Would someone with actual work experience at a MM platform (Millennium/Citadel/P72/BAM or similar) be kind enough to offer a high-level overview of common techniques that are used to contain (a) portfolio volatility and (b) draw downs, to the platform's required parameters for a pod? I am thinking L/S equity but feedback from any strategy (e.g. macro) would be great. Thank you!
24 Aug 2020
Hey guys, i graduated last summer from a mediocre uni in Germany (in business and economics) and moved to the UK to pursue my dream job of being a pokerplayer. I started playing while being in school, therefore i played during my studies and because i have been making decent money of it i never wanted to do an internship or work in a regular job after finishing. For several reasons (while still having decent results in poker) this changed after moving to the UK pretty quickly and i started to look for internships in banking as it is the subject i picked all my electives in and found most
26 Aug 2020
I received full time offers from Deloitte Consulting's Strategy & Operations arm and JPM's Risk Management division. I know they're very different, so it's hard to compare. But if anyone could shed light onto what the culture/vibe of each firm is like, how they vary, exit opportunities, skillsets each side requires, the pros&cons of both, types of people, leadership, prestige, etc. that would be great.
12 Jan 2021
I have seen a few posts on the Commodities Trading forum asking about how petroleum trading is priced, hedged, etc. I was reasonably high up in Risk Management for a "major" trading company in Houston for a few years and am now running a hedge book at a smaller company, so I thought I may be able to impart some knowledge (didn't burn out, just moved closer to family). My focus has been primarily on gasoline, so that is primarily what I will discuss. However, I have also done some jet fuel, naphtha, and LPGs. There is some variance between those products compared to Crude, Bunker Fuel, and on
03 Jun 2018
Whenever I watch or read interviews with successful traders they always stress the importance of risk management. How exactly do professional traders calculate risk (formulas etc.)? Are they simply looking at VAR or are there more advanced risk management strategies used by professional traders that day traders are unaware of?
30 Jan 2019
I have accepted a Risk Management job at a large (too big to fail) bank in NY, i-banking division. 1. What is the job like in terms of hours/pay/experience/exit opportunities? 2. How difficult is it to move into a hotter division, say, i-banking or LevFin? Do you know anyone who moved from middle office to front office (anyone from RM?)? 3. If it can be done any tips on what to do (if I feel unhappy about RM job, should I talk to HR right away or wait for first evaluation)? 4. If you were to rank RM jobs on prestige, 1 being BO ,say IT, and 10 being i-banking, what would you assign? 5. How driven are the analysts in Risk Management (based on your observation, experience)? Is it difficult to stand out? Thank you.
16 Mar 2018
Hi all. I did my bachelor's degree in Mathematics in Greece and now I am doing my master's in Financial Mathematics, at the London School of Economics (LSE). The application period has almost ended and I am worried a lot about my future. I have no prior working experience (no internships) and as a result it is all but impossible to find a full time position in a graduate scheme. At the same time, the majority of the internships are offered only for penultimate year students, which is not applicable to my case. My aspiration is to work as a Trader or Quant in a trading firm, but I am
21 Oct 2018
I'm offered to become a CFO of a tiny P/C insurance company and wondering whether I'm sure about philosophy of this business. Company market themselves as a professional service provider, wiki says it's a financial service, and I think it's an asset manager. Do you have a better definition? (I have no degree in finance, too).
