Banking Careers Guide 2023

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
CAREERS IN
BANKING AND
FINANCIAL
MARKETS
2023 / 2024
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Contents
3/ Introduction 54 / Day in the life: Aneta McCoy, global
4/ What do investment banks do exactly? voting policy lead, State Street
6/ What’s the front office, middle office, 56 / Hedge fund jobs
and back office of a bank? 61 / Day in the life: Pam Chang, analyst,
8/ The graduate recruitment timeline in Citadel Global Equities, Chicago
investment banks 63 / Quantitative careers in finance
10 / What to expect when you apply for a job 70 / Day in the life: Ruizhou Ding,
in an investment bank quantitative research team, Citadel
12 / The highest paying banking jobs with Securities
the best lifestyle 72 / Risk management jobs in investment
13 / The absolutely perfect investment banks and financial services firms
banking CV 75 / Technology jobs in banking and finance
16 / M&A Advisory jobs 78 / Day in the life: Fiona Wharton, executive
20 / Sales & Trading jobs director, domain architect, UBS
25 / Day in the life: Citadel Securities, a day 80 / Day in the life: Geraint Harcombe,
in the life of a trader in NYC technology team, Citadel Securities,
London
27 / Day in the life: Sophia Mastrell, equity
derivatives trading, Goldman Sachs, 82 / Compliance jobs in banking and finance
Paris 86 / Accounting and finance jobs in banking
29 / Capital markets/corporate finance jobs 89 / Day in the life: Hywel James, Business
in investment banks Auditor (ACA Trainee), Societe Generale,
34 / Day in the life: Senior associate, London
Rothschild, New York 91 / Operations jobs in banking and finance
36 / Day in the life: Carmen Bereincua, debt 94 / Custody jobs
capital markets syndicate, Citi 98/ Day in the life: Karl Maguire,
39 / What are research jobs in investment Settlements, State Street
banks? 100 / How to get a job in fintech
42 / Jobs in private equity 104 / Day in the life: Day in the life: What
46 / Day in the life: Senior associate at it’s really like to work in crypto market
Blackstone making
48 / Day in the life: Serena, Real Estate 106 / Day in the life: Ong Jun Xiong, Intern,
Management Associate at Blackstone, Thought Machine
London 108 / Glossary
50 / Asset management jobs 112 / Directory
September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 2

Back to contents page
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Introduction
W
elcome to eFinancialCareers’ to “global markets”, or just “securities.”
careers guide for the financial There’s the “sell-side” (banks and brokers)
services sector, written for the and there’s the “buy-side” (asset managers,
2023-2024 recruitment season. hedge funds and private equity).
Finance, like every other industry in the We will look at all the jobs in these areas.
world at the moment, is going through Working in finance isn’t just about being
a period of transformation. The effects an investment banker, a salesperson, or a
of the Coronavirus pandemic are still trader. There are also legions of support
reverberating through the global economy, staff that make the money happen –
as is the impact of the largest conflict compliance, risk, operations, technology,
in Europe since the Second World War. and other personnel.
Inflation has spread throughout the world
like a disease, leading some of the largest Jobs in finance can be difficult to secure,
central banks in the world to call for an end particularly at the most prestigious banks
to the era of low interest rates. and in the most prestigious roles. Hundreds
of thousands of people apply and only a
As an industry that helps companies and small percentage succeed. This guide will
governments navigate risk and prepare for help you make it into that small group. Read
the future, this has generated challenges it, takes notes on it, and study it well.
for the financial services industry. How can
companies grow in an uncertain world? We can’t guarantee you a job at Goldman
How can governments fund themselves? Sachs, JPMorgan, or Morgan Stanley. We
How can debts be repaid in a world of rising can guarantee that this guide will help
interest rates? Bank failures, like that of inform you and your application to those
Credit Suisse and those we’ve seen in the institutions, and hundreds of others that
US this year, are a reminder that the world’s you’ve yet to even hear of.
financial institutions are more than just
observers at the side of the ring. We hope that, either now or in the future,
you make use of efinancialcareers.com,
Embarking on a finance career now is to both for our recruitment-related services
join the industry at time of great torque and for our amazing editorial team, who put
and turbulence. This is no reason to cancel together this guide.
the journey - financial services is always
Finance, an interesting career. We are here to guide
like every other you, as best as we can, from wherever you
Sarah Butcher, Editor,
are now, to wherever you want to be.
industry in the eFinancialCareers
world at the This guide concerns itself with the parts Zeno Toulon, Reporter,
moment, is of the finance industry that are less often eFinancialCareers
going through seen, and generally poorly understood by
the public. They’re typically referred to
a period of as anything from “investment banking”,
transformation.”
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
What do investment
banks do exactly?
F
irst things first. What exactly is an like Jefferies, that follow this traditional
investment bank? It’s not the kind of model, but since the financial crisis most
thing you can discern simply from investment banks have diversified and now
looking at the outside of a shiny tower. have all kinds of new divisions. Goldman
Nor is it entirely clear if you take a stroll Sachs, for example, now has an investment
through a few corridors internally. That’s banking division, a markets division, and
because an investment bank is a system an asset management division, and a
containing different entities (divisions) that wealth management operation (to manage
work together for the whole; to understand the wealth of rich people). Similarly,
the entirety you need to understand the Morgan Stanley, which was another pure
components that come together to make it investment bank in the past, derived 49%
up. of its revenues from wealth management
in the first half of 2023. And Merrill Lynch
Unlike standard banks that take money merged with Bank of America after the
from the public in the form of deposits and financial crisis and has now been integrated
make loans to that public in the form of into Bank of America’s much broader range
mortgages or money for cars or holidays, of businesses.
investment banks deal with companies
(which they call corporates), other In the past, banks that did everything
banks (which they call institutions), with from retail banking to investment banking
governments, and with funds (eg. hedge to asset management and wealth
funds, pension investors or private equity management in this way, were called
funds). universal banks. Today, most banks are
universal banks. The typical old-school
So-called pure investment banks only have universal banks are the big U.S. banks like
a few lines of business. They operate an Bank of America and Citi, European banks
investment banking division (IBD) which like Deutsche Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas,
offers advice on M&A deals or on financing and Société Générale, or Japanese banks
and helps with raising money by issuing like Nomura. Many universal banks only
equity or debt in the public markets (known take retail deposits in their home markets
as equity capital markets and debt capital but operate their investment banking
markets respectively). And they operate operations internationally.
a markets division containing salespeople
and traders who buy and sell securities (eg, Investment banks as a whole are said to
equity and debt) already issued. They might be on the sell-side: they are often to be
also have an asset management division found selling things (eg. Selling the equity
tagged on that manages pools of assets and debt that they help clients to raise).
in an attempt to increase their value over By comparison, asset management firms
Investment time. (including private equity funds and hedge
banks as a funds) are known as the buyside: they buy
whole are said That’s the slimmed down version of an the financial products created by banks
investment bank. Today, however, very and hope that they’ll increase in value. In
to be on the few banks are like this. There are a few, many cases, people begin their careers on
sell-side.”
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
the sell-side and then move to the buy- performed by investment banks are
side (which employs fewer people and disappearing into new entities and
pays more money) once they have some subsectors. For example, electronic trading
experience. operators like Citadel Securities, Jane
Street and Jump Trading account for an
As we note later in this guide, there are increasingly large proportion of trading
also standalone entities that specialize in highly liquid (easy to trade) products
in offering M&A advice. These are known like cash equities. They hire students too.
as boutiques. Some of the biggest ones Similarly, small fintech firms like Capital
include names like Evercore, Greenhill, PJT Markets Gateway or Primary Portal are
Partners, Centerview Partners, Moelis & trying to revolutionize the process by which
Co, and Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP). new shares are issued. In many cases these
People often want to work for these elite new fintech companies are run by former
boutiques: they work you harder, but pay bankers and funded by banks themselves.
more and can provide good experience. As technology transforms the industry, a
growing proportion of jobs are technology
Fintechs and the broader financial related.
services ecosystem
If you want to keep up with information
Lastly, finance jobs aren’t just about about investment banks and with news
the boutiques, banks, traditional asset about the financial services industry and its
managers and hedge funds. The financial jobs, visit eFinancialCareers and sign-up for
services industry today is fragmenting; our newsletters.
some of the functions historically

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
What’s the front office, middle

office, and back office of a bank?
Author: Sarah Butcher & Zeno Toulon
B
anks are full of confusing terminology. What’s the middle office in an
If you’re thinking about applying for investment bank?
a job in a bank, you might have come
across people talking about the “front, As the name suggests, the middle office
middle and back office.” It’s terminology is somewhere between the front and back
that’s less common than it used to be and offices.
it’s not used by banks themselves, but it’s
worth being aware of the distinction – not Its role is to directly support the front
least because it may influence how much office. There’s a lot riding on it.
you’re paid.
Which kinds of people in banks directly
What’s the front office in an support the front office? Risk management
investment bank? professionals maybe? Or someone in
compliance? Or even in technology…? Kind
Front office jobs in banks are generally of. The problem with these definitions is
the easiest ones to define – they’re client- that not all risk, compliance, or tech people
facing and they directly generate revenues. support the front office directly – although
A former senior banker in London says that, some definitely do. The lines are blurred.
historically, “front office jobs in investment
banks were those trading on behalf of the "It's perfectly possible for a risk person
bank, or directly working with clients or to be either in the middle office or the
creating products, research, or analysis for back office," says one senior banker. "You
them.” might get a risk professional sitting on the
trading floor, in which case he or she would
Another senior ex-banker agrees. He says be a middle office person. And then you
front office jobs were always any that might get a risk person miles away in the
involved “direct interaction with the client corporate center, in which case they'd be in
and customer – be that an individual or a the back office."
corporate client.”
What’s the back office in an
What jobs does that cover? In an investment investment bank?
bank, that means Mergers and Acquisitions
(M&A), Debt and Equity Capital Markets The “back office” generally refers to
(DCM and ECM, respectively), as well as what’s going on behind the scenes at an
If you work sales & trading roles… Even if you do spend investment bank. Nowadays, a lot of the
in a client that “client-facing” role as a junior carrying work done is far from glitzy London or
your boss’ briefcase and building financial
facing job, you models alone at night.
New York, in offshoring paradises such as
Bengaluru (home to 9,000 Goldman Sachs
will usually employees) and Mumbai (home to a similar
have revenues If you work in a client facing job, you will number of Morgan Stanley people).
and profits usually have revenues and profits directly
linked to your role. This matters a lot when
directly linked What sort of jobs are those tens of
a bank decides how much to pay you. thousands of back office people doing?
to your role.”
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
A variety. Settlements, for example – traders with electronic trading systems

making sure that payments for trades are back in 2000, and it hasn’t looked back
processed. Human resources, too. since.
Back-office jobs aren’t seen as desirable, Engineers who work in technology are
but banks do their best to make them seem taking over more and more of the front
interesting, "I worked in trade support office’s territory. Take Goldman’s Marquee
covering settlements for a French bank in system, for example. It’s a “digital
London," says one operations analyst. "It storefront” for Goldman clients to access
was all very static, and process driven - I the bank’s pricing and risk information.
spent all day analyzing exception queues That’s a responsibility that, traditionally,
from various systems and analyzing trades would have been manually undertaken by a
to make sure they were settled properly. It salesperson or sales trader.
was a repetitive job with very slow career
progression." Yeesh. So, the front, middle, and back office
distinctions are becoming increasingly
How things are changing irrelevant. Or rather, outdated – as
technology advances, the tighter the bonds
What we’ve outlined above is, really, what between everyone at the bank.
the office split used to be. Things have
changed, and are continuing to change. "The front, middle and back office are
This is down to technology. a dated concept, and if you're thinking
in those terms you work for a bank with
Banks are very, very keen to automate as cultural issues," says one senior banker.
much as they can. By doing so, they can "Nowadays, you're all in it together to drive
save money and make fewer mistakes. performance."
Goldman Sachs replaced 600 equities

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
The graduate recruitment

timeline in investment banks
Author: Zeno Toulon
S
o, you want to work in banking. give candidates the opportunity to secure
Better start applying when you finish summer internships earlier and be better
university, right? informed about where their skillsets and
interests might best fit,” a JPMorgan
Wrong. Getting a graduate job in an spokesperson said.
investment bank is one of the most
competitive things you will ever do. Even While insight days and ‘orientation events’
if you’re at an elite university, getting into are run throughout the year, you will
banking is an uphill struggle. We’re not normally need to apply for a spring week
exaggerating either – Oxford’s acceptance by January or December of your first year,
rate is around 14%, Harvard’s is around so keep a look out for deadlines on banks’
3.2%, and Goldman’s Sachs’ is around 1.5%. websites.
If you want to get into banking, you need to Even if you choose not to attend student
start early. The earlier the better. events in your first year for whatever
reason, it’s still a good idea to research
What to do as a first year banks and generally prepare for second
(sophomore) student year applications.
As soon as you start at university, it’s time In the US, things can be even more
to start laying the groundwork. extreme. Last year, we saw some banks
(we’re not naming names) inviting 1st
Banks run “events” for first years. They year students to apply for second year
start with insight days or campus days or internships (also known as summer analyst
webinars, and may or may not be online. programs) starting summer 2024 in
Attend these, learn about the industry, and October 2022. In other words, the moment
get a foot in the door. students arrived at college, they needed
to apply for internships for their second
In Europe, banks often run “spring weeks” year! This is clearly crazy. Even so, most
during Easter. These are specifically for US banks then opened 2024 internship
first year university students and can lead applications to first year students in March
directly to a summer internship in your 2023.
second year. Our research suggests that
Getting 25% of the places on some banks’ summer The main moral of this story is that even
a graduate internship programs are assigned to people in your first year, as soon as you arrive at
college, you need to be thinking of your
job in an who were previously ‘spring interns’. Similar
programs elsewhere in the world are called future banking career.
investment sophomore internships.
bank is one What to do as a second year
of the most “Applying for the spring weeks puts student
competitive pressure on you in your first year, but
makes life a lot easier after that,” one Your second year is when things really start
things you will
student told us. “The spring internships happening.
ever do.”
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
In Europe and Asia, you should devote the person interview.

