Hi,
Firstly I really dont want to sound like a bleeding heart story I'll try and keep this as professional as possible. But would really value the advice of some senior guys in the industry. And for those of you that are new will give you an insight into the career path youre pursuing.
Here is my story (i will keep it brief, and have been vague on some details for privacy reasons). I have never wanted to do anything else but work in the financial markets. I was trading my own accounts at 14.
My first job in the city was as an Inter Dealer Broker. I was broking deals between the likes of Cargill/Glencore/Bunge etc. I could have made a career for myself but trading is where I wanted to be.
So i began work as a trader. I was working on a market making desk (futures and some swaps) in the energy market markets. I was an assistant trader first, making sure trades were reconciled with the exchange, we were hedged properly (no erronous outrights left) etc. I then became a trader. I was generating about $100k a month for my desk by the time i left.
I pushed on and began managing my own fund, i only had $2million under management but the company I was working for planned to seed me and grow the fund. I was trading Fixed Income/Commodities and Equity Indicies (all futures). I made good returns in my opinion around 13% on average annually for 3 years with no drawdown (on day to day basis) of > 6%. Month on month basis was lower.
In the end the credit crunch struck, I had a couple of down months back to back (about 2% each) and the company decided my returns werent consistent enough to warrent supporting the fund as they couldnt raise beyond the $3million I had under management.
There are a couple of catches the major one being I dont have a degree. I was studying for an economics degree when I was hired as an inter dealer broker. For a 20 year old there was no option.. i was off to the city to make my fortune! Going back to Uni isnt an option, im 27, id be 30 years old in a mountain of debt at applying for jobs where my manager will be 25 and still no guarantee of a job.
Secondly I have never worked for a big Tier 1 company, always small trading houses so my returns havent been audited. It seems if I had a Phd in some completely unrelated subject ( i was researching a company yesterday when one of the chief traders had a Masters in History of Art) and had some experience doing an unrelated role in Goldmans but never traded a penny id be better off.
Im not looking for a flahsy fund manager job. Im looking to be a junior/assistant on an established desk. Even middle office, anything that keeps me in touch with trading. But after 300 CV's sent out not one sniff of a job. Am I completely wasting my time?
Thanks for listening to the rant
Firstly I really dont want to sound like a bleeding heart story I'll try and keep this as professional as possible. But would really value the advice of some senior guys in the industry. And for those of you that are new will give you an insight into the career path youre pursuing.
Here is my story (i will keep it brief, and have been vague on some details for privacy reasons). I have never wanted to do anything else but work in the financial markets. I was trading my own accounts at 14.
My first job in the city was as an Inter Dealer Broker. I was broking deals between the likes of Cargill/Glencore/Bunge etc. I could have made a career for myself but trading is where I wanted to be.
So i began work as a trader. I was working on a market making desk (futures and some swaps) in the energy market markets. I was an assistant trader first, making sure trades were reconciled with the exchange, we were hedged properly (no erronous outrights left) etc. I then became a trader. I was generating about $100k a month for my desk by the time i left.
I pushed on and began managing my own fund, i only had $2million under management but the company I was working for planned to seed me and grow the fund. I was trading Fixed Income/Commodities and Equity Indicies (all futures). I made good returns in my opinion around 13% on average annually for 3 years with no drawdown (on day to day basis) of > 6%. Month on month basis was lower.
In the end the credit crunch struck, I had a couple of down months back to back (about 2% each) and the company decided my returns werent consistent enough to warrent supporting the fund as they couldnt raise beyond the $3million I had under management.
There are a couple of catches the major one being I dont have a degree. I was studying for an economics degree when I was hired as an inter dealer broker. For a 20 year old there was no option.. i was off to the city to make my fortune! Going back to Uni isnt an option, im 27, id be 30 years old in a mountain of debt at applying for jobs where my manager will be 25 and still no guarantee of a job.
Secondly I have never worked for a big Tier 1 company, always small trading houses so my returns havent been audited. It seems if I had a Phd in some completely unrelated subject ( i was researching a company yesterday when one of the chief traders had a Masters in History of Art) and had some experience doing an unrelated role in Goldmans but never traded a penny id be better off.
Im not looking for a flahsy fund manager job. Im looking to be a junior/assistant on an established desk. Even middle office, anything that keeps me in touch with trading. But after 300 CV's sent out not one sniff of a job. Am I completely wasting my time?
Thanks for listening to the rant
