trading

So I'm sure everyone is aware of the huge surge in the price of Dogecoin in the last 3-4 months. It fucking kills me that there are actually morons with no investing or finance experience getting rich off of this intrinsically worthless joke-coin (https://twitter.com/prothedoge?lang=en) AND then go on to brag about how much money they've made, promote it, etc. I have friends with no investing experience who Yolo'd $500 or $1,000 into it when it was around $0.07 and will not stop talking about how much money they've made. I've been following it since the beginning of the year but never pulled

04 May 2021

Background - Attended a top non-ivy undergrad with a degree in mathematics and economics. Prior to leaving for a multi-strat hedge fund (think Bluecrest, Millennium, Balasny, etc.), I was a macro derivatives trader on the sellside. The vast majority of my daily work was focused on idea generation, backtesting and quantifying risk/reward on prop positions with the rest 20% market marking related. Given my current role on the buyside, my product scope includes futures, bonds, CDX index swaps, CDX index swaptions, IRS, Swaptions, ED$ options and more exotic derivatives as well. The objective is

06 May 2021

Quick question: Which prop trading / market making shops would be worth turning down top BB (JPM/GS) trading offer for? Not going to be more specific, but given my educational background, I think I would fit in better at prop trading/ market making shop... (obviously a much higher barrier to entry, but I still want to aspire to something better) Current list (in no particular order): Jane Street, Five Rings Capital, Citadel (Securities), DRW, Optiver, SIG, HRT, Akuna(?) Are there other firms (US or UK based) that fall into this list whereby it would be silly for me/anyone to accept a BB offer

10 Sep 2021

Hello folks. I could not find any recent information on this so here it goes. I'm an incoming S&T rotational graduate at a BB bank. I have a Masters in Finance from a target mainland Europe university. I would not say I am gifted at Math whatsoever albeit my academic credentials would lead one to believe otherwise. I have been good enough with math to get by and have a good understanding of markets relative to me peers. My question for my fellow monkeys is: I see many traders that have physics degrees, maths degrees, engineering degrees. If I am to go into trading, what desk do you think would

21 Sep 2021

Hi everyone, I recently interned with a data + analytics provider for the electricity and power markets, and since then I've been extremely interested in a trading job in the field. Coming from a more traditional finance background, it doesn't seem like there's as clear of a career progression/path (at least to me). I'm not sure where I need to be looking in the short term to reach the long term goal of being a trader at a prop shop/HF trading electricity. Any advice on what types of jobs/firms I should be looking at for graduation would be much appreciated. Additionally, any information on

18 Jul 2021

Hello, I'm pretty deep in discussions with a US BB investment bank about joining as a VP on a power trading desk in London, I'm currently a relatively junior power trader at an EU utility. Anyone familiar with European power markets will know theres a pretty large shortage of power traders atm so we're in demand. Question is - does anyone have experience trading power in both a bank and utility? and whats the upside to the bank? apart from the obvious prestige that come with trading with a BB I don't see much benefit in power trading where I have significantly more expertise surrounding me in

31 Jul 2021

Hello, I am wondering what traders do we have here on this S&T forum? Physical/Paper: Commodity: Geo:

23 Aug 2021

Hi all, I'm currently a student at a target school in Canada studying pure math/stats and am really interested in quant finance and trading. Not looking to pursue higher education and am not really interested in the accounting side of fundamental analysis. Wondering if you guys have any insight into investing/trading roles that are for 'semi-quants' (not PHD level quant stuff), any specific trading products? Any good resources to start looking at? (other than the obvious WSJ and FT) FWIW, solid python/sql/vba skills and understanding of ML and probability. If anyone is in the space (preferably

21 Jun 2021

Would love to have a discussion about the current state and the future of a sales-man. Please add your two cents and personal experiences. - For argument sake, assume you are or would be FICC sales or exotics on a good desk making good revenue. - What are the current actual bonus's looking like in this record year? - Will the sales person still have a role when automation rolls through, ie.. G10 spot there is already automation... but there are still salesman? - For those who are in it... are you looking to pivot, or is this a sweet spot? ** I love doing it... love the pace, love the

11 May 2021

I'm one month in operations and I'm falling asleep at work; it's not intellectually stimulating. I recently graduated college with a finance degree and could not find a job for the life of me. A little nepotism landed me a job as an operations analyst in NYC, but I want out. I want to become a trader of some sort, but I don't know what to prepare in order to "re-brand" myself as someone who is capable of trading. Also, I don't know if I should work for a year and then look elsewhere, or if I should rigorously focus on getting out because I heard I'd be "branded" as an operations person which I

