trainee trader

[geodiako]

I have applied to the following can someone give me any info about them.

Mako global, macfuture, goldenberg heymeyer, schnider trading associates, london capital group and optiver

does anyone work in any of these or been for interviews etc. Also you know of any other prop firms i can apply to (london)

 

[TWI]

Search the forum. This question gets asked too many times.
Try Trading Connections, they are recruiting right now, but seeing as you didn't have the initiative to look around T2W before posting your chances may be better elsewhere.

 

[Simon]

Where?

MRW? TSCO? WMT? MCD?

 

[Robertral]

I have applied to the following can someone give me any info about them.

Mako global, macfuture, goldenberg heymeyer, schnider trading associates, london capital group and optiver

does anyone work in any of these or been for interviews etc. Also you know of any other prop firms i can apply to (london)

STA aren't currently taking on grads...you can sit down for 5K+
London Cap pay about 500 a month and a 50/50 split on profits and u have to pay 1.5K a month desk fees

Optiver - recruitment process: first a quick fire numerical test. 80 simply arith Q's like 513/54.3, multiple choice. One point for a correct answer, -1 for wrong anwer, and -1 for skipping one. To get through to the next round you need 55/80....very tough
Next round is a pattern recogniition. Final round is in the damm and you meet all the traders etc and have a tought tech interview. Try the test on their site. The first round test isn't anythign like it tho...

Not sure on the rest

Best of luck, let us all know how you get one

 

[raf110]

I have a couple of friends working at macfutures & Schnider. They are both good, however macfutures is well established and very well thought of in the city.

I have been for an interview at mako global and there setup is very good, they gave me a tough time even though I had relevant experience.

Good Luck

 

[calculate78]

Ive had the test for Optiver. I was told I needed 50 to pass. Anyway, I scored 48. Its just about practice really. If you have decent mental arithmetic skills you could spend a week or so practicing and you should be fine. Its certainly not impossible. BUT..A friend of mine passed and failed on the second test, apparently its a bit harder.

 

[divinci]

Ive had the test for Optiver. I was told I needed 50 to pass. Anyway, I scored 48. Its just about practice really. If you have decent mental arithmetic skills you could spend a week or so practicing and you should be fine. Its certainly not impossible. BUT..A friend of mine passed and failed on the second test, apparently its a bit harder.

Hi lee, can you please give us an example question? where the questions written or just verbally relayed to you - did you have to answer within a certain time? And where you able to write any workings out down?

Thanks in advance

 

[retnuh]

i've been at optiver too:

questions are like

1276/13?
0.034*0.32?
1985-743?
etc.

you have 4 solutions and need to get the right one. the tuff part is time. you're running against the clock and 80 questions in 8 minutes is not easy (you dont need to get to the end but need to score at least 50). points are +1 if right; -1 is wrong; -1 is not answered.


good luck! (i failed by 2 also...)

 

[anley]

Wow, all these complex questions. I'm surprised how it's possible for the average man to compete. Last time I checked in one of these arcades there was NO correlation between quick thinking brains and those making money. Some were, some weren't. Some of the 'slow' guys were, some weren't - and all this over a good few years.

I think all these companies actually believe in their own interview crap, most probably safety in numbers as well because 'everyone else is doing it'.

Give me 5 car mechanics and 5 bodybuilders and I'd bet big money that over 3 years they'd get at least quadruple the returns that ten of the .21548 x 54875 crowd would get.

And no, I'm not joking either about those 2 groups of people.

 

[BBB]

Hmmm I a bit sceptical about the useful ness of this exercise.

I used to trade options on the LIFFE floor. The mental arithmetic there was working out the value of the call (eg) if the futures were x and the put has traded at y. The pricing of call ladders, butterflys etc. There were a set number of 'equations' that were used to do this and had to be remembered and ingrained into the mind. I wouldn't say I am Jonny Quick at maths, although it was one of my better subjects at school. I found that the more you do these calculations, the more proficient you become, and I would easily be as quick as the rest when it came to the crunch. Now however, I would be Jonny Slow, as I can barely remember the (simple) equations. I'm sure I could get back up to speed though in a few months.