10 Aug 2018
Hello all, I am a less of a contributor on this site but think it makes sense to post my experience in the field of Market Risk and everything around it from a career point of view if it ends up helping few members. Happy to take questions, ask away... I spent about eight years in this function working at a top risk solutions vendor company (Bloomberg/MSCI/BlackRock league). My role involved acting as a risk specialist for Hedge funds risk managers in UK, helping them with market risk measures, models, movements and best practices. This allowed me to learn their side of roles and other stuff
23 Jan 2016
I'm having a really tough time deciding between continuing with my unpaid search fund internship or pursuing a paid fixed-income risk management internship in LA. The partner I'm working for at my search fund told me I need to think about the long-term vision of my career (My end goal is HF/PE) and heavily encouraged me to stay onboard (he invested time to train me), but I'm worried that I'm passing up a great opportunity to get paid and learn a MO role which I can leverage for an IB internship next year. Am I being short-sighted for wanting to get paid this early on in my career? Can anyone
16 Mar 2018
Any fellow commercial insurance brokers on this site? I've seen the occasional discussion with commercial P&C and reinsurance underwriters, but interested to find out how many are on the brokerage side. I'm a year-and-a-half into a training program with a global insurance brokerage, where I support both client advisory and large P&C placements for companies with $500M-$1B+ in revenue. So far, I'm really enjoying the learning experience, the industry, and the colleagues I work with. To some of the more experienced brokers/client execs on this forum, how has your experience been to date? What
15 Mar 2020
Hi, I am a current student studying Math and Econ. After I graduate from my current school, I will be studying Operations Research two more years. I have been pursuing the actuarial field, but I also want to break into the finance industry at the same time. 1) I have passed two actuarial exams (P and FM) and will take the third one (MFE) in March that deals with options pricing (Black-Scholes, Ito calculus, delta hedging, etc). Would those exams be helpful if I want to get an internship in the risk management division within an investment bank? 2) I have heard that the FRM exams would be
03 Dec 2015
recently listened to what i thought was an interesting discussion between Nassim Taleb and Russ Roberts (turns out i cannot post links as i am new to this site, but if you go to econtalk and search "Taleb on skin in the game" you should be able to find the podcast) in it, taleb argues that ethics are fundamentally a part of risk management in finance. he draws on hammurabi code, with the example of a home builder who, under a scenario where the house he builds collapses to kill the owner, is put to death himself. this is the well known eye-for-an-eye mantra you hear about growing up, and is
05 Jan 2016
"There she is, that beautiful blonde from Wharton", you say to your colleague as she comes in. She looks amazing and smells great despite being the only female in the trading pit. Yet she has a character of class, trades gracefully, and a strong resilience. After some time of trapping flies with your mouth, you stop gawking as your colleague leans over and says, "…not only is she like a nine, I've heard she's the best trader at her firm!" You give a sudden and noticed, "What?" Its true, research shows in fact that females are better at trading than males but now a famous London HF manager
29 Sep 2012
I am a sophomore at Baruch College majoring in Applied Math. And I am interested in a career and a summer analyst internship next year in credit risk at a BB IB. I heard that Baruch is recruited heavily for middle or back office. Front office not so much. Since risk is middle office I want to know if the BB IB recruit from Baruch for credit risk/ risk management?
25 Jan 2016
What is best for ALM?
26 Mar 2013
I'm looking into risk management, specifically with a BB. I've searched through some threads but It looks like not a lot of people here went down that road. I'm talking about credit risk not market risk. Any insight? hours/lifestyle/pay/exit opportunities? From what I've learned so far... Hours 9-6ish? Pay lower than street - how low? how is pay progression? lifestyle culture - middle/back office exit opportunities to f500 corporate development, PE/VC? Thanks
24 May 2011
An HR lady at one of the top investment banks(think GS,DB,MS) approached me with this opening today. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES: · Calculate the daily sweepings of the risks and book the transfer trades · Setup and run risk scenario analysis for X-Gamma exposure across all trading books globally · Create scenario / risk optimization runs for the funding book and the XCCY book. · Book the daily cash funding of the trading books in Europe. I am a fixed income trader at a prop firm and trade sovereign government bonds.I have absolutely no idea what this role encompasses or what might be the day to day responsibilities in this position.Does anyone have a clue? Thanks!
18 Oct 2012
Hi all, I accepted a job for a large commercial bank (top 6 or so) doing quantitative portfolio management on MBS, mortgages, home equity loans, etc. I spend most of my time valuing whole loan portfolio deals between us and other banks and leading the macroeconomic analysis for our team. Prior to this position I was on the macroeconomics team at a large financial institution (non-bank). I have an MBA from a top-25 or so school (part-time so not much help with career services), have passed CFA level 1 and will be sitting for CFA level 2 in June. My question is how difficult is it for someone
04 Dec 2015
I am starting to read Trading in The Zone by Mark Douglas. I read it last summer during my SA stint and was not trading. Was just curious if anyone else had read it or is interested. The book is about the factors that influence traders and differentiate good traders and bad traders and why the best traders truly excel. Personally I really do agree that the internal factors are what determine the winners from the losers. I would like to dedicate a thread to talking about the psychology of trading. I think far too many people on this board look at trading as overly quantitative and fail to realize that there are so many other factors that are more important than your ability to understand complex math.
