I am in Risk/Product Control with 1.5yrs experience of looking after exotic interest rate derivatives at a top 20 firm. I want to move into derivatives (IR or equity) trading at a top 3 firm (GS/MS/Lehman/JP say). I will write Level 3 this June and hope to pass… I am thinking of starting to look after I get Level 3 results, but will still not have had 4 years of experience to the the charter. What could I do to improve my chances or better prepare? Any advice whatsoever will be greatly appreciated!
from my experience, any move from product control to front office is tough. at most big firms product control isnt even on the same floor as where the actual trading desk is. the guys who directly support the desk are going to have a leg up on you since they interact with the traders every day while the pc guys just send us emails on issues. since trust and knowing your co-workers is a huge component of the job you are at a disadvantage. in this case you mention top 3 firms and in rates id only say one of those qualifies as top 3 (just my opinion). besides what i mentioned above you face a few challenges, one being the job market, people are shedding jobs and you are going to have even more competition from the jr guys that are about to be laid off at Bear 2) noone i know on my desk cares about the cfa (may be different in eq derivs) so waiting to complete level 3 is a waste 3) you are at a top 20 firm, if i run IRD at a top 10 firm why would i hire you to a FO jr trader job when i have 5 support guys who have worked hard for me the past 3 years waiting to get a shot? not saying the move is impossible since networking and persistence go a long way but it will be a difficult move to make. good luck
Thanks for the response, jax. I’m in the trading floor in fact, and sit beside the trader interacting thru the day as risk and pricing issues come up. It is a role where I do risk/p&L/valuation of exotic deals, so it’s kind of a middle office role but much more closer to front office (communicating this to recruiters or interviewers might take some effort though…). Waiting at present firm might mean I can move to trading, but due to team-specific situation, it will take some time (more than a year or say 2 years, and I can’t wait that long). I’m still waiting for suggestions. Pls feel free to tell anything you think might be relevant as an advice, cuz something is better than nothing. PS: I am also thinking that equity derivatives could also be an option to go for, not necessarily IR & fx derivatives only… still 1.5 yrs in the industry, I guess keeping options open could be good for now.