first term of your second year to applying
for summer internships (aka summer If you get through these hoops and land
analyst programs) at different banks in an internship, you’ll then need to convert
the sector. Why? Because it’s this second- your internship into the offer of a full-time
year summer internship that’s crucial to graduate job. That’s not always easy, but
landing an investment banking job when you’ve already put in a lot of the work. In a
you graduate. If banks like you during the normal year, around 50-75% of interns get
summer internship, they’ll make you a full- graduate offers.
time job offer. If you wait and simply apply
for a full-time job after graduating, it may What to do as a third year student
be too late.
Ideally, if you’ve successfully completed
In Europe and Asia, application deadlines and converted your internship, you spend
for summer analyst programs are typically your last year at university making sure you
in late December. In EMEA (Europe, the don’t flunk school, enjoying the twilight of
Middle East, and Africa), for example, your education, and so on.
Goldman Sachs often requires that
students apply for its summer analyst If you haven’t completed any internships,
program by November 30th. It’s good to it’s going to be much harder work: you’ll
apply early, interns are usually chosen on a need to apply for a graduate job from
rolling basis. a standing start. If you completed an
internship but didn’t get an offer, you’re in
Getting onto a summer analyst program is the same position: you need to apply all
not easy. Banks are incredibly fussy about over again. Getting a job is so difficult that
who they hire. Expect application forms, some students complete internships even
pre-interview tests, and at least one in- after they’ve graduated.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
What to expect when you apply

for a job in an investment bank
W
e’ve said this before, but we’ll right grades and key words.
say it again: getting into an
investment bank is not easy. Psychometric tests, games, coding
Popular divisions like M&A and sales and challenges
trading receive hundreds of applicants per
role. If the ATS system passes your application
you can expect to move to the next stage
Upload your CV and complete an of the process, in which you’ll probably be
application form asked to play some games and take some
tests. The Pymetrics games are popular
Popular Uploading your CV and completing an with banks like JPMorgan, while banks
divisions application form is the only first thing you’ll like Morgan Stanley run psychometric
like M&A be expected to do. Sometimes (e.g., at tests that look at how you react in certain
and sales Goldman Sachs) the application will include situations, plus your numerical and verbal
an invitation to write a short statement on reasoning ability.
and trading why you want the job. Craft this carefully
receive (we have some tips on how to do this here). If you apply for a technology job in a bank
hundreds of Your application form and CV will typically you will almost certainly also come across
applicants per be screened by an Applicant Tracking a HackerRank or similar timed coding test.
System (ATS) which will screen it for the You should spend some time preparing for
role.”
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
these coding tests as they’re not easy. You use the STAR technique to structure your
can typically choose to code in a language responses.
of your choice.
Actual interviews and assessment
Digital interviews days
If you make it past the ATS system and If you respond well to the digital interviews,
the tests, you’ll usually be invited to a then congratulations – you should finally
digital interview. These are often run by a meet a human being! At this stage, banks
company called HireVue and will typically will typically invite you to their offices
involve you answering some generic for an in-person interview and maybe an
questions about situations in which you assessment center or Superday (if you’re in
resolved challenging situations in the past, America).
the kind of person you are, and why you
want that job. We have a list of typical We have advice on dealing with banking
HireVue questions here. interviews here, and a long list of all the
questions you’re likely to encounter here. If
Make sure you know what you’re likely to you make it to an assessment center/super
come up against and practice by filming day you can expect to encounter multiple
yourself answering some trial questions interviews, plus a group exercise (where
before the real thing. Digital interviews you’ll be expected to solve a problem with
can feel very high-pressured (you don’t a group of other applicants, and will be
always get an opportunity to try again if judged on your ability to work as a part
you make a mistake), so it helps to be as of a team) and a presentation based on
relaxed as possible about the format. Be a case study. We’ll soon be posting extra
sure to think through some scenarios that information on how to make it through
will allow you to answer the questions using these stages on the eFinancialCareers site.
examples from your own experience, and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
The highest paying banking jobs

with the best lifestyle
Author: Zeno Toulon
A
side from the money, there are As you can see, quants and technologists,
few things as associated with as well as risk, compliance, finance, and
investment banking as the God- operations personnel all work a lot less
awful working hours (okay, there are a few than people in front office roles. They can
things, but let’s keep this PG-13). expect to work between 42.6 and 45.6
hours a week (9-to-5:30, really) whilst
However, not all jobs in banking involve still earning between $130k and $180k in
terrible hours. 3,500 respondents to the total compensation, on average. Average
survey that feeds into our compensation pay per hour for these less taxing roles
report told us how much they earn and how ranged between $56.3 and $77.8 – at the
many hours they work. And in some cases, top range, which is more than much harder
high pay and high hours are not correlated. working equity researchers, who earn $76
an hour on average.
We found that, of the major divisions in
an investment bank, it’s the technologists If you don’t want to work crazy hours in
who work the least, followed (somewhat banking, then there are other options.
down the line) by compliance and finance
(accounting) professionals. It’s those in At the top of all the articles in this guide
M&A and capital markets (pureblood describing the sectors you can work in we
investment bankers) that work the most, have some charts showing prestige (how
followed by equity researchers. prestigious the sector is), pay (how big the
salaries and bonuses are), grind (how hard
The chart below shows our key findings you have to work) and competitiveness
for hours worked and average total (how hard it is to get in). This is to help you
compensation (salaries plus bonuses) per choose where you fit.
hour in key jobs in financial services.
Working hours and compensation, by sector, US$
Total Hours Worked Average salary Average

Compensation per hour compensation per
hour
Sales and Trading $318,600 51.6 $61.6 $118.8
Investment $274,313 60.4 $53.3 $87.3
“If you Banking Division
don’t want Equity Research $218,642 55.3 $49.3 $76.0
to work Quant $179,133 44.3 $53.1 $77.8
crazy hours Technology $164,300 42.6 $55.1 $74.2
in banking, Risk $158,631 45.6 $52.2 $66.9
then there Finance $149,504 43.9 $44.5 $65.5
are other Compliance $132,952 43.6 $47.8 $58.7
options.” Operations $131,139 44.8 $42.2 $56.3

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
The absolutely perfect

investment banking CV
Authors: Sarah Butcher & Daniel Davies
I
t’s not easy getting a job in an investment and you’d be right. But when a bank’s AI
bank. Graduate recruiters get thousands scans your CV, the first thing it’ll look for are
of applications for a few hundred jobs – if your grades, and it’ll throw your application
you’re going to get in, your CV will need to out without reading all your other great
be very special. little escapades. So what sort of grades do
you need to get into banking?
What follows is a distillation of all that we
know about how to write a banking CV Well, it varies between jobs. If you’re going
or résumé that will get you beyond first for the most competitive jobs, like sales
base. Follow these instructions, and you and trading or M&A, you’re going to need
may be one of the lucky few. at least a 2.1 degree, although preferably a
First, and a stack of A grades at A Level in
Grades the UK (the average investment banking
summer intern has 530 UCAS points,
You might think that grades aren’t the part equivalent to 3 A* grades and one A). In the
of the CV that you need help with crafting, U.S., it means you’ll need a GPA of 3.5+ to

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
be sure of your resume getting through. create that list, and literally cross them off.
One by one.”
There can be more flexibility on grades for
jobs in the back and middle office – but For tech applications, the searching bank’s
you’ll still need to be towards the top of AI is also wise to compatibility. Instead of
your class. And even if you have excellent simply looking for particular words, they
grades, it will help if you can differentiate often use so-called ‘semantic matching’
yourself by pointing to scholarships and technology to look for whole phrases and
academic prizes. related words. For example, if a job requires
Java programming skills and you mention
Format SQL, you could still get picked by the
machine on the grounds that people with
Make use of bullet points and use a clean SQL often have an aptitude for Java. For
and concise format. One page is standard this reason, it makes sense to mention as
for banking resumes in the U.S., although many skills as possible (assuming that you
you may just about be able to get away with have them) and to include skills that occur
two pages in London. In Germany, CVs are in clusters for the jobs you’re applying for.
often a lot longer.
Achievements
Matan Feldman, a former J.P. Morgan
associate who founded the career coaching You should be proud of your achievements
firm Wall Street Prep, says you need to take – but more importantly, you should be
care that your resume is easy to read. “We able to speak about them in such a way
see a lot of strange fonts, extra-long CVs, that makes their importance come across
and non-standard formatting - especially (although this is more of a human reader
among international applicants.” than an AI).
Keywords You want to learn (if you haven’t already)

the ins and outs of the S.T.A.R. technique
Once the AI scanning your CV is happy (we have a whole article about it here).
with the grades you’ve achieved, it’ll start S.T.A.R. stands for Situation, Task, Action,
looking at whether the rest of you is the Result – the gist of the technique is that
“right sort of stuff” that a bank is looking it’s an efficient story telling structure
for. How does it do that? Well, by looking for that showcases your actions, thought
keywords. processes, and results.
You want to hit the machine with It’s important to remember that banks
(contextually relevant – it’s smarter than aren’t hiring you for altruistic purposes. No
you think) uses of keywords that show a one’s doing you a favor. You’re being paid a
high degree of compatibility between you whole bunch of money to provide a service
and the role you’re applying to. Victoria for a billion-dollar corporation. Your aim
McLean, CEO of career consultancy City is to show off your (hopefully extensive)
CV, suggests looking at job specifications problem-solving and analytical abilities.
and adverts – but you can also, in a Jujitsu-
style turn against the machine, use the AI “Your CV has to tell people about you,”
against itself. McLean says. “If any of your bullet points
could be about the person who did the job
“ChatGPT is another great place to go to before you or the person who may do it
for keywords. You can literally ask ChatGPT after you then it needs to be rewritten. Be
‘what are the best keywords for a role in absolutely clear about the outcomes.”
corporate finance within a top tier bank?’
and it will probably tell you,” she says. “And Banks are often looking for analytical ability
then what I would recommend you do is and for proof you can solve quantitative

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
problems. When you’re quantifying following for non-traditional applicants,

achievements, therefore, McLean says especially those with a bit of experience
it helps to think of practical examples under their belt.
where you’ve extracted critical points
from complex data to inform a reasoned “If you are applying for your first graduate
response. role,” McLean says, “and you don’t have any
experience, the first thing to say is don’t
If you’ve already worked in finance, use worry about it. What the banks are looking
solid examples of your achievements. For for is potential and passion.” It’s more
example, statements like, “I was the top important to demonstrate commitment to
ranked salesperson three quarters running the field (and role) than it is to tick every
and increased the value of key client past experience box directly.
accounts by 75% during that period,” say a
lot more than a simple job title. Besides, your unique experience might
be more useful to a bank than you think.
Personality McLean gives the example of a client of
hers who worked for a major supermarket
However, you need to be interesting, too. chain and (separately) as a kitchen
You’re going to spend an obscene amount appliance salesperson, and then got an
of time with the people you work with, internship at a “top tier” US investment
especially if you’re working in a bank. It’s bank.
not unheard of for analysts – junior bankers
– to work 100-hour weeks (although, “What he did was put a lot of spin on
thankfully, that’s become much rarer). those two roles. At the electrical retailer
Recruiters want to ensure that teams will organization where he was working, he
gel well together. And banks want to invest talked about the fact that he got involved
in people who, further into their careers, are in merchandising. He increased customer
charming and well-connected enough to service ratings by a particular amount. He
bring in clients. wrote about the kind of impact it had on
sales,” McLean explains.
One senior banker said he puts candidates
through the so-called ‘airport test’: how “What you need to be thinking about really
much fun would they be if you were stuck is what skills is that organization looking
in an airport with them for 100 hours. Banks for. If I’m looking forward to working at
also like to hire people whose CVs evidence Goldman Sachs, what do I know they’re
interesting and unusual forms of extra- looking for, and what are their core values
curricular activity. or their core principles?” That sort of
information is readily available on their
Being a member of a finance society at website, she notes. “How can I match my
university will help slightly, but not that experience to show that I have the skills
much – you need to hold a position of and the values that align with what they
responsibility in one of these societies, need? And secondarily, what might I have
rather than just showing up for the free learned from my experience that might be
drinks. relevant to that organization?”
Senior Students In conclusion, sell yourself. With a bit of

imagination on your part, it’s a lot easier
There are certain other rules that are worth than you think.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
M&A Advisory jobs

Author: David Rothnie
Prestige What do M&A advisory jobs involve? smaller company or part of a company
(an acquisition), or to sell part of their own
10 A job working in Mergers and Acquisitions operations (a disposal).
Pay (M&A) is one of the most sought-after and
high-profile roles in investment banking. Mergers, acquisitions, and disposals
9 Senior M&A bankers travel the world happen for different strategic reasons. For
and advise on the world’s biggest and example, a client may decide to merge with
Grind most complex “deals”, reshaping entire a rival operating in the same business area
industries. in order to increase its market share. This is
10 known as a horizontal merger. Alternatively,
Competitiveness M&A bankers are professional advisors. a client may decide to acquire one of the
They operate at the highest levels, working companies that supplies the components
10 with large global companies (corporates, necessary to fabricate its product. This
as they’re known in banking), advising is a vertical merger. There are also
chief executives how best to position conglomerate mergers, when a company
their organizations for the future. Unlike merges with or acquires a firm operating
management consultants, who help in a totally different market. And there
companies determine and implement are congeneric mergers, which take place
the best strategy without necessarily when companies are in the same industry
changing the company’s component but offer different products. Conglomerate
parts, M&A bankers drive strategy through mergers have the advantage of allowing
structural change. They encourage the clients to enter completely different
companies they’re working with (clients) markets. Congeneric mergers bring
to join together with other companies as advantages like established distribution
equals (a merger), to buy and control a channels, or whole new product lines.
Global H1 2023 M&A revenues by bank, US$
Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share H1 2022 rank

1 Goldman Sachs 1,199 9.6 1
2 JPMorgan 1,155 9.3 2
3 Morgan Stanley 851 6.8 3
4 BofA Securities 724 5.8 4
5 Centerview Partners 529 4.2 13
6 UBS 505 4.1 5
7 Citi 436 3.5 6
8 Barclays 429 3.4 7
9 Evercore 381 3.1 10
10 Jefferies 339 2.7 9
Total 12,470 100

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Globally, the top three banks in M&A are Typically, an M&A analyst will be
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan responsible for the financial analysis that
Stanley, as shown in the chart. These are underpins an M&A deal. This includes
the banks that work on the biggest and building a financial model, running the
the most complex deals, often involving valuation and financial impact analysis,
buyers and sellers in different countries. and preparing materials to present this
But there are a number of other big U.S. analysis to the client. Very occasionally, an
and European banks that are also active M&A analyst will also be asked to present
in M&A, and many also lend the money to this analysis to the client. Sometimes
finance the deals. they will also be the point of contact for
any questions or requests from the client
While the biggest, multi-billion-dollar deals relating to the analysis.
grab the headlines, the majority of deals
are below $500m in size, and there are “Day-to-day life as an M&A analyst largely
a number of so-called mid-market M&A depends on the deals you are working
firms which earn good money advising on,” says the head of UK mergers and
on these deals. There is also a large acquisitions at one European bank. “Broadly
number of so-called boutiques, which are speaking, mornings and early afternoons
independent, privately-owned firms run involve client interaction, status and/or
by a small number of senior M&A bankers diligence calls and discussions to agree
who’ve left big banks to set up on their on the workstreams the deal team should
own. Boutiques are typically pure advisory focus on as well as next steps. By the
houses – unlike banks, they don’t actually afternoon or evening, meetings are less
provide the financing for deals themselves. frequent, and you can focus on progressing
The best-known ones include Rothschild, on the deliverables, which can range from
Lazard, Moelis & Co, Evercore, Centerview excel modelling to preparation of marketing
Partners, and Perella Weinberg Partners, materials.”
but there are hundreds out there.
How hard do you work in an M&A
The top M&A bankers are known as job these days?
rainmakers for their ability to land big
deals, but beneath the glamour the hours In the past few years, the arduous nature
are long and junior bankers have to spend of work in some M&A teams has become
years learning their trade before they can apparent. When deals boomed after the
generate their own deals. COVID pandemic, some junior bankers at
Goldman Sachs complained that they were
What does an M&A analyst actually working more than 100 hours a week and
do? on the verge of collapse. M&A analysts
at other banks voiced similar complaints
M&A analysts are the lowest rung in the and the banking industry responded by
banking hierarchy. Working as an analyst increasing junior bankers’ salaries and
in an M&A division means being flexible making sure juniors get some time off at
because you can work on multiple projects weekends. In 2023, the pace of M&A work
at any point in time. You will be working has dropped off, but long working hours
on live deals and pitching for new ones. (75+ a week) are still considered the norm.
When you’re working on a live deal, you’ll Why do junior M&A bankers work so hard?
be involved in deal execution or helping One reason for this is that M&A is a fast-
a client buy or sell an asset, called buy- paced, ever-changing work environment
side or sell-side mandates. When you’re and the intensity of the job will depend on
pitching, you’ll be preparing documents the type of project you are working on –
for more senior bankers to pitch to clients deal execution tends to be unpredictable
as they try to persuade clients to do new by nature as it’s a live situation, whereas
deals. business development/pitching tends to be

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
more predictable. What’s your career path in M&A?
M&A is also a client-driven activity. As an One of the benefits of a career in M&A is