30 Jun 2009
I'll be working in risk management at a BB and I'm curious what type of exit ops are available after two years? This is a credit risk position, so it's IBD-focused (not a market risk position, which deals more with S&T). I've heard that risk management analysts can get into distressed debt shops, but I'm curious what other opportunities there might be. Thanks for the help.
03 Mar 2010
I have just started to work for a boutique investment bank in Asia. This question struck me when I'm filling up gym membership application form as it comes down to the "designation" part. Nonetheless, filling form story aside, this question has always been on my mind since the day I join the investment banking industry. What should Credit / Market Risk guy called themselves when threw with questions like "what you do for living?" or "what you working as?". This may sound a bit melodramatic question to ask, but is it "ethically" wrong to call ourselves as investment banker?
16 Jul 2015
Nassim Nicholas Taleb's [NNT] latest book, Antifragility discusses how institutions can survive through chaos and diversity. In a lengthy interview with Reason's Nick Gillespie he indirectly promotes capitalism and simplifies his message by saying, "...I want errors to be multiplied, that's it." He then goes on to elaborate the overall theme of his book and relates it to banking finance, monetary policy, options theory, etc. So read on for my summary and to see the full interview as he shake's up the WS establishment yet again... WHAT IS ANTIFRAGILITY? A general analogy would be that any
31 Mar 2013
Hey primates, Just found out I have a 30min phone interview this Thursday for an entry-level risk management position in London with Glencore. Anyone been through this experience before and care to share some advice? I'm guessing because it's a first-rounder it's mostly going to be fit questions, but they did ask a few questions like that on the online application. What else could they fit in 30 minutes? Any help is much appreciated!
04 Oct 2011
Here's the deal - I completed undergrad in 2008. Top-25 school, 3.5, varsity athlete, ran a successful business in college. Last December I passed CFA Level I. Right now I work in a dead end job. It's financial reporting, nobody has ambition or has gotten raises in forever, and 2 of my coworkers didn't even go to college. Literally, it's a bunch of soccer moms and they are all (including my boss) lifers. This week I got passed over for a Front Office position in Asset Management (I made it to the final round). A friend of mine says he can get me into the door of a BB for credit risk management - they really need people and my skillset fits their need exactly. My comp would be higher (40%+ all in), and the people I'd be working with would be much smarter than my current coworkers. The exit opportunities would be much better as well, but not Front Office. I would not be working with Traders or PMs, but I'd be working with Research Analysts - I don't want to do research.
11 Jun 2010
Row call! Who here is in Calgary (and more broadly Canada)? I work in business development for a midstream / marketing company. Been at it for just over 3 years now. It's been a great experience with lots of exposure and responsibility (crude oil and ngl/lpg). Been thinking about long term opportunities, may try to eventually make switch to trading physical and then financial (spec). Anyway, I'm interested in setting up a group for energy professionals specifically in Calgary. I've read some of the energy posts here, it seems like Monty has it all set up for Houston. Lots of info out there for the US side of things, seems like having a Canadian presence would benefit everyone interested in the industry and provide a great networking opportunity.
25 May 2011
Long term goal is to be in HF, perhaps portfolio mgmt. or PE Short term goal is to be in IBD. Currently a junior going for a summer intern position. Recruiting season is coming to a close for me. I am at target Ivy (harvard/Wharton, one of those two) What should I take this summer: equity research in TMT (below BB, above boutique/MM) or risk and quantitative analysis(RQA) at BlackRock? I personally want to try for the ER summer->IBD full time->HF/PE track. However, chances of me getting IBD full time w/o an internship is slim, even if my school is top recruited and I have good academics (magna cum laude)
03 Mar 2011
Is the P/E ratio the next head to roll off today's market guillotine? What are the new market metrics which will mark the next generation of financial analysis? As usual the critiques are more abundant then proposed solutions.
