Risk Analyst is middle office role?????

Hi,

Would a position as Risk Analyst in a big investment bank be considered a middle office role? What about P&L Analyst?

Would they be bad starting roles in the industry for someone who wants to work in the front office in the future?

Thanks

 

Depeds on where you are based, but in Europe I think that could be a good idea. Just get your story right on why you want to move from MO - FO, like taking on more responsibility, facing clients, etc.

I don't know... Yeah. Almost definitely yes.
 

Market risk is not front office. Yes they sit on trading floor but it's not front office...front office bring revenue. Don't know how else to clarify this more...

If you're in reconciling, compliance, front office technology, developer, risk, HR, settlements, trade support, any functions in operations... doesn't matter if you move risk within books for the trader, you're not front office.

 

That's a pretty ridiculous way to gauge whether a position is FO. Also, as a matter of fact there are "Ivy League" kids in credit risk roles (ones that come to mind: Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc.) which is a MO function. At the end of the day, risk in general is not FO as it does not produce revenue, it only assists bankers.

 
Most Helpful

Risk is not front office.

Getting from middle/back to front office is a function of how you spend your free time.

If you go into the middle office job thinking that you have a leg up because you're rubbing elbows with the front office and can dazzle your way to FO by being that special middle officeguy who impresses FO guys, you'll be disappointed. You'll apply for FO and realize that your competition is some other guy who spent his free time learning the directly relevant skills needed for the FO role.

In other words, there's no back door option when plenty of people are waiting at the front door. Its crucial to acknowledge that FO involves a heavy skill set that you don't yet have, and will need to invest time into acquiring.

If you go to middle office and then also spend your free time wisely, you can compete successfully at the front door plus have a small leg up by virtue of the fact that you know some FO guys.

 

Risk Analyst and P&L Analysts are MO. It's not a dead-end if you want to go to FO (though if you can start in FO that's obviously the best). You need to have a good story when interviewing why you want to go to FO; some roles in S&T require good understanding of risk management so depending on where in FO skills are transferable.

For example I started out interning in BO (Credit Risk Tech) and MO (Credit & Market Risk) before transitioning into S&T, went back to school and moved to buyside.

 

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