26 Jun 2021

Hello everyone, I see people on instagram bragging about how trading is turning their lives around basically acting as finance gurus teaching you how you should live your life. Most of them don't have an economic or quantitative background (not that is strictly necessary) and can't even understand what trading actually is. I don't have much knowledge about the topic but I guess they use what people refer to as technical analysis and that's it. Is there an expert that can articulate in detail why what these people do doesn't work, that is not so simple to do trading and that to actually do

22 Apr 2021

I'm currently in the placement process for my s&t internship ( trading track) at a top BB Would you guys be willing to shed some light on some of these desks: • rates trading; both securities and swaps • credit indices (CDX and CDX options etc) • high yield • distressed • equity derivatives ( index and single name) • energy derivatives • EM credit • Chief Investment office Are these desks good places to be and what type of person would be successful in these roles? Any insight would be much appreciated.

05 Feb 2021

Mod Note (Andy): Q&A/Interview Tuesdays! Email me ([email protected]) if you'd like to do a Q&A or interview for WSO My background is working in a high yield/distressed trading desk as a research analyst and trader, before making the move to a credit hedge fund within one of the major PE firms. The guys on the public side of the wall are a different breed than the private-side banking guys, who I think have a pretty high level of representation on this board relative to fund guys. A little rougher on the edges, and probably a little more intense in general. Hopefully I can shed some

11 Sep 2020

I have a question: For about a year now, I have been paper trading, starting from 3000 USD and I'm now at roughly 50.000 USD. Most of that money was acquired through buying and selling a few different stocks, for example SNDL and most recently TNXP. On average I made around 100 trades in a day (I didn't trade every single day). Regarding stock pricing, I put a buy limit at 1.03 USD and a sell limit at 1.04 USD (talking about my most recent trades on TNXP). As I said before, I did this about 100 times a day and managed to generate some good profit. Now, considering that we are talking about a

24 Apr 2021

I feel like I've been answering a lot of questions regarding the state of S&T going forward as well as what a S&T trader does (and trading in general) so I figured it might be helpful to do Q&A. I remember as a freshman in college I used this site extensively to help me eventually land my internships and then my job. Some background on myself... I went to a target school (non-ivy). I've been in industry a little over 5 years and am a VP level trader at a macro type desk (metals/fx/rates) at a BB. I spent my first year focused specifically on rates. My focus now is more on metals and fx, but

06 Apr 2020

Hey all, I'm graduating from my B.Sc. this year and joining a big investment bank as an analyst. I'm excited for the work, but I'm a bit worried about being able to do a masters later on. I really want to do an economics master at LSE or in the U.S. at some point, maybe after 2 years of work. Will it be harder to be accepted? Would I have to give them references from professors I wouldn't have talked to in years? Will I remember anything from my B.Sc.? lol Any experience with applying for a masters after having worked for some time would be very helpful. Thank you

27 Apr 2021

Hi All, Hope you are all safe and healthy through these trying times. I am a MO Operations (Trade Support) Associate at a bulge bracket bank in NYC. I am in dire need of some advice. I really want to be in a Sales/Trading role, it's been my passion since I was in middle school and I know it's my calling in life. I have listed a short summary of my journey for context. 2017 - Interned with a FX broker on their Sales desk, and received a full time offer a few months later. Unfortunately all interns were let go 2 weeks before my graduation date because of illegal wrong doings by senior management

19 Jan 2021

I wanted to make this post in order to say that S&T as in "sales" 'and' "trading" is better than i-Banking bc In my job i am able to have hands-on experience trading sT0nks and talk with cli3nts. i also am passionate about Marcuts. i laugh at all i-Bankers for working so much hours when you could make more $$$ and have better exit ops in trading these days due to the rapidly increasing demand of h3dge funs and asset managements. ik many i-Bankers will have a hard time reading this post, but i would encourage u to channel that frustration into trying to land a top tier trading role.

03 Dec 2020

For those of you who are traders, how frequently do you use python/r in your job? I know that this question varies for someone who works at a market maker vs. someone who works at a trade house, but for those of you who do program can you give me a sense of how you use it on a day to day basis?