M&A banker you’ll be more at the beck and that there’s regular and steady progression
call of clients. Hours are especially long and a clear promotion path from analyst to
when deals reach a crunch point, or when associate to Vice President (VP) to director
you are working on multiple transactions. to Managing Director (MD) (although exact
“Working full weekends and very late titles vary between different banks). The
nights may occasionally happen around a time it takes to reach the top rung varies,
particular deal, but these hours are not the but as a very rough rule of thumb, it’s
norm,” says the aforementioned M&A head. around 15 years.
There are upsides. One Morgan Stanley “Meritocracy is key to this path, and we
banker told us that “M&A analysts have the are passionate about giving our people the
opportunity to manage their own time and career opportunities to best realize their
as long as the work gets delivered to a high potential,” the banker says.
standard you have the freedom to fit the
job around your personal commitments.” As your M&A career develops, your job

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
becomes increasingly client-facing. The Salaries and bonuses in M&A

role evolves from being technical and
analysis-driven to becoming strategic and M&A jobs pay large salaries and bonuses.
advice-driven. Following complaints about working
conditions, banks are now offering first
M&A jobs offer a wide variety of exit year analysts a base salary of around $110k
options. Many graduates stay at banks for (£86k) before bonuses. Salaries increase
their two-year M&A training program and as you rise through the ranks. Three or four
then leave (if not even sooner) for jobs years out of university, first year associates
in private equity, hedge funds, corporate are typically earning around $175k (£136k),
development teams in large companies, or while directors (about eight years in) can
even consulting firms. earn a basic salary of $300k (£233k).
Managing Director pay is more varied, and
Which skills do you need for a career depends strongly on the firm in question,
in M&A? but a salary of around $500k (£389k) is
considered standard.
If you want to work in M&A, you’ll need to
be able to work autonomously. A member When you work in M&A however, your
of the global M&A team at Morgan Stanley pay isn’t just about your salary. Your total
said: “M&A analysts are expected to get compensation (“comp”) also includes a
up the curve in terms of financial analysis bonus. For M&A bankers the size of the
and technical skills in a short period of bonus depends strongly on fees paid to
time, and the role also requires a degree the bank when a corporate it is advising
of independent and proactive work (for completes an M&A transaction. Fees vary
example reading broker notes) to stay depending on the size and complexity
current on the market environment.” of the deal, but a rule of thumb is that
fees equate to between 0.5% and 1% of
Alongside independence, proactivity, and the value of the transaction. Then the
having a desire to learn, M&A analysts need proportion of the fee allocated to the bonus
to be confident with numbers and have a pool is shared among the team that worked
quantitative mindset. They also need to on the deal, with the managing director or
have good people skills and to be able to MD who originated or won the deal earning
communicate and interact with people the most. Bonuses at most banks are paid
confidently. Ultimately this is a client-facing predominantly in shares, with a smaller
job and clients look to M&A bankers to cash element. Bonuses can be 80% of your
provide (good) judgement and advice. salary as an analyst and are even greater
than your salary as you become more
The M&A head says good analytical skills senior – although it’s worth noting that it’s
are essential along with a strong work a tough market at the moment, with 2022’s
ethic and a good attitude. “A good banker bonuses down on a super strong 2021, and
needs to be committed to the job and the 2023’s are likely to be on the lower side as
deals they are working on,” says Hannon, well.
who also says a good attitude is vital. “It
is essential to maintain a positive attitude The eFinancialCareers salary and bonus
as you are constantly interacting with survey suggests that a few years into your
others; a bad attitude could be detrimental career as an M&A banker, you can expect
to the whole team.” He also says a sense to earn around $250k in combined salaries
of humour is also essential, although that and bonuses as an associate.
probably won’t be enough on its own.
Pay is typically highest in the most
prestigious M&A boutiques like Evercore,
PJT, and PWP.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Sales & Trading jobs

Author: Daniel Davies
Prestige What do sales and trading jobs in process. These days, they mostly only trade
banking and finance involve? on behalf of their clients. Who are these
10 clients? They tend to be big investors –
Pay If you go into the Sales & Trading division pension funds, specialised investment
of an investment bank, your main job will companies and organisations representing
10 be “market making.” This is the term banks very wealthy individuals. The clients may
use for making markets – or, to put it want to invest cash in securities, raise cash
Grind by selling securities or alter the risk profile
more simply, enable clients to buy and sell
of their investment portfolio. In order to do
8 securities. Sales and trading is also often
this, they need to find someone to buy what
referred to as global markets. It’s the part of
Competitiveness an investment bank that connects buyers they’re selling or to sell what they want to
with sellers and that stands in the middle to buy. Investors don’t usually have the scale
10 take a piece of the action for itself. or resources to have their own seat on the
stock exchange. Nor do they want to take
What will you buy and sell in a sales and the time and trouble to search the world for
trading job? The answer is more or less any the best deal, so they use middlemen. The
kind of financial product. Some banks will salespeople and traders in banks are these
even have physical commodities operations middlemen.
where actual metals, hydrocarbons and
shipping services are traded as if they What’s the difference between sales
were stocks and bonds. But the three jobs, trading jobs, and sales trading
main categories of tradeable securities jobs?
are equities (shares, which represent part
ownership of companies), fixed income When you watch the prices scrolling across
(any sort of tradeable debt, like bonds) the bottom of the screen on CNBC or
and derivatives (securities where nobody Bloomberg News, or see them reported in
literally owns anything but the two sides the newspaper the next day, it’s not obvious
agree a contract to make payments to how those prices are reached. Each one of
one another based on a predetermined them, however, is the result of a specific
formula). bargain agreed at a specific time and price
between an investment bank and a client.
Sales and trading jobs are iconic: they’re The job of making that bargain happen has
where you’ll see people shouting on trading two parts to it. First, there’s the person who
floors during market meltdowns. A vice makes contact with the client, who tells
president at Deutsche Bank says that them what deals are available and takes the
“When people think of investment banking, order (the sales) and then there’s person
they tend to imagine the trading floor. who goes out into the market and executes
Although sales, trading and structuring is the transaction at the best price possible
just one part of a bank’s work, it is where a (the trader).
lot of its commercial activities take place.”
Before the financial crisis of 2008, banks Generally, sales jobs in investment banks
traded a lot on their own accounts and are slightly more strategic than trading
tried to earn profits for themselves in the jobs. In sales, you have to understand the

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
big picture and to maintain relationships dozens of phone calls a day while also
with your clients. The better you keeping a similar number of chat windows
understand the big economic drivers and open. Sales traders usually operate in
market trends, the more likely you are to be liquid markets, meaning those where
able to anticipate the investors’ needs and there is a high constant level of order flow.
to give them useful advice. “You need to be Examples of this kind of market might be
a trained psychologist … everyone needs in US Treasury bonds, blue-chip equities
constant advice and affirmation as well as or options on the biggest stock market
investment knowledge”, says Colin Hector, indices.
an experienced equities salesperson who’s
worked for banks like UBS, Deutsche Bank What’s the difference between
and Credit Suisse. trading equities, fixed income
products or derivatives?
Trading jobs are more focused and intense.
To be a trader, you’ll need to understand The broad categories of equities, fixed
the structure of supply and demand at any income and derivatives cover a wide and
given moment in time; some of the best ever-growing variety of financial markets,
traders actively avoid information about each with its own specialist jobs. Often,
longer timeframes as a distraction from derivatives sales and trading will be divided
what they can see happening on the screen up between the equities and fixed income
in front of them. divisions, with derivatives traders and
salespeople working alongside colleagues
Some people fuse both roles and are sales who deal in the actual markets that the
traders. Sales traders work with clients derivatives contracts are linked to (the
who want to make a lot of transactions “cash” markets).
quickly. They are generally salespeople who
deal with very active clients, often making It’s easiest to illustrate with an example.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Some investors might just want to buy and are more of their own little world, so they
sell shares. Simple shares are known as are often managed separately.
cash equities. But sometimes, a hedge fund Sales and trading of debt issued by
might want to buy a contract that gives companies (corporate bonds) is a
them positive exposure if the whole stock very different business to debt issued
market goes up, but which also pays a by governments. Unlike equities and
premium for insurance against the market government bonds, corporate bonds don’t
falling. Because it has payouts linked to trade very often – a big pension fund or
another event, this is an equity derivative – insurance company will buy the bonds
it’s an index option. when they are issued, and then hold on to
them for years at a time, only selling when
Products like that would usually be they need to raise cash or if the issuing
the responsibility of a specific equity company gets into financial trouble. That
derivatives desk with its own salespeople means that corporate bond salespeople
and traders (and sales traders). But in most and traders need to be able to go out and
banks, the derivatives desk is physically look for buyers and sellers in order to make
located next to the cash equities sales and transactions happen, rather than just
traders because although it’s a separate looking at a screen where thousands of
market, it’s not a completely separate orders are placed every minute.
market – there’s value in making it easy for
people from the two trading desks to talk to There’s a similar distinction in the
each other and people sometimes switch world of derivatives trading – between
jobs from one to the other. flow products where things are pretty
standardised and orders can generally be
On the fixed income side, the variety of matched quickly and structured products
products is much greater, but the same where the bank designs a contract
principles apply. Government bond trading specifically for one client’s needs. As the
is all about anticipating movements in VP at Deutsche Bank says, “Structuring
interest rates, so government bond traders teams provide products that are tailored to
tend to work together with economists clients’ specialised needs. They might help
and with people who trade interest rate an institutional investor achieve a required
derivatives (swaps). The interest rate risk profile, or a corporate looking to acquire
derivatives salespeople and traders will new equipment through financing.”
often be expected to cover more than one Some financial products are more
currency, so they will be located near to susceptible to electronic trading
the foreign exchange sales and traders. (electronification) than others. The chart
Commodities and commodity derivatives below, from a 2021 report on the state of
Global Interest Rate Swap Market
Market Estimated Market electronification

Global Interest Rate Swap Market 25%
US Treasury Trading 60-65%
High Grade Credit Trading 35-40%
High Yield Credit Trading 20-25%
Single name CDS 45%
CDX Index 80%
FX spot 70%
FX forwards 60%
FX swaps 50%

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
the banking market by JPMorgan, shows This doesn’t mean that there is no role for
the percentage of trades that take place human beings in trading; even in very high-
electronically for different financial asset volume flow products, clients often want
classes. to speak to someone who can give them
market color and advice on how to manage
What’s electronic trading? And how their orders to get the best price. However,
is it changing sales and trading the rise of electronic trading platforms does
jobs? mean there are fewer opportunities for
humans than there used to be (famously,
In a lot of financial products – particularly Goldman Sachs’ cash equities trading desk
cash equities, short dated government used to employ around 600 people in New
bonds and flow derivatives of all kinds York in 2000, but was down to less than five
– trading is carried out electronically. by 2017 after electronic systems took over).
This means that rather than having a It also accounts for the fact that many
human being looking at a screen and traders these days have taken on sales
matching orders, the investors are able responsibilities.
to send a message from their computer
system directly to the bank, which then The biggest banks are pouring money
uses its own system to query the stock into electronic trading platforms that let
exchange or other investors and buys or clients get direct access to their systems
sells the product automatically within a – and this may end up diminishing the
few milliseconds. These electronic trading role of specialist flow traders even further.
platforms are expensive to build but cheap However, it’s interesting to note that when
to run and banks are doing their best to markets get really volatile, as they did in
encourage clients to use them. Deutsche the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
Bank’s ‘Autobahn’ electronic trading in 2020, clients still seem to want to get
platform can, for example, be accessed via on the phone and talk to a human being.
an iPhone app. During that period of market volatility,
human traders seemed to do much better
Electronic trading systems work on than automated systems in dealing with
algorithms. The algorithms built into market conditions that had never been
electronic trading systems are usually experienced before.
meant to break up a large order into a lot
of smaller ones, and to then use advanced The rise of electronic trading platforms
statistical analyses to determine the best driven by algorithms has affected the
way to place those orders in order to kinds of jobs that are on offer in sales
complete the overall transaction at the best and trading. Traders in particular are now
possible price. being encouraged by banks like JPMorgan

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
to learn how to code in languages like the clients’ families – some investors are
Python in order to be able to specify the strictly business. But it does mean that you
details of complicated derivatives products need to be able to talk to people and listen
and the steps needed in order to trade to them to understand what they want.
them. Algorithmic traders have come into As Colin Hector puts it, “you need to have
existence. They are technology specialists something to say, every single hour of the
and quantitative finance professionals with day … if there’s nothing happening, you
trading knowledge who write algorithms have to be able to use your imagination”.
that can get orders executed at the best
prices, and who develop better statistical Sales and trading jobs need concentration
models to choose the most efficient way to and attention to detail. Some structured
place orders. products and algorithmic roles also need
advanced quantitative skills. In all products
Which skills will you need for a and markets, it’s vital to get things right.
career in sales and trading? There’s not much room for “big picture”
types in sales and trading; everything is
It’s no good going into sales and trading if either a profit or a loss, worked out to the
you’re not a morning person. Markets open last fraction of a cent.
early every day, and you need to be in the
office even earlier. Rain or shine, summer Salaries and bonuses in sales and
or winter, the market is no respecter of trading jobs
hangovers and duvet days; at any given
minute something could suddenly turn into Sales and trading jobs are some of the
a crisis. Sales and trading jobs don’t tend best paid in banking. If you’re good and
to require the punishingly long hours that you generate a good level of profits (known
are associated with investment banking, as pnl) for the bank, you’ll get paid a lot of
but the hours can still be very intense. “It’s money within a comparatively short period
the kind of job that many people imagine of time – bonuses quadruple, our data says,
they’d enjoy, but the reality mightn’t suit from analyst to associate (a two year jump
everyone,” cautions the Deutsche Bank VP. in one’s career).
Sales in particular is a noisy, people- The chart below shows figures from
focused job which is more suitable for eFinancialCareers salary and bonus survey
extroverts than introverts. Even when for people working in sales and trading jobs.
markets are dominated by computers, the Promotions in sales and trading can happen
people making the decisions are human more quickly than in other areas, but it’s
beings and successful salespeople need usually safe to assume that it takes around
to be able to form relationships with them four or five years to make vice president
on a human level. That doesn’t necessarily (VP) level.
just mean dinner and drinks and meeting
Average Compensation by seniority in sales and trading, US$
Job Title Average Salary Average Bonus Total

Compensation
Analyst $85,596 $26,291 $111,887
Associate $154,325 $107,730 $262,055
Vice President $205,860 $135,996 $341,855
Director $257,148 $282,612 $539,761
Managing Director $394,605 $513,514 $908,119

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Citadel Securities,

a day in the life of a trader in NYC
P
atrick Chi is a trader at Citadel happened there overnight. I also do my
Securities. He joined the firm in own read-through of the overnight news,
August 2020 after graduating from catch up with our analysts who provide
Columbia University with a degree in additional market color, and chat with our
applied mathematics. European team members on Slack. The
desk I’m on trades 23 hours a day, five days
6:45am. I wake up and check my messages a week; we trade ADRs during US hours
on Slack and look at Bloomberg just to see and local listings overnight, so we have to
how markets did overnight. be vigilant about monitoring news during
that entire timeframe. We’re expanding our
I’m a trader on the American Depositary global team and expect to have even more
Receipt (ADR) desk. We make markets in colleagues in Asia soon.
more than 3,000 ADRs, which means we
provide our clients with liquidity in the form 9:00am. I have a meeting with the other
of a bid and offer on all of those names. members of the trading team. This usually
ADRs are US listings of international involves my manager, who’s the head of
securities. They give US investors an the ADR desk, plus two other juniors. We
opportunity to invest in foreign companies. go over what happened yesterday and
We think of the ADR as a derivative of the what strategies we could improve upon. We
local market security, which trades when develop a game plan for the trading day
the US market is closed. Therefore, when ahead and summarize key macro events
I wake up, I look to see how our largest that are approaching, plus earnings events
take-home risks performed in local markets and corporate actions that are coming up.
overnight. This generally takes about 10 This is a brief but important meeting that
minutes or so. sets the tone for the day.
If all is well, I might then snatch another 20 9:30am. The markets open. Immediately,
minutes of sleep or go for a run. Either way, I’m in a different mindset and the
I get to the office around 8am. If I haven’t adrenaline is flowing.
been for a run, I’ll walk to work; the office is
about 30 minutes from my apartment. My team and I aren’t watching every single
ADR that we cover, but we’re focused
8:00am. When I arrive at the office, I instead on how our system is trading in
conduct a more detailed appraisal of how terms of the liquidity it’s providing for
the overnight trades went. We build up investors and the prices it’s quoting for
overnight reports and look at the prices the securities. My job is mostly about
we expected the ADRs to trade at and watching trades take place electronically
the prices they actually traded at (this is and recalibrating where necessary. If I see
known as the slippage) and evaluate our executions that could be improved, I make
performance. adjustments.
8:30am. I catch up with some of our 10:30am. I have a quick chat with the
people in Asia; they share news about what quantitative researchers (QRs). The QRs