The stock market's average price/earnings ratio, meanwhile, is in free fall, having plunged about 36% during the past year, the largest 12-month decline since 2003. It now stands at about 14.9, compared with 23.1 last September, based on trailing 12-month earnings results. Based on profit expectations over the next 12 months, the P/E ratio has fallen to 12.2 from about 14.5 in May.
22 Sep 2010
Does anyone have any info on BoA's QMAP program? What they ask in the interview, comp, exit opps etc?
14 Sep 2010
So I networked my way into a prestigious Asset Management firm, I am a math major at a non-target that was planning on trying to break into S&T, but now trying to get an internship is Risk/Quant Analysis at this firm. My GPA is 3.2 and SAT is 680-V/760-M, should these be included? Thanks a lot.
13 Jul 2011
Hey everybody, I have a dilemma between two internships set up for the spring. I have no relevant work experience in finance and I am a graduating senior. Which internship will help me boost my resume? A Research internship for a small M&A advisory firm or Energy Risk Management for an energy company
12 Jan 2012
Hey all, wanted to ask opinions on an offer I received 2 weeks ago. I go to a semi target state school, and received an offer from a top BB (GS, MS, JPM) in credit risk management, where I have the option to work on product management with a specialization in a product (Equity derivatives, FX, rates) and the role would be analyzing trades sent from the desks, and I think it sounds pretty interesting. Given that the firm is one of the best, and the salary is competitive, what do you all think? It was not my first choice of positions originally, but I like some (not all) of the people I met there throughout the process. Thanks a lot!
23 Dec 2011
I am an engineer am starting my second year of MBA this spring. I have been concentrating in Energy Risk Mgmt to transition from engineering and break into S&T in Houston. My dilemma - I can tailor my program to concentrate solely in ERM by taking electives in Energy Futures, Swaps, Options, Derivatives, etc... Though, I have the opportunity to use my electives to manage a $7M investment fund (if my application is accepted). Only 16 students are chosen from all MBAs and MSFins to manage the fund (broken into 4 teams of four).
13 Jan 2011
So, interviewers will commonly ask what role are you searching for. This is easy when the job is awesome and you want the challenge/money/prestige and your goals line up with the job description and career path, but gets harder with support roles that most people use as a stepping stone and want to get out of. The job is for entry level risk management and you're asked "what kind of job are you looking for and why?", what should you say?
19 Jul 2011
Interviewing at two funds right now, one is Bridgewater for a Client Services Associate position, the other fund York Capital is for a Risk Management role. Which would be the better move for trying to land into the investment strategy/trading side of the PM industry? Any thoughts/opinions are greatly appreciated.
12 Apr 2012
Hey guys, I've been following WSO for a while now, and I think it's an excellent resource for those of us trying to make it in the banking industry. I was hoping to get some feedback regarding my options. I haven't found any discussion regarding the best of the worst vs. the "worst/okay" of the best. My question: Which should I choose? 1. M&A at a tiny no-name regional boutique (unpaid internship) in DC 2. Risk management at a Bulge Bracket Investment Bank in NYC My background: 1. Studying MS Quantitative Finance at a well-known private university (non-target for BB IBD) 2. Internship in Trading at a well known market-making firm 3. Internship at a Hedge Fund in risk management My goal: IBD or Consulting for full time and interest in eventually pursuing a top B-School
09 Apr 2009
Does anyone know how hard is it to get a FT credit risk management offer from a BB coming from a non-target undergrad school? Thanks in advance.