08 Feb 2021

Been studying up for a S&T interview and this is driving me crazy. (1) Inflation vs. Currency Value: Negative Correlation The relationship between inflation and currency value is by far the most straight forward in my opinion. Inflation decreases the value of currency in purchasing goods, which drives down the currency's worth relative to other currencies. Please let me know if I'm wrong on this. (2) The relationship between inflation and interest rates is making little sense to me. (a) Positive Correlation: On one hand, high inflation causes investors to demand a higher yield on their bonds

23 Feb 2021

I will be as honest as I can and will love hate or advice regardless what it is. I transferred to a target school a year ago as a junior, if you look at my post history it will explain everything. And after being there for a year I've slowly re-evaluated everything. IB was the most promising career that would be lucrative with time whether it be going to PE or whatever else. Although after coming to a point, doing a random accounting internship this summer, just so I can have the opportunity to recruit for next summer, (which if I put the effort in I will land something, and just started the

30 Jul 2020

Hi guys/gals. Anyone who did the HireVue for Morgan Stanley 2021 SA S&T in either FI/IED S&T or PBCS yet? If so, would you mind sharing the questions? It almost seems eerie that I can easily find IB questions in the most 3 recent years - which appears to be unchanged - without even a single post even inquiring for S&T. I heard from an alum that apps are not even gonna be looked at until July but somehow my dumbass still do it early. Anyhow thank you for the help!!

14 May 2020

It's been a while since I've visited WSO. Yet in my early 20s, this was the place that I would often come to for information and guidance. In the spirit of giving back, I'll share my story and a few nuggets of wisdom that I believe may help others who are also trying to strive in their professional lives. #### My background I went to a Canadian semi-target university majoring in finance and economics. In my 2nd year university, I discovered capital markets, trading/investing. I knew this was what I wanted to do but still had much to figure out. After I graduated, I worked in research at a

17 Mar 2019

Hello Monkeys, I am currently in the process of transferring and was frustrated by the lack of a centralized source of information about transfer friendly schools for IB, so I made one for the website. Anyone who has some value to add related to placement from any of these schools, please comment so I can make this more detailed and useful for students looking to transfer. Note: I will intentionally leave out schools with really low rates of transfer because for most applicants, they're unrealistic to consider. best transfer schools for investment banking Northwestern (12.5% transfer

22 Mar 2018

Well... this market is fun! Worst week since the crisis followed by the biggest single day price gain in history... Question I have here, is the bounce back driven by: a) A waning of the fears over the Coronavirus? b) A bounce back because the market was oversold last week? c) Biden's win in South Carolina and backing by Klobuchar and Buttigieg? d) Something else? From what I am seeing, the options market is still pricing in a pullback, to somewhere around the 2900 level on the S&P, so will be interested to see how the week goes. What does everyone think and what are we buying? Do we think E&P

02 Mar 2020

Hello everyone! Just brief info, about us... So, we are the Team Traders with more than 20 years old of Practice & Experience in trading sphere... Accurately suppose, that our abilities doesn't have some boundaries and limitations & knowledge skills more deeply than you able to expect... We are glad to everyone! Novice & beginners, do not hesitate, you can ask us all about the Trading. Sure, we able to help. Let's find theTrue of Trading together! Kind regards, Team Traders "PowerfulTraders"

15 Sep 2020

I read a lot of misleading information regarding sales jobs in banks on this forum recently (I am lumping sales/sales traders and all products here). I won't mention any particular users, but it got me angry. Given I have not contributed to WSO in a meaningful way in more than a year (apart from my sly comments slagging muppets...) Here we go, in no particular order: Myth 1 - Junior sales go out all the time with clients No they don't - you've just given a corporate card to a kid, and more than USD 50k as a salary to someone who was used to eating ramen noodle and attending BYOB parties

29 Mar 2018

So I'm currently the Global Trading Intern in Boston at a huge asset manager. I'm thrilled to be in this spot after working in accounting and CRE the last two summers as the only job in finance I've ever wanted is to be a trader. Going into my senior year (at a non-target for any area of finance) I'm trying to plan out how I can get on a desk at a prop firm ASAP. Basically, I'm curious as to what you guys think is the best way to stand out / prepare for a prop trading interview / job. I've been trading for 2 years now and know technicals well, I'm pretty good at mental math and all that stuff

16 Jun 2021

The heading basically speaks for itself. I'm wondering whether a Trading Surveillance Analyst at Nasdaq would be a good start of my a career for a person that want to end up withing IB or PE. Why/Why not?

