T2W Trading Community

Research Analyst

For a position in research you will almost certainly require a degree. It won’t necessarily need to be in a particular discipline, although if your degree is business / financially related, then it would help greatly if you can interpret a balance sheet. You will be working within a specific sector such as Pharmaceuticals, Oil, Technology, Banking, Hotels / Leisure etc. If you have a natural interest or passion for a particular sector than obviously this will help. Your job will ultimately involve writing research reports on specific companies within the sector, providing earnings projections and buy/hold/sell recommendations. You will be expected to attend company road shows and AGM’s, not to mention lunch with Chairmen, Managing Directors and Finance Directors of the companies you are researching. You will also be expected to communicate your findings as well as your views on any breaking news to the institutional sales teams on the trading floors. Initially you will probably join as a research assistant which will mean collating plenty of data and being proficient with Excel spreadsheets. Ultimately your goal will be to become a ranked analyst within your sector, at which point you can name your price. Following recent Wall Street scandals however, some of the quality of research produced by the integrated investment banks has come into question, thus prompting calls for more independent sources of research.

Institutional Sales

Because competition is so fierce for positions in institutional sales, many companies will require that you have a good degree. However, it is not absolutely impossible to secure a position without one. You could aim to obtain a position in a middle office environment, pass your FSA exams, make sure that you build up a good rapport with existing members of the sales team, and when an internal vacancy arises, express your interest in applying for the position. It can, and does happen. One thing for sure is that you will need to be highly competitive, verging on aggressive. Your job will entail making early morning phone calls to fund managers, detailing any market news and informing them of your analyst’s recommendations. Your call will be one of many received by the fund manager, so he will only talk to you if you have something worthwhile to say. If you join a bulge bracket investment bank you may be lucky enough to inherit a client list, in which case your life will be much easier as you will most likely be selling research provided by a highly ranked analyst and you won’t need to cold-call potential new clients. On the other hand, if you join a second or third tier firm and your remit is to bring new clients to the business, your sales expertise will be put to the test. Rewards for successful institutional sales personnel can be high with the majority of your reward being paid as your annual bonus, linked to the amount of commission you have generated.

Dealer

This is a position which certainly doesn’t require a degree, and is a good place to start if you want to work in the “front” office. You will however need to be FSA qualified / registered. My advice to anyone wanting to apply for any positions as a trainee dealer is that you should certainly pass your FSA exam prior to sending out your CV. The job itself is not terribly difficult, particularly with the advent of electronic trading. Previously, at a time when most trading was done over the phone, the dealer’s ability to get the best price in the market often relied upon contacts / relationships that the dealer had built with relevant counterparties. You will need to be able work under pressure and pay attention to detail. Accuracy is of utmost importance, particularly when all else around you seems like chaos. A good sense of humour is essential! Positions as a Dealer are available in a number of different types of operations such as retail stockbrokers, pension fund managers, investment managers, banks etc. Remember that as a Dealer you are acting as an agent, and your remuneration will be by way of basic salary and probably a discretionary bonus. It is one of the lower paid front-office positions, but some dealers are still paid handsomely for their efforts.

Trader

Most people who are members of T2W are probably already familiar with the role of the Trader and I suspect this is a position which most members would ultimately wish to fulfil. Once again, due to fierce competition, the bulge bracket firms can demand that potential candidates possess top degrees from prestigious universities. The truth is that successful traders may come from a variety of backgrounds. I have met some traders who are hugely academic, yet their trading records are mediocre, whilst I have also had the pleasure of working alongside some blisteringly successful traders who lack paper qualifications. Key attributes will be the ability to analyse and interpret a wealth of data, think strategically and be capable of managing risk whilst achieving good returns. The ability to think quickly and remain level headed whilst under pressure will be a necessity. Your role will be to trade principal capital in a particular market, which may be equities, bonds, currencies or their derivatives. You may be trading particular risk-controlled strategies such as arbitrage, pairs-trading, spreads etc. For those of you looking to enter the trading arena, you could do worse than seek out a position as a trader’s assistant to begin with. You will need to display a passion for the markets, and ensure that pre-interview you are well versed in all relevant market statistics such as current GDP, rate of inflation, currency exchange rates, the level of FTSE, Dow etc.

Corporate Finance

You will almost certainly require not only a degree, but probably a professional qualification in either accountancy or law. Corporate finance can be a hugely exciting space to work in, except that the pace will be slower than that found on the trading floors. Your job will involve mergers, acquisitions, new issues, fund raising etc. Positions as a corporate finance executive can be found in investment banks, accountancy firms and law firms. Revenues are generated from retaining fees paid by corporate clients, and further fees generated by further transactions. The top players in this field will be responsible for devising multi-billion pound takeovers and mergers. Once again, the rewards for top players are extremely high.

Suggested links:

Job Listings

www.efinancialcareers.com

City Recruitment Consultants

www.alexmann.com

www.badenochandclark.com

www.changejobs.net

www.cjagroup.com

www.carrlyons.com

www.carringtonfox.com

www.cityexec.co.uk

www.futureslondon.co.uk

www.joslinrowe.com

www.michaelangelo.co.uk

www.sheffield-haworth.co.uk

www.shepherdlittle.com

Financial Training

www.bpp.com/financialservices

www.ftknowledge.com

www.london.edu/finance

Professional Organisations

www.securities-institute.org.uk

www.foa.co.uk

Job application advisory services

www.harrisoncareers.com