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
provide us with the models that calculate stay focused on working with clients and
the fair value of the securities and, as keeping an eye on the markets.
traders, we’re trying to monetize these
models. We’re always bouncing ideas off of 2:00pm. I’m back to trading and responding
each other. to RFQs. This part of the day is fast-paced
and exciting.
11:00am. A client comes to me with a
request for quote (RFQ). In an RFQ, a client 4:00pm. Markets close. At this point, my
goes to a bunch of market makers and colleagues on the trading team and I move
the market maker with the fastest and into the end-of-day process. This used to
most competitive quote wins the RFQ. We be fairly time-consuming, but it’s recently
respond to these throughout the day, and been streamlined. At Citadel Securities,
when we win the quote we provide liquidity we are always looking for ways to improve
to the client. A lot of RFQ clients trade in and make everything we do more efficient.
the latter half of the day, which is when it During this process we look at the risks we
gets pretty busy for me. see developing overnight and discuss what
we want to send to Asia and Europe for
11:30am. European markets close and what we call the “overnight unwind.” These
there’s usually a lull. We’re busy into the are the trades we want to unwind overnight
European close but then things start to in the US. We come up with a list of names
quiet down a bit until the US market gets we can send to our traders in the local
more active later in the day. markets.
11:45am. I eat lunch around this time. Lunch 5:00pm. At this point, I usually shift
is provided by the firm, so I usually just go to project work. As traders, we have
to the kitchen on my floor but I sometimes projects focused on determining whether
order Uber Eats or Seamless with my there’s a pattern to trades that do well or
coworkers. underperform.
12:15pm. Since US trade flows typically 6:30pm. I chat with another QR and we
develop throughout the day, it’s during the discuss the results of the analysis project I
afternoon when we typically start to see am working on.
some dislocations from our models. The
real monetization of ADRs comes from 7:00pm. I send the list of overnight trades
the discrepancy between US liquidity to our traders in Europe and Asia. Our
and foreign liquidity, and as US liquidity Asian traders don’t arrive in the office until
develops, markets start to move. As this 6.30pm to 7pm, and one member of our
happens, we start building much larger team stays behind to send the list to them.
positions and we get much bigger liquidity If it’s complicated, we’ll call them up and
events. discuss what needs to be done.
1:30pm. There’s another quick meeting 7:30pm. I leave the office. I’ll often schedule
with the quantitative researchers. We have dinner with friends for around 8pm or so.
a lot of these throughout the day. We also When I get home, I’ll watch some TV.
meet with the technologists who convert
the models into code. A few days a week, I Midnight: I go to bed! I’m trying to get
attend these meetings. Other days, another to sleep earlier, but somehow it never
member of the trading team does. Usually, happens!
just one of us is needed and the others

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Sophia Mastrell,

equity derivatives trading,
Goldman Sachs, Paris
8:15am. I arrive in the Paris office. We’ve
just moved into a new office with a great
view of the Arc De Triomphe and the Eiffel
Tower from our rooftop. I get some coffee
and I start going through my prices.
I make markets on convertible bonds. These

are over the counter (OTC) products, which
means they’re not traded on an exchange.
I send the prices out to clients via the
Bloomberg terminal.
8:45am. We have a morning meeting every

day before the markets open at 9am.
During this time, we usually discuss the
trading flow over the past few days and
look at any live issues, including what we
plan to do with the bonds already on our
book. The meetings are an opportunity
for salespeople and traders to discuss
the coming day. Salespeople are the main
point of contact for clients: they pitch trade
ideas, and when trades go ahead it’s the
traders who make the prices, place the
S
ophia Mastrell is an equity derivatives trade and manage the risk on the book. The
trader on the convertible bonds desk book is our current portfolio of convertible
at Goldman Sachs in Paris. She joined bonds and any hedges.
in 2021 after graduating from Copenhagen
Business School with a degree in 9:00am. Markets open and the trading
International Business. Sophia participated day starts. I communicate a lot with the
in the women’s trader academy at Goldman, salespeople as orders come in. We discuss
an initiative for young women who are trading flow and share our observations of
interested in learning more about a career the market.
in trading, before completing a summer
internship and then joining full time after Convertible bonds are an interesting
graduating. product to work with as they have both
an embedded call option and a bond
7:15am. I wake up and get out of bed. I’m component. In order to arrive at a valuation,
not a huge morning person, so I don’t get we therefore need to look at both the credit
up much earlier than this! I still have time risk and the factors influencing options
to get ready; I head into the office and grab pricing.
some breakfast on the go.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
9:30am. This is one of my most active day, this will either be with the bigger equity
times of the day. My team covers mostly derivatives team or just with the smaller
European clients, and we trade convertibles convertible bond trading team.
issued in Europe. Clients are particularly
active when the market first opens. 5:45pm. I’m the junior on the team, so when
markets close, I work on some of the trade
I spend the morning making markets admin and checking our risk is reflected
for clients. We get the requests through correctly.
from sales. I make a bid and an offer to
indicate where I would buy and sell a given 6pm. I do a bit more project work involving
convertible, and then manage the risk after fundamental company analysis. My
the trade has taken place. manager has been super supportive of
this – I went to the London office for two
12:00pm. I go for lunch. I normally go weeks recently and sat with the team
outside for a walk with a colleague and we that does fundamental analysis for the
look for a nearby café or salad bar. We’re credit traders, the Fundamental Strategies
right in the centre of Paris, so there are lots Group, to help build my knowledge base.
of options. Fundamental analysis means I go through
a company’s statements and use them to
12:45pm. I’m back at the desk and am make forecasts. Right now, I mostly look at
continuing to make markets. Right high yield/distressed credit companies.
now, I mostly trade healthcare and
pharmaceutical companies and support my 6:30pm. This is when I usually leave the
team members who cover the rest of the office. My team are very respectful of free
European convertible bonds universe. time. They don’t stay late unnecessarily.
Sometimes we have client meetings after
2:30pm. The afternoons can be a bit work, but if not, I will usually go and see
quieter, so I have time to get on with friends or play tennis with colleagues (in
project work. At the moment I’m working summertime). Otherwise, I walk home to
on valuation screeners. I look at valuations the 8th arrondissement and then call my
across our convertible bonds universe and parents or friends, relax and play guitar.
send out risk reports to the team. In most
cases we build the screeners ourselves When I started at Goldman I had a choice
and work collectively to create supporting to live in London or Paris. I chose Paris
models for the credit and volatility and have no regrets. Paris is quite small,
components of convertible bonds. so it’s very easy to explore the city. The
architecture here is beautiful and I live very
3:30pm. I’m making markets! centrally, next to a small park, which I walk
through on the way to and from work. And I
5:30pm. Just after markets close, we have get to brush up my French!
another team meeting. Depending upon the

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Capital markets/corporate
finance jobs in investment banks
Prestige What do capital markets jobs in Investment bankers working in capital

investment banks involve? markets are also called corporate finance
9 professionals. They provide advice to
Pay When companies want to make companies (corporates) on capital raising
investments and expand, they need to (financing) and find investors who provide
9 raise money. Sometimes they just take out the money. To do this, they act as a kind
a bank loan, but if you want to raise a lot of go-between. On one hand they talk
Grind to the client-facing advisory bankers
of money at the best rates possible – or
to understand corporate clients’ (ie.
9 if your financial needs are a little bit more
companies’) capital raising requirements.
complicated than the average lending
Competitiveness officer can accommodate – then you will go On the other, they talk to the sales and
to the global capital markets and sell debt trading division of the bank to understand
8 or equity to investors. If you do that, it’s the exactly what investors are actually prepared
capital markets divisions of an investment to buy.
bank you’ll be talking to.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
As they move between the two, capital deals happen. “A typical day begins by
markets bankers are responsible for understanding the market complexities
managing the money-raising process. for that day and week,” says the co-head
This means hiring lawyers, getting the of EMEA capital markets at a European
documentation put together and ensuring bank. “We do this by reading newspapers,
that everything complies with all of the listening to the research briefings, and
regulations that cover the act of issuing participating in team meetings.” A good
securities to the public. equity capital markets team will anticipate
their clients’ needs –maybe there’s an
What’s a debt capital markets opportunity to take advantage of good
banker? What’s an equity capital news to issue shares at a higher price. As
markets banker? the opportunities are identified, the team
moves into “pitch” mode.
Because they depend on investors to be
able to deliver the cash to the corporations, When a pitching process opens up, it’s the
capital markets teams are usually split into senior ECM bankers that will hop on a plane
Debt Capital Markets (DCM) and Equity (COVID-permitting) and try and sell the
Capital Markets (ECM), specializing in investment bank’s services to a potential
either bond or equity issuance. The two client. This is the origination stage of the
areas are quite different from each other, deal. Junior employees are engaged in
because companies tend to issue bonds preparing the marketing material required
much more regularly as an everyday part to convince a client to go with a particular
of their financial management, while bank. If they’re successful, the team
equity issuance is a much rarer and more involved moves on to the execution stage of
strategic decision. the deal.
Banks expect their DCM analysts to As Virginia Draper, graduate recruitment

be highly numerate, and to have an manager at Deutsche Bank says, corporate
understanding of the technicalities of finance roles can be split between
company financing. “DCM brings a unique origination teams who identify new
combination of corporate finance (a business opportunities for the bank and
profound knowledge of how our clients’ work with clients to understand their needs,
business operates and how to advise and product teams who, “develop and
on their financial needs), fixed-income execute specialist solutions within capital
markets exposure, and mastering of markets or by providing advice they may
complex financial products,” says Demetrio require.”
Salorio, head of global banking advisory at
Société Générale Corporate and Investment “Origination could include preparing or
Banking. conducting client pitches. Executing would
include drafting or structuring work with
The high-volume nature of debt issuance clients, lawyers and/or accountants or
means DCM bankers must also be able to distribution efforts involving syndicate,
develop relationships with clients over time sales, and investors,” says a senior banker
and to provide them with relevant market at a boutique investment bank. “Syndicate”,
information at regular intervals when that in this context, refers to a specialist team
debt needs to be refinanced. Salorio says that sits (in organizational terms, but
success depends on having a “strong usually also physically) between the equity
capacity to develop a relationship based on capital markets division and the sales and
mutual confidence with the issuer clients”. trading floor. If you work in syndicate your
job will be liaising with the sales and traders
While debt refinancing happens regularly and keeping track of investor interest in
of its own accord, ECM bankers need to the products being issued. During a deal,
be much more proactive. They must make syndicate is responsible for preparing

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
feedback from the market about how well a number of special types of bonds only
received the offering is going to be. issued by banks and insurance companies
to meet regulatory requirements and DCM
How are ECM and DCM jobs bankers working in this space need to
segmented? have very detailed knowledge of the ever-
changing world of regulation. DCM teams
Equity capital markets jobs are typically will tend to have more emphasis on private
divided into three separate areas. placements, as these are more common
Firstly, there will be the industry group in the bond market than in the equity
or sector that you’re focused on – such market. DCM bankers will also work closely
as healthcare, Technology Media and with experts in interest rate and foreign
Telecommunications (TMT) or financial exchange derivatives, so that clients can
institutions. Then there’s the geographical borrow efficiently even when the investors
area you’re covering and then there’s the want a bond denominated in a currency
product type you specialize in. other than the one which the client wants
the proceeds.
That’s not to say that you’ll be focused
purely on, say, initial public offerings (IPOs). What does the work in capital
ECM bankers work in teams are divided by markets actually involve?
‘common’ equity products that includes
first issuance, follow-ons, secondary As a junior capital markets banker, you’ll
offerings and the like, then convertibles are be doing a lot of spreadsheet work, making
separated out (and tend to sit in both ECM financial models of client companies. For
and debt capital markets teams). There are a DCM role, you’ll need to understand how
also teams that focus on more complex credit rating agencies model the impact of
derivative products. In some banks, there new bond issuance on a company’s credit
are teams of bankers who focus solely on rating; you also need to be able to create
private placements. detailed profiles of interest payments
and debt maturities in order to track how
Debt capital markets (DCM) jobs have a a client’s financial structure develops. If
similar split into geographical and sectoral you have a job in ECM, the modelling is a
teams, but the financial institutions team little less nitty-gritty and more devoted
DCM team is generally the biggest of the to the creation of pitchbooks. Pitchbooks
lot. This is because financial clients (eg. are the great big PowerPoint decks that
banks) themselves account for nearly bankers pore over in order to sell clients
half of all bond issuance. There are also on the merits of a new transaction, and to

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Global DCM revenues by bank, H1 2023, USD Global ECM revenues by bank, H1 2023, USD
Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share

1 JPMorgan 1,151 8.2 1 JPMorgan 455 7.1
2 BofA Securities 961 6.9 2 Goldman Sachs 441 6.9
3 Citi 673 4.8 3 BofA Securities 356 5.6
4 Barclays 574 4.1 4 Morgan Stanley 328 5.1
5 Goldman Sachs 568 4.1 5 CITIC Securities 300 4.7
6 Morgan Stanley 537 3.8 6 Citi 237 3.7
7 BNP Paribas 535 3.8 7 China Securities 197 3.1
8 Wells Fargo 436 3.1 8 Haitong Securities 175 2.8
9 Deutsche Bank 427 3.1 9 Jefferies 163 2.6
10 RBC Capital Markets 416 3 10 China International 141 2.2
Total 13,982 100 Capital Corp
Total 6,367 100
promote their own skills as the best bank The charts on this page show the banks
to execute it. that worked on the most ECM and DCM
deals in the first six months of 2023. This
When they’re not doing pitchbooks, has been a challenging year for ECM
junior bankers are heavily involved in and DCM bankers as deals have been
the execution of deals, something which postponed in the light of uncertainty
can require a considerable amount caused by the Ukraine war.
of multitasking. During busy periods,
particularly in DCM, you might have as Which skills will you need for a
many as half a dozen transactions, all at career in capital markets/corporate
different stages, with a lot of hard deadlines finance?
for things to be completed by. One of the
key skills for a capital markets banker Because the corporate finance division sits
is to be able to keep track of things and between advisory bankers in areas like M&A
prioritise. At the vice president (VP) and and people working in sales and trading,
director level, this makes up most of the you’ll need some of both skillsets. You’ll also
job, marshalling a small army of analysts need stamina: this is a job in which long
and associates to keep everything moving hours are constant. If you aren’t rushed
through the pipeline. off your feet with deals to execute, you’re
expected to fill in the gaps by working on
In the senior ranks, managing directors pitches.
(MDs) will tend to be either “originators”
– the people who bring the deals in Capital markets bankers are famous for
and maintain client relationships – or their attention to detail. Banks competing
“structurers”, the technical experts who for deals try to differentiate themselves by
give advice on the right kind of transaction reassuring the client that they will be able
for every client. As your career develops to make the transaction go without a hitch,
in capital markets, you might find that so any tiny mistake in a pitchbook or model
you are drawn to one side of this divide or undermines the overall branding. Getting
the other, although there is some overlap a font or color wrong can be the occasion
as structurers are intimately involved in for long recrimination sessions and angry
the pitching and origination process while managing directors, so beware!
originators have to understand the deal
structures relevant to their clients at any People in these jobs also need to be good at
given moment. teamwork. Demetrio Salorio says leadership