05 Sep 2021

I'd imagine there's a fairly simple answer to this question, but I haven't yet come across one. It seems like bank compensation pales in comparison to what one can earn at a HF, even at the junior level. That said, it doesn't seem like many juniors are actually making the move from the sell-side to the buy-side. Is there something I'm missing - maybe most traders prefer the job security at a bank relative to a HF, or maybe they want to develop their trading skills on the sell-side before jumping directly into a buyside PM role? This is from the perspective of an Analyst; I understand that once

26 Dec 2020

I just received an invitation to take the Shell TDP assessment, and I was wondering if any TDP alum can share their insight. Also, I hear the interview is brutal.. so if anyone has anything to say about that I would appreciate it. Thanks

15 Sep 2017

Hey, I am an international student and I just got offers from the business schools at Durham (UK) and Fordham (NY) and from the liberal arts school for Economics at UT Austin. I'm not 100% sure about what industry I want to go into yet but I really like trading and consulting at the moment. Since I did not get into McCombs I'm worried I will be gatekept from accessing certain resources and recruiting events whereas Fordham is known for its business school. I think Durham on the other hand is very prestigious but I'm not sure not their business school is seen at the undergraduate level. UT is

08 Apr 2021

About me Been working at a top tier Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firm in New York for 7+ Years which makes me an old geezer. Ask anything you want about the industry, happy to answer and help guide you. Separately, I worked for three years at a proprietary trading firm in Chicago before jumping into real estate so happy to answer any questions about that as well and how the two industries compare.

15 Jul 2019

Hi all, I'm a rising junior and am currently applying to 2021 SA programs in S&T. This summer I do not have a real internship so I have doubled down on coding and following the markets everyday and formulating my thoughts on the macro picture. I got rejected from Citi back in late April so have been feeling a bit down, and was wondering how can I best prepare myself to be competitive for other banks that are kicking off soon? If anyone is willing to be my mentor and talk for 30 minutes - that would truly mean the world to me. And any advice/encouragement would be truly appreciated. Thank you.

08 Jul 2020

Hey all, Before diving into this I think it makes sense to at least give some context and background on me personally just so we're all on the same page. The general gist of what I am curious about from anyone with experience is the goal of getting seeded to start a small fund. The goal would be $2mm-$50mm. I'll get into why in a second. As way of background, I am 34, C-suite exec (think VP of Corp Dev/Treasurer/CFO) at a mid-cap public company on the east coast. I have an MBA and CFA and have done pretty well for myself being outside of the 'high' comp / 'high end' NYC finance world. I

16 Jun 2018

Hi, Questions: How would you go about "following the markets" for S&T/trading internships? S&T interviewers, what do you ask and what are you looking for in the markets portion of an interview? Also please critique my preparation methods: 1) Prepare for the classics * cheat sheet table of indices on the day of the interview * how would you invest 1 mil * 1 Long/1 Short stock pitch - First pitch:

15 Jul 2020

What is the best investing tip for beginner investors you wish you knew when you started? Here are 10 investing tips for beginner investors: Acknowledge the need to invest and decide your goal. The first step is to actually understand why you need to be invested and not just keep your savings at your bank. Educate yourself. Investing needs experience and experience comes only with time. But before you get there, you can read. So educate yourself with as much material as possible. Start investing as early as possible. You 'll then have more time to correct your mistakes and find what works for

27 Aug 2020

I'm in my second year studying Maths at a Target Uni in the UK and I need advice in which one of these two internships to go for: The first internship is in the Markets Division (Cross-Asset) at a Tier 3 Investment Bank in London. The second internship is as a Trading Intern at a high-frequency trading firm in Amsterdam. I'm really looking for something that's going to be more quantitative/mathsy and so it'll make sense for me to choose the second over the first, however there's a few things holding me back. Firstly, because the first bank set an exploding deadline, I've already had to accept

12 Dec 2020

Hello everyone, My name is David, I'm 20 years old and from the Netherlands. I've always wanted to make a career in trading, I've been studying it from a young age (mainly TA even though I am becoming more aware that TA isn't actually used as much professionally). I'm in my second year of my bachelor in Economics, which I specifically chose because I read that it was sought after for a career in trading. I've been trying my best to get a good GPA, currently around a 7.7/10. I got some sales experience to get out of my comfort zone, got some work experience in a place where you make 14hour days

24 Aug 2020

I've noticed that the conversation in the energy industry over the last couple of years has really started shifting towards decarbonization and sustainability. Regardless of what anybody's personal beliefs are, all of the major O&G companies are facing stiff pressure from shareholders and lawmakers to reduce emissions. In addition, places like New York City, California and many European countries have pledged to be carbon neutral by around 2040. This trend will only continue elsewhere, and if it happens, it seems like demand will decline fairly quickly. I know that in some cases these goals