18 Jun 2010
Counter-terrorism technologies used to find hidden caves in Pakistan are not solely used against el-Qaida anymore. Today, they're being applied as a tool in fighting the war against Washington from the offices of WS. While these technologies greatly assisted in locating Osama Bin-Laden, this newer application could have potentially netted the London Whale long before losses exploded to $5.8B! Just like Donald Rumsfeld and the U.S invasion into Afghanistan, Guy Chiarelli, CIO for JPM is on the offensive too, combining Planatir's technology with Big Data to bring their risk management to whole
16 Dec 2012
Hi Guys, I have about a week to decide between these two offers. Base pay is exactly the same for both banks and don't much about bonuses in my region. I've heard that RSG at Barclays is the most profitable group so bonus would probably be higher. Any insights that could help me make my decision would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
28 Sep 2014
Hi, Im a math major, and have managed to network myself into a big financial advisory firm. Im trying to get an internship doing Risk Management. Since I switched majors this year, I dont have any related experience, except working for my dad, an accountant with his own firm that focuses mostly on corporate accounting. Is it really cheesy for me to use my Dad as my only prior experience? thanks
12 Jul 2011
I have 4 offers on the table from different firms in varied industries. The two that I am torn between are a large cards company for a Senior Manager role and E&Y Manager role in FSO Advisory (risk focus). Both are relatively comparable offers but different locations. I want to know how E&Y experienced hire process works for Manager roles. I had interviews, did well, got a tentative offer but I did not like the comp. After some back and forth with the recruiter, I had a personal call from the lead partner to talk to me about it and asking what he can do to make it happen. I also have a lunch
14 Aug 2016
What is a typical salary for a first year analyst in risk management and bonus at a BB?
27 Feb 2011
Choosing from 3 programs: 1 MS in States at Baruch, 2 MS in Applied Statistics and Decision Making at Fordham, (a kinda new program http://www.bnet.fordham.edu/academics/ms_programs/ms_statistics_decision_making/index.asp) and Finally 3 Mathematical risk Management at Georgia State. The program at GSU is an Accredited University Risk Program of the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA). Students graduating with an MS-MRM will be eligible for exemption from Professional Risk Manager Certification (PRM™) Exams I and II,which form a major part of the certification program by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA). My background: I am foreign, so getting a job with just a good GPA wont be easy for me (visa issue).
03 Apr 2014
I want to know a bit about risk management, so if anyone can help me out, that would be great:' 1. Breaking in: How difficult is it, esp for non-targets? From my search, I've read anywhere from not too bad to as hard as IB. Btw, I'm not talking about market risk, but rather credit risk, etc. 2. Any good reads about Risk Management? I might be working in Risk Management this summer (through a connection) so I want to have a basic understanding before I start my internship as to what its all about. Any websites/books about this sort of thing would be great, so please list any. 3. Aside from prospects regarding getting into the front office (IBD, S&T, etc.), how is the career itself in terms of salary, stress, etc.? If I enjoy it, I'll have no intention of moving to IB later on anyway, so if I pursue it for the rest of my life, do you think it is a good career overall? thanks. Any and all help would be appreciated on this matter!
03 Jun 2010
A long shot but maybe someone here might know somethign about Frankfurt? My company is moving some jobs from UK to Frankfurt via brexit. Mid level VP in Risk with 11y of experience. Live and worked in NYC. I'm curious owhat i should expect for salary in Frankfurt? I know COL is much cheaper than NYC and salaries are probably lower too. However, They need someone there very soon as brexit happens in 6mo, no one wants to go, and I'm also the SME for the new role so I feel like there is room for negotiation. Have done lots of research online but can't seem to find a definitive answer and want to
15 Oct 2018
Since I am far from quantitatively inclined my tolerance for highly quantitative approaches to finance is low. Naturally, during the derivate driven whirlwind of the last decade I missed out on many an opportunity to add an extra zero. I don't have an regrets in this regard. You can only play with the skill set you have. Jump shooters should stay out of the paint, especially if they can't pull up in time.
13 May 2011
As a Dane from Copenhagen business school, getting a job on wall-street seems quite tough, so thinking about internship/analyst position in East Europe where the competition is much smaller. Clearly the salary is a joke, but you got a foot in the door of the bank. Are these people working there looked down upon in Morgan Stanley etc? How about intermovability?
12 Jun 2013
Hello, What would be an appropriate salary for an investment risk manager with 3-4 years of experience? This is for a hedge fund.
10 Aug 2018
I'm offered to become a CFO of a tiny P/C insurance company and wondering whether I'm sure about philosophy of this business. Company market themselves as a professional service provider, wiki says it's a financial service, and I think it's an asset manager. Do you have a better definition? (I have no degree in finance, too).
10 Aug 2018
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