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
and collaboration skills are key in DCM building your knowledge all the way through
because you need to forge relationships your career. It’s quite the learning curve.
with colleagues across the firm in order
“to attract advisory resources from other People skills: Some of your time will be
units of the bank to present the client with spent meeting clients, and you’ll need to
ad-hoc, high-quality strategic financing be able to bring together diverse groups of
advice”. It’s the same in equity capital people and get them to deliver work.
markets. “Senior capital markets bankers
need to have broad internal and external Attention to detail: You’ll need to be the
contacts, as well as strong interpersonal first person to spot areas of concern for
skills, marketing capabilities and strong your clients, and to understand how global
project management skills to balance events can affect your work.
interests of complex stakeholders,” says
one of Asia’s top ECM bankers. Salaries and bonuses in corporate
finance/capital markets
Finally, if you have a capital markets
job you’ll also be required to multitask. Capital markets jobs are some of the
Even a relatively simple capital markets best paid in investment banks. The
transaction will call for many different eFinancialCareers salary and bonus survey
skillsets as it moves through the pipeline, puts entry-level salaries for new graduates
from pitching to modelling to legal and in capital markets jobs in a similar bracket
compliance to project management. An to M&A jobs, with a salary at around $80k,
ECM or DCM banker is expected to stay plus a bonus that might be as high as $40k.
with the transaction and to liaise with the Three years into a career in capital markets
clients all through the process, and to retain (as an associate), your salary is more likely
grace under pressure. to be $120k and a bonus of around $90k on
top of that.
The Deutsche Bank VP sums up the skills
you’ll need for capital markets jobs as If you stick with jobs in corporate finance,
follows: your pay will increase very quickly. Vice
presidents (who typically have over five
Ambition: In a profession that attracts high years’ experience) are on salaries of $180k
achievers, you’ll need plenty of ambition or more and bonuses are often the same
and determination. again.
Numeracy: Being able to do quick In the salary pages at the start of this
calculations in your head under pressure guide, we’ve grouped capital markets pay
will give you the edge when you’re deciding together with M&A pay to show pay for
on a course of action. the investment banking division (IBD) as a
whole. Managing directors in this area of
Hunger: Although you’ll come to specialise banking can make millions.
in a particular field, you’ll need to keep
Average compensation by seniority in the IBD, US$
Job Title Salary Bonus Total Compensation

Analyst $95,846 $43,703 $139,549
Associate $151,723 $99,100 $250,823
Vice President $201,490 $145,581 $347,071
Director $212,697 $203,267 $415,964

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Senior associate,

Rothschild, New York
O
motara Solomon is a Senior 9:00am. By nine I am in the office in New
Associate in the Equity Advisory York. As a senior associate, a lot of my work
team at Rothschild & Co. She joined revolves around working with clients with
the Rothschild & Co graduate program in the support of my Managing Directors. I
2017, working in the London office before have found the senior bankers to be very
being seconded to New York in 2021. Prior accessible – from early on, we are given
to joining, she completed a Masters Degree direct exposure to a high deal flow, allowing
in International Management at ESADE us to see the bankers’ approach to many
Business School in Spain and co-founded a different situations.
residential property company. This is what
an average day in her life looks like. 10:00am. I have a weekly morning meeting
with the whole Equity Advisory team. We
7:00am. I wake up and start getting ready discuss our upcoming meetings for the
for the day, often spending some personal week, as well as live project updates and
time reading or meditating. Thriller and notable events that unfolded the week prior.
suspense novels are a favourite, especially It’s really important to be commercially
by Black, female authors. aware, especially in Equity Advisory, as well
as have the ability to develop relationships
7:30-8:00am. While I’m getting ready with people at all levels and across the
I check any emails that have come in broader Global Advisory division.
overnight. Our clients are global, so I
will respond quickly to any emails where 10:30am. After the all-team meeting, there
a different time zone means it’s late in is another Equity Advisory meeting for
someone else’s day. juniors on the team. We’ll ask questions and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
discuss analysis we’re working on. 3:00pm. I will usually have regular project
calls for different ongoing projects I’m
11:00am. Then I’m back to my desk. working on. Now that IPO markets are a
Generally, 40% of my time is spent bit quieter, we’re spending more time in
communicating (on calls and over email) the background, helping clients with Pre-
and the other 60% is spent doing the tasks IPO fundraising, early IPO readiness and
and analysis that we provide to clients. The broader pitching.
morning is more about planning, working
out what needs doing and co-ordinating 4:00pm. When I worked in London, I was
how the day is going to evolve. The part of the Access Project, tutoring GCSE
afternoons are more focussed on doing my students once a week as they prepared for
core work and getting deliverables done. their exams. The students would come to
the office. I’m also part of Rothschild & Co’s
12:00pm. I generally take lunch between EMbrace Network for our Black and other
twelve and one, but it can depend on when Minority ethnic group employees at the
I get a break in my day. I’ll have a lunch firm.
meeting two or three times a month with a
client or other advisers. Otherwise, in New 6:00pm. When the day is nearing its end, I’ll
York we get lunch brought in every day. In take stock of what needs to be done short-
the London office, there is a staff café, but term and worked on in the evening. I work
I always enjoyed picking something up from with several junior analysts, and I’ll make
one of the many places near the office. sure everyone is clear on what needs doing.
I’ll also look ahead in the calendar and keep
1:00pm. In the afternoon I’ll mainly be thinking about what needs prioritising over
leading certain workstreams within the next few days.
projects where there will often be various
advisors such as lawyers and syndicate 7:00pm. On an average day I’ll leave
banks which will have to be coordinated between seven and eight. I have a good
effectively. In addition, I will often work work life balance. There are, of course,
with our analysts in PowerPoint and Excel, peaks and troughs in terms of workload,
sometimes using data providers such and sometimes a flexible approach is
as FactSet and Bloomberg to pull and required, particularly when working on
analyse company and market information. complex deals or cross-border transactions
At a really simple level, we are analysing with different time zones.
data – combined with our knowledge and
expertise in the markets – to provide 8:00pm. I’ll often do a workout class in the
independent solutions to our clients as well evening. I love to cook on the occasions
as effectively and efficiently assist them that I can, but I’ll also order in food or
through different types of public market meet up with friends for dinner in the city
processes. I help our analysts in putting whenever possible.
analysis into presentations and make sure
the key messages are coming across before 9:00pm. My core workday has already
my Managing Director reviews it. Recently, I ended, but if anything urgent comes
helped a company and its shareholders who through I’ll make sure to respond by email,
had completed an IPO analyse potential especially when it’s a client or co-worker in
methods and timing windows to monetise a different time zone who won’t be working
(i.e. sell) the remaining shareholding in the when I get into the New York office the
company. So, I was spending time thinking following morning. Generally, it’s quick email
about, analysing and presenting what they responses that I might have to do in the
could reasonably expect could happen, for evening, not the core analysis and research
example, if their shareholders sold a certain work that I spend the bulk of my afternoons
percentage of their stock and when would on.
be the appropriate time to do so.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Carmen Bereincua,

debt capital markets syndicate,
Citi
C
armen Bereincua graduated from
King’s College London with a degree
in business management. She
joined Citi’s debt capital markets team
after graduating in 2014 and is now based
in Madrid, working on the bond syndicate
desk.
07:00 GMT (08:00 in Madrid). One of the

advantages of being based in Madrid rather
than London is that I get to sleep in late. I
still work UK hours, and Madrid is an hour
ahead, so here I have another hour in bed!
I wake up at 8.00am Madrid time and am

out of the door within 15-20 minutes. The
office is a seven-minute walk away. I grab a
Starbucks and a coffee, get to the second
floor and login.
07:30 GMT. I like to have 30 minutes to

familiarize myself with what’s happened in
the markets overnight. I look at how the US good time to announce anything but if the
closed, how Asia is going and how the client market is quiet, we are more likely to advise
companies on our book are affected. issuers to go ahead. It can be a grey area
and is partly about judgement.
I work on primary bond deals: we bring
bonds to the market. I focus on emerging 08:00am. This is when my calls begin. The
market bonds; we also have desks that early morning calls with issuers are when
specialize in European corporates, we help them to decide whether to go live
European financials, high yield issuers and with a deal. When we have multiple deals,
sovereign and supranational issuers. we might have several of these calls with
issuers back-to-back, but this year is a lot
The early morning is when we decide quieter than usual.
whether the deals that we’re working on
should go ahead. It’s a decision that’s very When we get the green light from the bond
much based on markets, which is why I issuer to announce a deal on Bloomberg
first need to understand the factors that then we will inform our salesforce who
will influence the go or no-go call. In some will make investors aware that the issuer
cases, I’ll talk to our Asian syndicate team intends to issue a bond.
to see how their deals went overnight. I’ll
also buzz our traders on the desk intercom In most cases, several different banks are
and get some market colour from them. mandated on a single bond issue, and they
If the market is selling, it’s clearly not a
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
will each play a different role. Sometimes 12:30pm. I usually have lunch now, which
we will oversee logistics (setting up is late in Spain as it’s 1:30 CET. I don’t have
meetings with investors, most of which many options for takeaway lunch in Madrid
are now on Zoom), sometimes we’ll be in as most people here like to sit down and
charge of documentation, or of billing and eat. When we are in live execution mode
delivery. Other times we’ll be on “screens”, and are pricing deals it can be difficult to
which means drafting all the information on leave the desk even for five minutes. In this
the issue that goes out on Bloomberg. case I usually let my boss know and he will
cover for me and talk to clients while I go
09:00am. What I do next therefore depends downstairs and get a sandwich.
upon the role we’re taking. When I work on
logistics, I spend the next few hours setting 13:00pm. During a live deal, I have back-
out the schedule for the issue and putting to-back calls in the afternoons. The early
the investor presentation together. We need afternoon is spent continuing to build the
to amass all the information on the health book and continuing to tighten the price.
and financials of the issuing company so When New York opens, we usually get a
that investors can make a well-informed good idea of the level of demand and might
decision on whether to invest. tighten the price further and release a
second official price to the market.
Working in syndicate can seem quite
administrative, but there’s also an 14:30pm. By now we usually have all the
important strategic element. Clients come orders in, and we have an idea of the
to us and say they want to raise money final price. We take stock of the orders
through a bond issue and our job is to in the book and talk to investors to see if
advise them about how best to go about it. we can tighten any further. We will then
– Depending on market conditions, it might talk again to the issuer and present our
make sense to raise multiple small amounts recommendation for the final price. When
and to split their funding needs throughout this recommendation has been accepted,
the year. In other circumstances, we advise we will tell the market the final terms of the
them to raise as much money as possible deal. This is usually done between 2.30pm
now if we think the market will deteriorate and 3pm London time.
later.
15:00pm. We now run through the
11:00am. Once a deal has gone live, it’s allocations. We may have $500m of bonds
necessary to build a book of orders and to allocate and insufficient bonds to go
to firm up the price. When a deal is around. It’s therefore necessary to decide
announced, the price isn’t fixed. We will how much to allocate to each investor. If
announce the intended price of the bonds we’re the B&D (billing and delivery bank)
being issued, but will try to tighten that we’ll usually do the first draft of this. Then
throughout the day until the price is fixed – we’ll get onto a call with the other banks
usually later in the afternoon. in the syndicate and will go through the
allocations line-by-line.
We tighten the price during our
conversations with investors, and a lot of When we’re making the allocations, we
my day involves these calls. I you start with consider how the bond will trade. We want
a very high coupon, a lot of investors will it to trade well and we will therefore allocate
be interested and you’ll get a massive order it to investors who are long-only (likely
book that can’t be fulfilled. It’s a question to buy and hold) as a priority. We want to
of reducing the coupon until you get to incentivize loyal investors. There are strict
an equilibrium. You don’t want to cut the guidelines in Europe laid out by MiFID,
coupon too much though, or investors won’t so we are careful to ensure we operate
be interested in the next bond issue. in compliance with all the appropriate
regulations. It’s a question of justifying each

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
allocation individually. 18:00pm. If everything has gone smoothly,

I will usually leave the office now. But on a
17:00pm. By 5pm, the allocations are day when there are long discussions with
usually finished. We now send the book to issuers about the allocations I can be in
the issuer for them to agree the allocations the office until 9pm, or sometimes even
we’ve made. Some issuers will sign in 20 10.30pm if we have multiple live deals. This
minutes, but I’ve also waited for three hours is unusual though.
for issuers to agree allocations.
On a day that I don’t have deals I leave at
In many cases, there’ll be discussion again 7pm CET, or 6pm UK time. I love cardio
with the issuer on the allocations and exercise and when it’s not too hot I try to
they may ask for changes to be made. go to the gym for spinning. I’ll then go and
Sometimes we’ll caution against these eat outside at 10pm. I moved to Madrid in
changes and advise that an investor will 2020 and have a better social life here than
simply sell the next morning if they receive in London - there’s more going on in the
the amount the issuer wants to allocate. evenings and I spend less time travelling to
Ultimately, though, it’s the issuer’s decision. and from work.
The process can take a long time and the
B&D bank is in charge of the discussion.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
What are research jobs

in investment banks?
Prestige What do research jobs in banking divisions employing their own economic
involve? researchers focused on the economic
7 implications for their specific markets;
Pay The research department of an investment researchers of this kind are often referred
bank is not the most glamorous division, to as strategists.
6 because the people who work there don’t
directly generate revenue. Furthermore, What do fixed income analysis jobs
Grind
it’s a bit of an unhappy coincidence that involve?
9 the name of the most junior career title
in investment banking (“analyst”) is also Fixed income analysis is a job that deals
Competitiveness the generic name given to the employees with all areas of interest rate markets and
who research and analyse companies. In issuers that connect the central bank to
8 research you can get “analysts” who are sovereign and corporate borrowers. Moyeen
also Managing Directors. Islam of Barclays describes the fixed
income strategist’s role as “to translate the
However, banks employ lots of research economists’ view on the likely policy path of
analysts, and they do it for a reason. A the central bank into a market view.”
research analyst’s job is to understand
the reason for the valuation of financial Fixed income analysts tend to have a
instruments, and a large part of the much greater number of companies
business of investment banking is to cover than equity research analysts,
to understand what the fair price for but unlike equity researchers they don’t
something is. This is important if you’re generally publish earnings forecasts and
buying and selling bonds and equities in make fewer trading recommendations.
the hope of making money from price Consequently, their results notes tend to
changes, but research analysts also help be shorter and they publish fewer updates.
capital markets and advisory bankers to Fixed income researchers also need to be
understand their clients’ business and aware of the credit ratings of bonds under
make better pitches. their coverage, and to anticipate ratings
changes.
In general, research analysts are attached
to the sales and trading business line, Like equity analysts, fixed income (also
where they comment on price movements known as bond research) teams tend to be
and issue buy and sell (or overweight/ split by sector and by geography, although
underweight) recommendations to investor fixed income research departments tend
clients. Because of this, research analysts to have larger teams covering financials
will usually specialize either in equities or than any other sector, reflecting the fact
in debt. Some banks have specialist cross that the financial sector itself is the largest
asset research teams working across both, issuer. Darren Sharma, founder and CEO
and sometimes there will be a separate of Frontline Analysts, says that “you’re
economics research team serving both basically running a small, very specialized
sides of sales and trading, but it is just news service with a particular beat to cover,
as common to see both debt and equity and a readership of a few dozen – maybe