27 Dec 2018

It's interview season! Susquehanna, Jane Street, Goldman, Citadel -- it's all here. Redacted for people who want more practice Questions 1. For a 3 sets tennis game, would you bet on it finishing in 2 sets or 3 sets? 2. I have a square, and place three dots along the 4 edges at random. What is the probability that the dots lie on distinct edges? 3. You have 10 people in a room. How many total handshakes if they all shake hands? 4. Two decks of cards. One deck has 52 cards, the other has 104. You pick two cards separately from a same pack. If both of two cards are red, you win. Which pack

16 Sep 2018

Hi, I want to start out by thanking anyone for reading this. I am a 23-year-old male who is optimistic about life even when I probably should not be. I have been lurking here for a while, drooling over the success stories of some the most intelligent and hardworking people I have ever been exposed to. I feel ashamed even sharing my story, but I figure its time to atleast get an opinion. So I will tell you my story. I am a 23 year old college student who matured only a year ago. I entered an easy admission public state school after highschool because all of my friends were going there and we

16 Aug 2019

Hi all, Im a 30y.o student who may start a off-cycle as a sales analyst in BB. I hold an master degree in Law and continued in business school which I've paid myself with student job - (reason why I had to postone for 1.5y and as result will graduate a 30y.o.) I've done several internship in M&A and I hardly find a full-time position because of the apprently a untold reason: my age. However, I am quite more interested in S&T and I have a Aasessment Center in few days for an sales off cycle in a BB. Still, I am wondering, would my age be also a NO GO for a full time position in Sales after an

01 Sep 2021

Hey Everybody, Just wanted to know how good EDF Trading in the UK is and esp what their graduate scheme is like: What is its reputation compared to competitors Glencore, BP? What are the exit opps like? How easy is it to move to BB/HF later in the future if you start on their trading grad scheme? Any opinions on their desks?

02 Nov 2020

I've worked as a trader for around 4 years now from structured products trading to linear to options and I find it completely stupid. To be fair the structured products desk (exotics and hybrids) was quite intellectually challenging and I found the work interesting. You could always dig deeper and understand more about the inherent risks and characteristics of the product. But now most of what I do all day in my role is punt FX and I find it completely stupid. All I do is stare at charts, hold a finger up to the wind and make a trade and endure the swings. I have a budget to make on pretty

26 Apr 2018

I've applied for a junior trader position with this firm, and so they've sent me an email with directions to take an online mental math test. Does anybody know what the Akuna test is like, specifically? Can't seem to find too much information about it online. All I know is that there is a 22 minute time limit, and I've got 2 weeks to take it. Thanks in advance. To begin preparing for your interview, JobTestPrep has everything you need to know for Mathematical Reasoning Test interviews, including a myriad of questions with thoroughly explained answers. Online Math Reasoning Test Preparation

28 Jan 2015

Applications for full-time analyst positions at the following firms are now open unless otherwise stated. Get after it, monkeys! See you on the Street ;) Front-office IBD, S&T and/or Research Deutsche Bank Evercore (superday scheduled for 8/8) Lazard Lazard Middle Market Wells Fargo (Application was available 7/23. Appears to have been temporarily delisted) Perella Weinberg Partners (Applications under review as of August 5) Lincoln International (Application always available. Deadline unknown) Goldman Sachs (Applications closed 7/27) Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (Application available 8/15-10

05 Sep 2014

Every now and again I get PM'd a question that I think might be applicable to a lot of you on WSO. When that happens, I get permission from the person who asked me to share with the site. This is one such time. I suspect a lot of you can relate to this feeling, so here are my thoughts on it. [quote="Jaspast06"] Hey Eddie.. I just read your post on minimalism and I've got some thoughts and questions for you, if you've got the time. I am recent graduate from a good college, just began a job as a trading analyst on the credit desk at a mid market type investment bank. Focus mostly on riskless

17 Nov 2016

Can any buy-side traders speak to trading with Nomura counterparts? I'm considering an offer and looking for some insight on how smooth these transactions are, and how I've been told that prices and volume are competitive but want more perspective. Thanks

27 Jul 2020

Mod Note: Lone Wolf is the newest addition to our contributing author team. He is an independent trader/consultant, and has held several different trading positions including floor trader, liability and proprietary trader as well as Head liability trader and market maker. This spans 17 plus years in all of Canada's major financial hubs. In the old days, on a regular basis, we used to receive internet touts on pink sheet (should be called brown sheet) "companies". Spammers would regale us with tales of quick riches, amazing opportunity and boundless moves higher in said stock followed by in one

25 Mar 2013