb, pattern recognition, mean reversion and even discretionary macro CTAs are prevalent) and maybe a general understanding of the industry. If it is a systematic fund, it would be impressive if you could present a few novel back-tested strategies and conduct thorough statistical analysis, which is basically what I did although I was involved on the research side. Let me know if you need specific guidance on any of these things.

Tip: Most CTA managers actually hate the abbreviation "CTA" or "managed futures" since they are both misnomers.

 
Macro Arbitrage:

So I am unsure what you mean by CTA "market maker", but regarding an execution role interview, I think it would be critical to be very knowledgeable about futures + exchanges, the funds specific strategy (most CTAs are trend following oriented, but volatility arb, pattern recognition, mean reversion and even discretionary macro CTAs are prevalent) and maybe a general understanding of the industry. If it is a systematic fund, it would be impressive if you could present a few novel back-tested strategies and conduct thorough statistical analysis, which is basically what I did although I was involved on the research side. Let me know if you need specific guidance on any of these things.

Tip: Most CTA managers actually hate the abbreviation "CTA" or "managed futures" since they are both misnomers.

Yes they do hate those terms haha.

 
Macro <span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/trading-investing/arbitrage target=_blank>Arbitrage</a></span>:

So I am unsure what you mean by CTA "market maker", but regarding an execution role interview, I think it would be critical to be very knowledgeable about futures + exchanges, the funds specific strategy (most CTAs are trend following oriented, but volatility arb, pattern recognition, mean reversion and even discretionary macro CTAs are prevalent) and maybe a general understanding of the industry. If it is a systematic fund, it would be impressive if you could present a few novel back-tested strategies and conduct thorough statistical analysis, which is basically what I did although I was involved on the research side. Let me know if you need specific guidance on any of these things.

Tip: Most CTA managers actually hate the abbreviation "CTA" or "managed futures" since they are both misnomers.

Thanks for the helpful insight. The reason why I said they were a market maker is because that is what they referred to themselves as. There really wasn't much information out there on this commodity trading advisor(proper nomenclature I suppose) and their strategy as they were formed in 09'. Much of the role is based around operating the execution software, parameters and risk management, as I think execution is automated. In terms of statistical analysis what should I know?

 

If it is a larger CTA (in terms of AUM) that has a large, built out research staff (filled with PhDs and MsFs), you most likely won't need to know too much about building an actual system or its mechanics; you're just there to trade it. Smaller CTAs tend to have traders that double as research analysts so it would be more key in that case. Make sure you have your futures / options knowledge down pat. Know which markets are the most liquid and at what times, know things like position limits, know the different types of trading orders, and all the other aspects of execution trading. The Series 3 study materials have a nice blend of futures/options, regulatory and general questions that would probably serve as good prep for the interview. If it's a larger CTA, they probably only care about your execution knowledge; a smaller CTA will probably appreciate it if you know the industry well. From what I hear, the job itself isn't too difficult, so as long as you present yourself as competent and likeable you should be ok.

If you PM me the name of the CTA, I could probably give you some background information on them.

 

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