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
a few hundred – extremely well-informed upcoming events, research analysts have

people. Within that little area, you’ve got to to write “deal research”. This happens when
be the Wall Street Journal, the Economist the bank is involved in an issue of new
and the BBC World Service”. securities, arranged by the capital markets
team (Equity Capital Markets or Debt
What do equity research analysis Capital Markets). Deal research does not
jobs involve? contain any investment recommendations:
it’s meant to give a summary to investors
Equity research analysts are divided into of the key facts relating to the issuer, a
teams. These will generally be sector-based set of earnings forecasts and a range of
and follow the same sectoral classifications valuations.
as the stock market indices – consumer
goods, technology, financials, oil & gas and Deal research is also known as primary
so on. Geographically, the teams will be research, supporting primary deals.
divided according to the investor base, so By comparison, everyday trading
there are usually EMEA, Americas, APAC, recommendations are known as secondary
and emerging markets analyst teams research because they refer to securities
in every sector, who communicate with which have already been issued. Writing
one another to establish a reasonably primary research is a relatively rare event
consistent global view. Equity analysts for equity analysts, as it is associated with
typically cover around ten stocks each and IPOs and rights issues. For bond analysts,
will be expected to write notes on every however, it is the main part of the job, as
set of quarterly results for each of the fixed income securities tend to trade less
companies they cover, along with regular but require constant new issuance as
thematic notes on the industry as a whole bonds mature.
and updates when they change their view
on valuation or their recommendation. They Which skills are required for equity
also maintain spreadsheet models of each and fixed income research jobs?
of their companies, and publish earnings
forecasts. Research analysts are often looked on
as the nerds of the sales and trading
What do deal research jobs involve? department. To do well in equity or debt
research, you need to be comfortable with
As well as supporting the sales and trading doing a lot of reading of company accounts
business by making recommendations to and economic data and absorbing much
clients and warning the trading desk of more detailed information than in some
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
other investment banking specialities. Your needed of equity and fixed income (debt
job is to be the expert that others consult. researchers).
However, research is also a job in which In general, because of the way that the
there’s surprising scope for creativity. The underlying securities work and the risk to
currency analysts work in is ideas. The the downside, debt analysis has a greater
best analysts can take a sideways view and need of skills like precision and attention
see something that others have missed. to detail. By comparison, equity analysts
Huw van Steenis, vice chairman and are expected to publish earnings forecasts
partner at management consultant Oliver and price targets, and an equity analyst
Wyman, says that analysts need to “Read can sometimes get away with a few minor
voraciously, analyse the what-ifs and tails errors if their big picture understanding of
and build a mosaic. There is no one way to broad trends is really good.
develop your edge, but being curious, try
to be early on a big theme and insisting on In both equity and debt research, there is
catalysts all help”. often room for analysts to move on to other
areas of the banking industry; because you
Analysts aren’t confined to the back build up a visible track record of successful
rooms of the research department. They and unsuccessful recommendations,
are expected to make phone calls and analysts are often recruited by hedge
presentations to investors and market funds and the buy side. Alternatively,
their ideas and research, and to build analysts who have strong relationships and
relationships with companies in order to understanding of the companies they cover
understand them and make forecasts. So, will sometimes find themselves gravitating
although the ability to build an accurate toward roles in corporate finance/ capital
spreadsheet model is important, the ability markets or M&A advisory.
to communicate and relate to other people
is absolutely vital. At the highest levels Salaries and bonuses in research
of the research department, superstar
analysts and strategists might find Research jobs are well paid. Below is an
themselves spending nearly all of their time excerpt from our salary and bonus report,
out meeting clients and companies, with a based on 3,500 survey responses from
team of juniors back in the office to do the industry professionals. Figures are in US
background work and come up with the dollars and are an aggregate of all global
numbers and facts to support their views. respondents working in equity research.
Although bonuses are low for juniors in
These attributes are general across the comparison to other investment bankers,
research department. However, there are they can increase rapidly once a researcher
also a few differences between the skills distinguishes themselves from their peers.
Average compensation by seniority in equity research, US$

Analyst $95,490 $25,825 $121,315
Associate $126,067 $32,033 $158,100
VP $128,700 $44,000 $172,700
Director $233,346 $126,700 $360,046
Managing Director - - -

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Jobs in private equity

Prestige What do private equity jobs involve? firm targets mature and stable companies
using a little of the private equity firm’s own
10 Private equity is a vast industry covering cash (or equity) and a lot of money they’ve
Pay a range of investment firms from global borrowed from other sources, including
companies like Blackstone, KKR, and The bank loans.
10 Carlyle Group to hundreds of smaller
players that specialize by geography A good way of understanding how PE firm
Grind or sector such as Vitruvian Partners, make money using the right proportion of
Sovereign Capital, or Bridgepoint. The debt and equity is to compare what they
10 do to what happens when you buy a house.
biggest firms tend to operate beyond just
Competitiveness private equity and invest in asset classes In a market where house prices are rising,
like real estate and credit as well. the more debt a homeowner can borrow,
10 the greater the return they can make when
Fundamentally, private equity firms, also they sell the house. For example, you may
known as general partners (GPs), raise buy a $300k house with $30k equity and
money or equity from investors, which are $270k debt. If you sell the house for $600k,
known as limited partners (LPs). These once you’ve paid the $270k of debt back to
limited partners include big pension the bank, the remaining $330k of equity is
funds, or the offices of wealthy families or yours. It’s the same with PE firms and the
individuals. The private equity firms invest companies they buy. The more money a
the money they raise in buying private private equity firm can borrow, the greater
(unlisted) companies. Private equity firms the leverage and (in theory), the bigger the
then operate these companies along with return.
the existing management team, known as a
management buyout. However, this only works out when your
income meets the monthly mortgage
How do private equity firms make their payments. It’s the same with private equity:
money? Having acquired a company, they the revenues generated by the business will
(ideally) improve the way it operates before need to service the debt. And in a world of
either floating it via the stock market or rising interest rates, servicing that debt is
selling it to another private equity firm or becoming increasingly challenging.
a big corporation. At this point (the exit),
they return the limited partners’ original Why do people want to work in
investment, plus the additional return private equity?
they’ve made, after keeping some of the
extra for themselves. This extra is paid Private equity (PE) jobs are highly desirable.
to senior staff as carried interest, which This is partly because, unlike investment
receives favorable tax treatment. bankers, people in private equity are
actually doing the deals and investing in
Private equity firms also make money companies rather than just advising on
by maximizing the amount of debt (or deals. Job security in private equity is also
leverage) on a deal. Leveraged buy-outs typically much higher than in a bank, and
(LBOs) are deals where a private equity as you become more senior you are paid

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
carried interest – which can be extremely team,” says Gail McManus, founder of
lucrative. Private Equity Recruitment. Working in
M&A or leveraged finance secures the best
How do you get a job in private chance of getting on the shortlist for a job
equity? in private equity.
Historically, most private equity firms like Another way into private equity is by
to recruit junior talent from investment training in transactions services with a Big
banks. This is because banking juniors have Four accountancy firm or by doing private
completed a two-year training program and equity commercial due diligence in a
have a good grounding in the fundamental strategy consultancy.
aspects of financial modelling, pricing
companies, and mergers and acquisitions What are the jobs you do in private
(M&A). In recent years, though, many equity?
private equity firms have started to hire and
train recent graduates of their own. For Working in private equity is all about
example, Big funds like Blackstone now run analyzing good business investments, and
their own training programs – but getting a then beating the competition to acquiring
place can be hard. Blackstone has around an asset. This might be through direct
400 applicants for each of its 160 or so negotiation with a company that a PE firm
open graduate opportunities. has identified as a good target to purchase,
or through a formal auction process run by
For this reason, a first job in an investment an investment bank that’s selling a business
bank is still the best launchpad for a to a group of competing buyers.
private equity career. “Graduates wanting
a career in private equity must get into There are similarities to working in private
an investment bank and get into the right equity and to working in M&A (and this

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
is why junior M&A bankers often move associate before making it to director
into private equity). However, as we noted or principal. If you want to make it to
above, when you’re working in the M&A managing director or principal, it will take a
division of a bank you’ll just be advising minimum of 10 to 15 years.
on the deal. As the advisor, you’ll provide
advice on deals and financing. As the Fund investment jobs and venture
private equity professional, you’ll be the capital jobs
one instructing the bank and the person
actually doing the deal. As well as working as a deal professional
in a private equity firm, you can also work
Both jobs can involve an intense workload. for an LP as a fund investor. Here you’ll
But when a deal is live, it’s the M&A work for a pension fund or the family
bankers that pick up most of the slack. “If office of a wealthy individual and decide
anyone will be working all weekend, it will where to invest. These roles are a lot less
be the M&A advisor, not the private equity competitive and more suited to people with
person,” says McManus. “You’re calling analytical minds who aren’t necessarily
the shots and the advisers are doing the extroverts or highly competitive. LPs are
delivery.” increasingly investing alongside the funds
they invest in on big deals. For example, in
Private equity firms have job titles that are February 2021, Bill Gates’ family investment
similar to those in banks. At the bottom vehicle, Cascade Investment, teamed up
of their hierarchy are the analysts and with private equity firms and pension funds
associates, and this is where you’ll usually to acquire Signature Aviation, a UK aviation
start. Analysts and associates own the services company.
models. That means they’ll be able to see
the cashflows and analyze what needs to You could also consider a career in
be done to make a business perform better. venture capital (VC), a growing area of
Owning the models provides an essential the market. Unlike big LBO houses which
grounding for taking more senior roles in seek ownership of already mature large
private equity. You’ll soon be able to identify companies, venture capital funds take
what makes a good target firm for your smaller stakes in companies and help
private equity firm to invest in. them reach their potential. VCs are big
investors in technology where start-ups
As you become more senior, you will have are looking to disrupt established players
more responsibility for running deals and across industry groups. They also invest in
working with senior executives at the firms companies pursuing zero carbon emissions
you’ve invested in. “If you work for a big as environment, social and governance
global firm which work on the multibillion factors play a prominent role in investment
complex leveraged buyouts, you’ll look decisions. To enter a venture capital
after a tiny part of a big deal. But if you’re fund, you’ll still need a solid grounding
working for a mid-market firm with a £1bn at an investment bank, but more likely
fund, then you’ll be more involved,” says working in a specialist sector team such as
McManus. technology, media and telecommunications.
Some big U.S. firms expect associates to Which skills will you need for a
complete an MBA after a couple of years, career in private equity?
but broadly speaking, if you’re a good fit,
then you can forge a very successful career Private equity firms recruit from investment
at a single private equity firm. banks, so candidates will already have a
basic grounding in finance, reading balance
Associates typically have five years’ sheets and understanding how companies
industry experience and you’ll spend are valued. Strong analytical skills are
another couple of years as a senior essential. But private equity firms are also

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
looking for ultimate all-rounders: people professional means being able to argue
with insightful thinking and the ability to for or against a particular investment
build relationships. opportunity or sector, so a passion for
understanding the inner workings of
“Private equity professionals need to be business is essential.
confident and persuasive but also hard-
edged when it comes to negotiating. They What’s the pay like in private equity?
sell with their eyes and mouths and buy
with their brains,” says McManus. Private When it comes to salaries and bonuses,
equity funds are looking for “Action Man private equity firms usually pay slightly
or Action Woman,” says McManus. You below or on a par with investment
need to make things happen, to be “ultra- banks – and like banks, salaries and
competitive, not let things stand in your bonuses vary significantly depending
way.” You need relationship skills as well: on the firm in question. The real money
“It’s all about winning the deal.” is not in the annual compensation, but
in carried interest, which usually goes
Alongside this, you’ll need to be interested to professionals from around principal
in how businesses work, rather than upwards (although some firms pay carried
simply sitting behind a desk and looking at interest earlier).
numbers, although there is an element of
that as well. “Carry” is derived from the profits that
are made on the LP’s original investment
When assessing candidates for a career in and is typically 20% of the returns (once a
private equity, McManus asks the coffee predetermined hurdle rate has been met).
shop question. “If you’re thinking of buying For example, if an LP invests $1bn, the
a coffee shop, what’s the first thing you’d private equity firm’s carry might be $200m,
do?” If your answer is you’d go and visit which it then distributes to the deal team.
your local shop to see if the toilets are In this way, working in private equity can be
clean, how many people there are, how very, very lucrative (especially as carried
many staff are on a shift and whether they interest is typically taxed as a capital gain).
look happy, then a career in private equity But carry is only paid when deals are exited,
is probably for you. If your instinct is to go so you’ll typically need to wait around five
and find an analyst report on the subject, years.
then you’re probably better off working at
an investment bank. Our compensation guidance below does not
cover carried interest, which varies wildly
If you want to work in private equity, it’s between seniority, experience, and the
important to speak up and have an opinion size of the private equity firm in question
on a particular deal. Being a private equity (measured in AUM, usually).
Average compensation by seniority in private equity, US$

Analyst $83,669 $40,134 $123,803
Associate $126,333 $79,019 $205,352
Principal $183,982 $83,264 $267,247

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Senior associate at

Blackstone
A
dis Asfaw is a Senior Associate at will turn to this list to add new things and
Blackstone Private Equity in New re-prioritize as needed.
York City. She joined the firm in
August 2021 after completing an MBA at 10:00am. I begin reviewing materials on
Harvard Business School. Prior to that, a company we are exploring for potential
she was an investment associate at TPG investment. Typically, we start by reviewing
Growth / Satya Capital and an associate on a management presentation, some
Credit Suisse’s M&A team in London. She operating metrics, and sell-side industry
completed her undergraduate degree at the reports.
Wharton School.
11:00am. I do an expert call in a niche
7:30am. My morning routine is to listen space within technology we are trying
to podcasts like the Daily or FT as I make to learn about. Expert calls are a great
a latte and get ready for the day. I check way to speak with senior professionals in
my emails first thing in the morning and the industry and get up to speed quickly.
anything quick I try to respond to before Following the call, I’ll typically share some
heading into the office. We’re officially back quick highlights from the meeting with my
in-person and one of my favorite times of principal and/or managing director.
day is my 15-minute walk to the office.
12:15pm. We have lunch delivered to the
9:00am-9:30am. I typically get to the office which is very convenient! If it is a
office around this time, but could be earlier slower day, I will typically join a few others
depending on how meetings are scheduled for lunch at the dining booths we have on
for the day. As a Senior Associate, I’m our floor.
a generalist and evaluate investments
across many different sectors. We usually 1:00pm. I review a draft of the model
start specializing from Principal onwards, and materials for ‘office hours’ from an
although we do have flexibility to focus on associate on another project and share
our particular areas of interest. any comments. Office hours here are our
early-stage committees where we have a
My work is very project based. We might more informal discussion on the merits and
be working on our existing portfolio risks of moving forward with an investment.
companies, on early-stage analysis (where We are planning to submit our memo to
we assess public or private companies for committee in a few days, so we are aiming
potential investment), or on a later stage to send a draft to our managing director
investment (where we are in execution this evening.
mode and have retained advisors). Often, I’ll
have several projects running at once. 2:00pm. I have quick sit-down with an
analyst. One of our portfolio companies has
9:30am. To get organized for the day I updated their management plan and we
usually make a to-do list with the things need to ensure this is incorporated into our
that need to get done that day and more internal valuation workstreams.
medium-term items. Throughout the day I

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
3:00pm. I turn back to preparing the office was reviewing in the morning. I share the
hours memo. I am pulling together a draft list with our team in case anyone wants
of the cover text which has high level topics to add anything else before we share with
such as the company history, financials, management.
why we are excited about the deal and
where we would focus our diligence if we 7:00pm. I’ll take a look at the revised
were to proceed. financial plan the analyst shared for our
portfolio company, and we will hop on a
4:00pm. I do a technical interview for a call with the principal to make sure we are
potential associate on our team. We recruit all aligned before sharing the case more
analysts from undergraduate programs, broadly.
associates are typically lateral from
investment banks and senior associates are Sometimes I have dinner in the office or
from MBA programs. depending on deliverables for the night I
will make other plans. I’ve found that these
Our interviews are usually split into office dinners are a great way to build
behavioral, technical and business intuition lifelong friendships early in your career.
interviews. Our culture at Blackstone is
unique with an emphasis on being nice, 7:30pm. I typically try to get a workout in. I’ll
intellectually curious and collaborative. I either use my peloton, a neighborhood yoga
find that investment professionals here get studio or now that the weather’s nicer go
very involved in recruiting because we all for a run outside.
really care about maintaining the culture.
9:00pm. Depending on the day, I
5:00pm. I hop on a Zoom call with another sometimes log back in to wrap up any other
deal team to discuss a new case for one deliverables remaining for the day.
of our models. By now, meetings for the
day are winding down so I can catch up on Midnight. I try to read before bed. I started
some work. a challenge with a friend to read a book
from every country over COVID as a way to
6:00pm. I pull together a high priority list “travel” and I have found it is a nice way to
of due diligence items for the company I end the day.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Serena, Real