So whats the value of division of fractions? If you're not doing these day in day out, you're bound to be a bit slow. Neither do I see how these calculations are relevant to those actually used in a trading environment. I dont think the required mental agility has changed that much since moving upstairs.

If you've got the determination and discipline, then you're half way there. Mental agility can be acquired imo.

There again, maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot. Maybe things have changed when making markets upstairs???

 

[marketmakers]

Give me 5 car mechanics and 5 bodybuilders and I'd bet big money that over 3 years they'd get at least quadruple the returns that ten of the .21548 x 54875 crowd would get.

And no, I'm not joking either about those 2 groups of people.[/QUOTE]



That is so try you don’t have to be a bright spark to trade you only have top trade with discipline.

Marketmakers.

 

[DCH]

....for sure, a simple test doesn't say it all. But they need selection criterions, like any company. And because caculation skills will be required, they chose to make this a first selection criterion.
....for sure, it is not all black and white, but that's with any application procedure at any company. If I would have known before what I should have said during any interview at any company, they would have hired me.... But point is, that these companies have the luxureous position to be very critical in their selection due to the attractiveness of the business and the large amount of applications. Then, what would you do? Select the best to outperform competitors with. And the best are proven to be people that at least would be able to calculate at a reasonable pace. And a reasonable pace in this market is finishing with 56 correct answers out of 80 in 8 minutes. With a slower pace, your dealing skills could be perfect, but the deal would be gone by the time you realise there even was a deal....!
After this tests (remember, it was just a first selection), out of the remaining part (still enough people) they INDEED are selecting on all the other skills needed and then they pick out the best dealmakers/ moneymakers.

But one should question whether he would like the job if he doesn't like or doesn't have the ability to calculate quickly...

 

[DemonHeadmaster]

Some more trading firms

I too am thinking off applying to a couple of trading firms, in particular, Global Exchange Trading Ltd, FCT, Saxon Financial and Liquid Capital. Does anyone here work of them, or had a chance to go to an interview? What type of questions (other than math calculations) would they ask? ( risk analysis/option - future pricing/trading methods??).

thanks in advance

--DH

 

[Robertral]

I too am thinking off applying to a couple of trading firms, in particular, Global Exchange Trading Ltd, FCT, Saxon Financial and Liquid Capital. Does anyone here work of them, or had a chance to go to an interview? What type of questions (other than math calculations) would they ask? ( risk analysis/option - future pricing/trading methods??).

thanks in advance

--DH

Yeah, I was offered a position at one of the above mentioned firms....interview was simply a chat about futures. then a mental arith test and a few more chats....

As an aside the reason why you need to know fast arith for the optiver test is that they are mainly involed in arbitrarage..........

 

[frederic_mosengo]

HI, I am a new member of this forum and I woul dlike to have some advice about you guys

I would to be a trainee trader so what can of company can i apply for

Thanks in aadvance

 

[Robertral]

HI, I am a new member of this forum and I woul dlike to have some advice about you guys

I would to be a trainee trader so what can of company can i apply for

Thanks in aadvance

try looking though the various threads....there are millions talking about this sheaaaaaahhh

 

[euroderivatives]

Hi

These questions asked at the Optiver's test are hilarious.
Compared to Series 7, 3 and Eurex Trader Exam, these problems look like middle school math problems.

If you want to find other employers looking for traders.......go to efinancialcareers.com and check out potential employers under Jobs/Trading.

 

[soosta]

Do you guys think a particularly high standard of maths is required to work as a trader? It's never been my strongest subject!

 

[soosta]

Also, are there any real preferences as to what degree's companies look for in potential staff? Obviously Maths over Art but how about Financial Economics over Global Economics. Deciding which to choose out of the last two. Financial Economics would obviously be better suited to trading/banking etc. but I feel I'd enjoy Global Economics more. What do you think!?

Cheers

 

[sak07]

Soosta I doubt whether it would really make any difference. A degree is a degree at the end of the day and I 'd say go with what you enjoy. What seems to matter really is where you studied and what grade you got.