Estate Management Associate at
Blackstone, London
Generally, that means reading the FT and
React News. We often get requests from
the acquisitions team to help provide
property data for their Investment
Committee materials so I’ll be speaking
with the analyst on the acquisitions team.
I’m in the asset management team which
looks after properties once they have been
acquired by the acquisitions team and is
also responsible for the disposal (sale) of
any assets.
10:00am. I have a weekly call with our

operating company on the ground in the
Netherlands. We cover several different
topics but start with the development of
an office building. We’re in the “permitting”
phase for an asset, in this case waiting
for local government approval having
received internal approval on the model
and development plan several weeks ago.
We also discuss the leasing plan for a unit
S
that will soon become vacant. We cover
erena graduated from Cambridge what brokers we should use to market
University with a degree in Land the asset and what the appropriate rental
Economy. Having completed an rates and incentives might be, especially
internship in the investment banking in the current macro environment. We also
division of UBS in her penultimate year, discuss how this might impact the returns
she joined Blackstone’s London office as an we are forecasting on our investment. We’re
off-cycle intern in 2018. She became a full- visiting Amsterdam next week to see how
time analyst in 2019 and was promoted to the developments are progressing and have
associate in 2021. a meeting with the local lawyers and banks
so we also discuss the itinerary. Other than
7:30am. My alarm goes off and I start my offices in the Netherlands, I cover logistics
morning routine. I’ll check what emails have assets in the U.K.
come in overnight and whether there’s
anything I need to respond to urgently. I 11:00am. My other deal team has an
usually run to work with a rucksack of my internal meeting where we’re discussing our
clothes and shower in the office. output for the week ahead. This includes
working with the company on materials for
9:15am. I’m at my desk, checking email an upcoming board meeting that they will
and seeing what’s planned for the day present to senior employees in the London
ahead. I’ll respond to overnight inbounds offices (the New York team often join via
and check any relevant real estate news.
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
zoom and the meeting is sometimes done 4:00pm. I have an “all parties” call with
remotely if the company is based further the external lawyers and banks on a live
afield). deal. My job involves a lot of interaction
with other companies and I’m often on the
12:00am. I’ll take 30 minutes to reply to any phone or in communications with high-level
emails that have come in, sending out some players in the industry.
quick responses and flagging anything that
needs a more thorough response for later. 5:00pm. The meetings taper off and I’ll get
back to my main analysis work. I would say
12:30pm. Usually, I’ll go out and grab it’s 80% in Excel and 20% in PowerPoint.
something to eat from a nearby café. During this time, I’ll be working on models
Depending on the weather, I’ll eat outside in but I might also be catching up on emails
Berkeley Square or in the office kitchen. If or sometimes calling the teams responsible
it’s a busy day, I’ll eat at my desk. for managing the properties to check
certain pieces of information.
1:00pm. Twice a quarter we have a division-
wide valuations meeting. We present our 6:00pm. The office orders food in from
deals to senior team members in New a range of restaurants in London. Most
York and have a Q&A based discussion on juniors eat in the office with colleagues and
the proposed valuations of the assets we chat, it’s a pretty sociable event.
manage, this often touches on the macro
and market environment. 9:00pm. Usually I’ll finish up my work and
get a taxi home paid for by the company.
3:30pm. I’ll have a coffee break and maybe How busy I am is driven by deal flow and
catch up with my mentor to discuss how when work picks up around periods of
my work is going and longer-term career reporting.
plans or questions I might have.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Asset management jobs

Author: Sarah Butcher & David Rothnie
Prestige What do asset management jobs in The experience you have will depend on the
banking and finance involve? kind of fund you work for. Broadly speaking,
6 there are two basic kinds of funds.
Pay Large asset management firms are the
backbone of the financial services industry. Passive: Also called ‘index trackers’, passive
6 Part of the “buy-side,” they manage funds mirror the performance of large
huge sums of money on behalf of their financial indices like the S&P 500 or the
Grind FTSE 100. The money going into an index
clients, which include large pension funds,
tracker is put into stocks or bonds in the
7 sovereign wealth funds and retail investors.
same proportion as the in the relevant
Asset management firms aim to increase
Competitiveness the value of clients’ investments over time, index. The advantage for investors is that
and they receive a fee for their services. the fees are low, the risks of human error
8 Unlike hedge funds, which “hedge” are minimal and turnover in the portfolio is
investments and try to make money even also lower. As well as passive mutual funds
when markets fall, asset management run by huge institutional investors like
firms typically “go long” – they invest in Vanguard, exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
products in the hope that their prices will are a good example of passive investment.
rise. For this reason, they are also known They track an index, or a ‘basket’ of assets,
as “long-only investors.” They can also be but are also a tradable security, so their
called “institutional asset managers” – they value goes up and down like a stock on a
manage money for institutions. stock exchange.
The scale of the asset management Active: This is where human skill
industry is huge. Figures from the OECD and experience comes into the fund
show that retirement savings in pension management industry. A team of portfolio
funds, pension insurance contracts and in managers, analysts and researchers use
other vehicles were valued at $38 trillion their expertise and a plethora of research,
at the end of 2022. The biggest pools of quantitative analysis, forecasts and
retirement funds are located in Canada judgement to make a decision on what
and the United States, the Netherlands, assets to invest in with the aim of beating
Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and in the market.
Australia and Japan.
A fund is judged on how far above or
If you work in asset management, you’ll be below it is on a particular index – in equity
helping to manage these enormous pools markets this could be, say, the Dow Jones
of money and helping today’s working Industrial average, but funds also compete
population save for the future. Increasingly, in bond markets and a host of other asset
you’ll also be helping to invest to mitigate classes. It can be hard to beat the index,
climate change and build a better world: but this is the measure of a good portfolio
environmental, social and governance manager.
(ESG) issues are increasingly important
when funds decide where to invest. Active vs passive management is only
one great divide in the fund management

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
industry. Another is top-down versus they think of portfolio managers. Portfolio

bottom up investment. Top-down investors managers, or “fund managers”, are the top
are concerned with a big picture view of a dogs of the asset management world. They
particular sector, asset class or geography run funds on behalf of their clients based
first, before delving into the finer financial on a range of investment experience and
details. Bottom-up investors are more expertise. However, you won’t be a portfolio
interested in the financials of a particular manager from the outset. This is the
company than broad macro themes. This pinnacle of an investment career, and you’ll
assumes that gems can be found even in need to work your way up.
industries that are generally not doing well.
These are the jobs you can do in the asset
Many funds today use quantitative management industry:
methods to analyze markets and determine
where to invest their money, and therefore Investment jobs: This is where you find the
rely less on humans to make decisions. portfolio managers who run the investment
These are the so-called “quant funds.” strategies. They tend to specialize in
one asset class, whether that’s equities,
Career paths in asset management fixed income or property and manage
the day-to-day investment decisions
When people think of asset management, across the funds they look after. In big

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
fund management firms, there are tens work with the risk and compliance teams
of money managers with various areas to ensure any new products will keep
of expertise including multi-asset funds, regulators happy, that a fund’s pricing
which decide on which ‘blend’ of financial structure is correct and that a firm isn’t
investments to include in a portfolio. falling behind competitors in any areas.
However, portfolio managers don’t work in Marketing professionals make sure that the
isolation. right messages about the products reach
potential and existing clients.
Supporting the portfolio managers are
teams of research analysts - their role Marketing professionals today spend less
is all about generating investment ideas time wining and dining clients and more
for portfolio management teams to act ensuring that the fund manager is well-
upon. Research analysts spend their days represented online and on social media.
poring through company reports and
industry insights in order to gain in-depth Business operations: Fund managers
knowledge about particular sectors or employ risk and compliance professionals,
asset classes, which will give the portfolio investment operations professionals
management team an edge over the performing back-office functions as well as
competition. IT, HR, and accounting positions.
Distribution: While investment teams deal If you’re a graduate starting out in fund
with the money management side of the management and you’re on the portfolio
business, distribution teams are all about management track, you’ll start out as an
bringing client money into the fund. analyst.
Sales, or business development Analysts in fund management learn the

professionals, deal with large institutional trade. They study the financial results of
investors, find out what their investment companies, consume huge amounts of
needs are and try to recommend the information and news on the companies
products of their employer. Sales and sectors they cover, and – when
professionals also spend a lot of time they’re good enough - make investment
developing and maintaining relationships recommendations.
with clients in an attempt to increase
loyalty. One of the biggest challenges Some people choose to remain as analysts
any fund manager faces is maintaining throughout their careers. Others move
assets under management, particularly if across to becoming a junior portfolio
performance dips. manager and eventually work their way up
to a portfolio management position.
Traders in asset management firms
execute (place) the trades required to Which skills will you need for a
maintain the portfolio as required by the career in asset management?
portfolio managers. Working as a trader in
asset management is about market timing Working as a portfolio manager at an
and breaking large trades into manageable asset management firm is a specialist
chunks. Algorithms are increasingly used to role, but you can get into the industry with
do this instead of human beings. a generalist degree. Some regard asset
management more as an art than a science,
Product development/management roles and humanities subjects can often be just
ensure that a fund manager is present in all as good a way of acquiring critical thinking
the markets and asset classes it should be, skills.
has the right funds available to investors
in the right markets and that there are Graduates don’t necessarily need a degree
no obvious gaps. Product developers also in mathematics, economics, or computer

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
science to get a job in asset management. years. In analyzing companies and making
They do need to show critical thinking, those decisions, it doesn’t matter what
and a genuine deep curiosity about how subject you studied at university, but you
companies work and what drives human do need to have a passion for finding and
behavior. understanding those companies.”
During your formative years, it’s likely Good people skills are important. For
that you’ll be studying for your chartered example, if you work in a distribution role,
financial analyst (CFA) designation. This is you need to be able to build relationships
an industry standard. with investors. Communication skills are
needed too: portfolio managers need to be
“It’s important for graduates to understand able to understand a client’s needs, and to
it’s not all about numbers! Many investors explain their investment decisions.
and employees today want a three-
dimensional view of their investments, one “Employers today are looking for a broader
of risk, return, and impact.,” said Margaret range of skills from their staff in order to
Franklin, CFA, president and CEO of CFA deliver for their clients,” says Franklin.
Institute. “While technical skills will always a play a
role in an employee’s ability to perform a
Asset managers have historically recruited financial role, the growth of soft skills and
from the same elite band of schools as T-shaped skills – such as the ability to make
investment banks. In the U.S., the University connections and foster lateral thinking –
of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Columbia, will be increasingly important.”
University of Chicago, and New York
University are usually the top five schools Asset managers must also be aware
for fund management employees, while in of a whole range of factors that drive
the U.K. Oxford, Cambridge, and the London growth and performance, particularly big
School of Economics typically dominate. trends such as environmental, social and
However, like much of the finance industry, governance (ESG) factors. “Employees
asset management firms are trying to also must be educated and prepared to
diversity their intakes – which often means respond to client’s investing objectives. This
recruiting from a broader range of schools includes considerations like ESG analysis to
than in the past. underline the impact of their investments,”
Franklin adds.
Alex Torrens, investment manager and
co-head of research at Walter Scott & Salaries and bonuses in asset
Partners, an equity portfolio management management
firm, says: “With a team-based approach,
it is critical that the team functions Asset management jobs can be very well
effectively, and that demands diversity. paid. The eFinancialCareers salary and
For that reason, we don’t rule anyone in, bonus survey suggests that you’ll earn
or out, based on the subject studied or the most money as either a portfolio
the university. Instead, we look for people manager or a trader. On average, analysts
who are inquisitive and curious in nature, and researchers earn the least, but this is
and who have a strong interest in how simply because they are often more junior
businesses work.” than the rest.
Torrens says asset managers value Our data suggests that entry level roles in
cognitive diversity. “Our job is to seek to asset management pay salaries of between
invest in some of the best companies £45k to £60k ($61k to $80k), plus (within a
around the world, companies that will few years) bonuses of anything from £5k to
lead their markets over the next 10 or 20 £50k. The amount you’re paid will depend
upon the size of the fund you work for, and
its performance.
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Aneta McCoy,

global voting policy lead,
State Street
6:30am. I get up, and if it’s good weather
I go walking in a big national park next to
my house. I come back, make breakfast
and take my son to school. But if it’s proxy
season – from about April to June – I start
work early to prepare for voting at various
company shareholder meetings. I set time
aside to review the voting proposals again
ahead of voting deadlines.
8:30am. I check emails. My team gets lots

of engagement requests from our portfolio
companies and we have to keep track of
them to maintain strong relationships.
9:30am. In proxy season, I spend much of

the morning voting. I log into my voting
platform, look at my voting queue for the
day, and keep an eye on it because new
shareholder meetings can be added during
the day. For high-profile companies, I
review the agenda of a shareholder meeting
one or two weeks in advance to determine
if there’s a reason to engage with them
before voting.
A
neta McCoy is an assistant vice
president in the EMEA asset I also look through materials for
stewardship team at State Street shareholder meetings to identify
Global Advisors in Poland. As global voting contentious resolutions – for example,
policy lead, Aneta engages directly with the around executive remuneration – and
companies that State Street invests in – evaluate how to vote. Proposals to approve
often at board level – about their corporate climate transition plans have also recently
strategies, and determines whether voting become more common, and we pay
proposals put forward at shareholder particular attention to them.
meetings are in line with State Street’s
own policies, which she helps to set. Much 12:00pm. I prepare for engagement
of her job has an environmental, social meetings with portfolio companies. I usually
and governance (ESG) focus, for example have at least one or two, lasting for about
discussing a company’s climate transition 45 minutes to an hour each. These are
plan or its approach to plastic waste, with senior people, and they might ask me
human capital management, executive what State Street’s policy is in a particular
remuneration, or board diversity. area, so I have to come very well prepared.
If you’re talking to a chief executive about

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
ESG, you need to walk the talk. proposals and engagements. It’s important
to inform the team of what’s happening,
1:00pm. I have an engagement with a so if somebody else encounters a similar
board member, legal counsel, corporate issue, they approach it or vote on it the
secretary, or CEO. If it’s proxy season, it same way. I lead our policy process globally,
probably relates to the voting agenda. In so I might also take calls at other times
the off-season, I do more general meetings from team members asking me what our
on topics like board accountability, CEO policy is on something. I get pulled in many
succession planning, the company’s ESG interesting directions.
strategy, or its lobbying on something
climate related. For example, I recently 3:00pm. I usually concentrate on policy
spoke with the chairman of a major research work. State Street puts out a
multinational about his firm’s sustainability lot of thought leadership on ESG and
initiatives. other topics. I’m currently working on two
pieces – one about plastic waste and one
This is the highlight of my day – I about ‘just transition’, how companies
ask questions and then inhale in the can help local communities and other
information because I’m often speaking stakeholders as they adapt their businesses
to someone who’s been in the industry for to mitigate the impact of climate change.
30-plus years and they have a lot to say, My research might include speaking to an
not just about their company, but about the NGO. Everything we vote on is based on our
wider ESG arena. policies, and it’s a very rigid process, which
I lead. Our policies are reviewed annually,
1:45pm. We record all engagements, and but it’s an ongoing process, so when I hear
during the engagement I also take notes, something new in the market, I’ll see if our
which I then load onto our platform, so policy on it needs improving.
other analysts can get up to speed quickly
when they talk to the same company. A lot of my afternoon is spent on policy,
Sometimes we work with a company to especially in the off-season, although I
encourage a positive change in an ESG still do some in proxy season. But my work
context over several years, so good record is unpredictable, so I need to be flexible
keeping is vital. – for example I might jump on an urgent
engagement or there might be afternoon
2:00pm. I eat lunch at my desk. I don’t take voting.
much of a break, and I also use this time
to read the news – the Financial Times, 5:00pm. I pick up my five-year-old before
Wall Street Journal, Guardian – because I his preschool closes, and sometimes I
need to know about what’s impacting the spend time with him in the playground or fit
corporate world. If there’s been negative in some shopping.
press about a portfolio company, I need to
react swiftly. But it could be a more general 6:30pm. I log in again to check emails and
development – for example, news around ensure there are no last-minute issues.
the European Green Deal or what the SEC is
doing about disclosure on climate change. 7:00pm. I enjoy spending my evening with
I also look for interesting research reports my husband and son. In summer, after
on, say, board diversity or deforestation. dinner, we might play badminton or go
cycling. At 8.30pm I start putting my son
2:30pm. I have a team meeting about to bed – this ends in us reading books
three times a week with EMEA, APAC and together. It’s a busy day, both professionally
North America. We set up the day for the and personally, but very interesting too –
Boston office, summarise the day for APAC, lots of variety!
and discuss the more contentious voting

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Hedge fund jobs

Prestige What do hedge fund jobs involve? for their investors. Long only funds rarely
achieve returns of more than 10% when
10 Hedge funds used to be the Wild West of investing in ‘safe’ products like European
Pay banking, but have now become far more equities, but top performing hedge funds
institutionalized. They’re typically based in can achieve returns of 50% (sometimes
10 different locations to investment banks. In more!) in a short period of time.
London, Mayfair is hedge fund territory. In
Grind the U.S., it’s Chicago or Connecticut, or – Given that hedge funds have traditionally
increasingly – Miami. charged investors a 2% management
7 fee (2% of the funds they invest) and a
Competitiveness Hedge funds invest money for clients. Their 20% performance fee (20% of the profits
clients used to be wealthy individuals but they earn), this can make working for
10 are now far more likely to include large a successful hedge fund very lucrative
pension funds too. Unlike so-called “long indeed. Everything is geared towards
only” asset management funds (which chasing “alpha” (returns that are above and
we cover elsewhere in this guide), which beyond the “beta” generated by a rising
make money by investing in products that market), so when you work for a hedge
are rising in price, the term “hedge fund,” fund you are laser-focused on investment
comes from the fact that hedge funds try performance.
to ‘hedge’ their bets – they try to ensure
that they can make good returns in any To some extent, all hedge funds are on
market. This means they seek to make the lookout for the same thing - financial
money by investing in things that are falling products that are incorrectly priced.
in price as well as things that are rising. “Hedge funds make money by capitalizing
But how do hedge funds make money in a on market inefficiencies, which are always
falling market? Well, by “short selling.” fleeting opportunities,” says Dominique
Mielle, a former partner at Canyon Capital,
Short selling, or “going short” involves first a hedge fund with $25bn in assets under
borrowing shares (or some other security) management, writing in her memoir
and then selling them into the market ‘Damsel in Distressed.’ Colin Lancaster,
before buying them back again at some global head of macro & fixed income for
point in the future. When hedge fund goes hedge fund Schonfeld Strategic Advisors,
short, it’s betting that the price of the who’s also written a novel on his time in
shares will drop before it buys them back the industry, says the Holy Grail for hedge
again. The profit is the difference between funds is “finding an imbalance” and then
the price it sells the shares at after it profiting from it.
borrows them, and the (hopefully) lower
price it pays when it buys them back before What are the different types of
handing the shares back to organizations it hedge fund?
borrowed them from.
By using short selling and other techniques While all hedge funds are chasing
to hedge their investments, hedge funds imbalances, the imbalances you find will
aim to generate super-charged returns depend on the kind of strategy the hedge

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
fund you work for is pursuing. Some of the price will rise to meet its pair). Arbitrage
main hedge fund strategies are: funds are often quantitative – they use
complicated computer programs to
Long/short: Long/short hedge fund determine what to buy and sell.
managers go long some of the time. They
also go short some of the time. They Event driven: Event driven hedge funds try
go long when they expect the price of a to profit from one-off events. For example,
product to rise - and they go short when when one company decides to buy another,
they expect the price of a product to fall. it will usually pay more than the current
price for the shares and event driven funds
Global macro: Global macro funds can will seek to benefit from this.
go either long or short. They invest to
benefit from global macroeconomic trends. Systematic/quantitative: Increasingly,
Lancaster says global macro hedge fund hedge funds are ‘systematic’ - they use
managers look for imbalances between high speed computer algorithms to unearth
countries in things like economic growth, market inefficiencies and to place trades in
interest rates and central bank reactions. the brief time period when there’s money
They then profit from the moves in that to be made before the inefficiency is
country’s interest rates, or from moves discovered by other funds in the market.
in its foreign exchange, equity, or credit Systematic hedge funds operate across
markets. different market strategies.
Arbitrage: Arbitrage-focused hedge funds Multi-strategy hedge funds: A lot of

seek to make the most of price differentials the biggest hedge funds (like Citadel,
between related securities products. Millennium, Balyasny, Schonfeld or Point72)
At their simplest, so-called ‘statistical are multi-strategy hedge funds: they
arbitrage’ (Stat Arb) funds put stocks into pursue all the above strategies and more.
related pairs. If one pair does well and Hedge funds also vary by the vast range
outperforms the other, it will be sold short of products they invest in. For example,
(in the expectation that its price will then there are credit hedge funds (investing in
fall again). The underperforming stock credit), distressed hedge funds (investing
will be bought (in the expectation that its in credit which might never be repaid), and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
emerging markets hedge funds (investing Hedge fund traders: You might think
in emerging markets). being a trader in a hedge fund is the most
exciting job there is. You may well be wrong.
Hedge fund jobs are less like the Traders in hedge funds are often ‘execution
Wild West than they used to be traders’. Execution traders simply push
the button, or ‘execute’ trades. They don’t
To the uninitiated, hedge funds have a get a chance to devise their own trading
reputation for being at the edgier end of strategies, and they don’t get a chance to
financial services; but over the last two take their own positions on the market.
decades they’ve become increasingly like What they do get a chance to become
banks, and the biggest ones are the global experts in is, ‘market timing’. Execution
multi-strategy funds. traders watch the market closely and know
when’s the best time to place their trades.
These top hedge funds have billions
and billions under management - much Hedge fund portfolio managers: Portfolio
of it from the pension funds and other managers are at the top of the hedge fund
institutional investors that like nice safe tree. They listen to what analysts say and
returns instead of risky mavericks. As Mielle decide how to allocate investors’ money
points out, the sheer size of hedge funds, to achieve the highest returns. They are in
combined with new technology (allowing charge of the whole investment portfolio
financial statements to be accessible (hence the name). Everyone wants to be a
online), regulations (requiring the same portfolio manager. They also make the most
disclosure of all investors), and competition, money.
have eroded many of the market
inefficiencies that hedge funds formerly Hedge fund sales and marketing
thrived upon. professionals: Hedge fund sales and
marketing professionals liaise with
“In the beginning, hedge funds had investors. They help sell the merits of
a rebellious aspect to them, an anti- the fund and persuade investors to hand
establishment mentality, and a certain over their money to be invested. Investor
scrappiness. We wanted to do things relations professionals fall into this
differently, discover new investing ways. We category.
wanted to be original, innovators, inventors,
explorers. It was about thinking creatively, Hedge fund quants: Hedge funds also
outside the box,” writes Mielle. “In the employ quantitative specialists - all the
industrialization age, we started mutating more so if they’re pursuing a quantitative
into the big, stodgy guys ourselves.” strategy. These quants develop complex
Career paths in hedge funds mathematical equations (algorithms)
which tell the fund when to trade in order
If you want to work for a hedge fund, you to make the most money using its chosen
probably envisage yourself as a trader or strategy. Quants who build algorithms work
portfolio manager. However, like investment with quant developers – technologists
banks, hedge funds have teams of support who translate the algorithm into computer
staff working in areas like risk, compliance, software which can implement the
technology, and operations. Some of the algorithm’s strategy.
key jobs in hedge funds include:
Hedge fund risk managers and
Hedge fund analysts and researchers: compliance, legal, technology, operations
Analysts spend their days poring over the professionals: As hedge funds have become
financials of the companies and financial bigger (and more boring), they have
products hedge funds invest in. They help accumulated the sort of support structures
determine the fund’s investment strategy. only previously seen in investment banks.
Hedge funds now have risk management,

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
compliance, and operations professionals. to start off as an intern. But be warned:

These jobs will be similar to banks - except winning a place on a hedge fund graduate
you’ll probably have to be more of a ‘jack of program or internship is exceptionally
all trades.’ It’s normal for compliance and tough. Hedge funds hire a lot less people
legal roles to be blended in hedge funds, for than banks. The hedge funds that hire
example. graduates and interns include:
What skills will you need for a job in Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge
a hedge fund? funds. Citadel offers full time positions and
internships, across trading, quantitative
Just getting into a hedge fund is difficult. research, operations, and software
“The bar is exceptionally high,” says engineering. Openings are available in in a
Ilana Weinstein, the legendary hedge range of locations, most notably in London,
fund recruiter (and founder of The IDW Chicago, New York, Paris, Singapore, and
Group). “There are so few people that can Hong Kong.
meet that challenge.”
Point72 Asset Management runs
What does it take to get a job with a internships and fulltime graduate programs
multistrategy fund? The table stakes at the Point72 Academy. The academy hires
are “good intellectual horsepower, work students in the U.S., APAC, or Europe. The
ethic, training, and a history of results,” summer internship specifically is an eight-
says Weinstein. However, these are only a week program offering training by academy
‘necessary and not a sufficient’ condition of staff, coached by investment professionals
getting hired. “The other things we’re really and mentored by academy graduates. The
looking for under the hood are insatiable summer internships act as a gateway to the
curiosity, self-awareness, a growth mindset, firm’s fulltime academy associate program.
coupled with an intense desire to improve
and learn, and passion.” Millennium Management offers internship
programs exclusively for those looking
Specifically, she says, analysts are about: to work in technology infrastructure
“Idea generation, creativity, independent and technology. However, it does offer
research, and asking the right questions.” a graduate program in investments –
Portfolio managers are about: “Risk involving a year embedded within the
management, portfolio construction, equities team of a bank (UBS), after which
hedging, sizing, the ability to build and graduates will return to Millennium as a
manage a team.” research analyst on one of its investment
teams.
If you want an investment role at a top
hedge fund, Weinstein says it will help DE Shaw & Co, which is 20% owned by
if you come with a record of your own Google’s Eric Schmidt, runs a 10–12-week
performance. Even better will be, “a internship program for undergraduates in
spreadsheet showing what you have a large variety of locations and disciplines.
achieved and what you might have Rival quant fund Two Sigma offers just
achieved if you had been allowed to do the quantitative research and software
things you wanted to have done.” engineering internships, based out of New
The good news is that big hedge funds York.
have become more institutional, they’ve
started running their own campus Balyasny Asset Management offers
recruitment programs and training graduate programs and internships across
graduates of their own. - In the past, they investment and trading, technology and
tended only to recruit people who had first engineering, quant, risk and big data
trained at an investment bank. and business and operations. Balyasny’s
As with investment banking jobs, it helps internships are 8-to-12-weeks long.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
misconception about the hedge fund

profession is that you must be either
a math geek or a sleazy dealmaker to
succeed,” says Mielle. In fact, she says
being a successful portfolio manager
or analyst is also about being able to
communicate complex investment ideas,
innovative thinking, generating new ideas
and having flashes of intuition that can
join up the dots. This might be why Citadel
says it looks for candidates with sound
judgement, good communication skills
and “a whatever it takes attitude,” or why
Two Sigma says it wants people who are
“creative” and have “intellectually curious
minds.”
Not all hedge funds demand a specialist

degree discipline, but for quantitative
positions, applicants will need a degree in a
quantitative-related field.
While DE Shaw is known for its recruitment

There are other internships – these are of quantitative PhDs and coding talent,
just some of the biggest. AQR Capital it also hires “generalist interns” who’ve
Management, Brevan Howard, Capula, graduated in areas like social studies.
Farallon, Man, Marshall Wace, and others
are all known to hire interns and graduates. Salaries and bonuses in hedge funds
We have some more detail here.
The amount that you earn in a hedge fund
Which skills will you need for a will depend upon things like the role you’re
hedge fund career? doing, the size of the fund you’re working
for (its “assets under management”)
If you want a hedge fund job, you’ll typically and the fund’s performance – or the
need to have an excellent academic record performance of your unit within the fund.
and – if you want to be an analyst or a Most hedge funds skew pay heavily towards
portfolio manager – you’ll need to be no bonuses instead of salaries, meaning that
stranger to very hard work. pay can vary considerably by role.
“The game has gotten much harder,” says If everything works out, you’ll be paid a lot.
Colin Lancaster. He categories the best The eFinancialCareers salary and bonus
people in hedge funds as “exceptional survey indicates that hedge fund jobs
decision markets” who spend hours are some of the best paid in the financial
researching the markets. Mielle says services industry. Juniors working in
analysts in hedge funds need conviction analyst/research roles can make $390k in
about their investment ideas – and to be total compensation (salary plus bonus).
willing to defend them when other analysts
or portfolio managers question their Partners are at the top of the pay pile
validity. in hedge funds: they get a share of the
profits made by the fund each year. Funds
While most hedge funds like people with don’t divulge how much partners are paid
mathematical and data skills, these aren’t globally but Citadel’s London partners
enough on their own. “A widespread received an average of $2.2m, each, in
2020.
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Pam Chang,

analyst, Citadel Global Equities,
Chicago
As a small and mid-cap financials analyst
who mostly covers banks in the US and
Canada, I am deep in the weeds in roughly
40 different stocks and provide back-up
coverage on another 20. I have quite a
sizable number of shares to follow, but after
five years I know the stocks in my universe
very well.
P
am Chang is an equities analyst
at hedge fund firm Citadel, where 7:45am. We have our morning meeting with
she covers US and Canadian the whole financials team. The financials
Banks. She joined Citadel in Chicago in trader will give us some color on how the
2017 after working as an associate at an stocks are trading, and on some days of
asset management firm in Boston. Pam the week our macro economist attends too
graduated from Harvard University with a and give us some extra color on the broader
BA in statistics and computer science. economic situation.
6:30am CT. I wake up and check my phone 8: 30am. The market opens in Chicago and
to go through the news and see what I monitor how shares react to any news. I
happened overnight in the markets and with have become disciplined to not stare at
the stocks I cover. I also have a quick look at my monitor watching shares trade or our
Bloomberg chats and sell-side research to team P&L. Instead, I start working on my
see if I have any communications from my investment ideas. As an analyst for a hedge
colleagues in our global offices, or whether fund my primary responsibility is providing
any new viewpoints on my stocks have investment ideas for our portfolio. I am
emerged while I was sleeping. our internal specialist on the stocks in my
sector and my role entails generating ideas
7:30am. I’m usually in the office. I live for financials investments. This means I
downtown and am about a 15-minute need to be aware of all the research that’s
subway ride away. When I arrive, I continue issued and of discussions with company
running through any new information on management. I synthesize this to create
the companies I cover. I’m looking for things actionable ideas for our portfolio managers
like corporate announcements or news of (PMs).
mergers and acquisitions. This can be the
best and worst time of my work day – best Generally, my mornings are focused on
because you never know what the market research activity around the trades we want
will throw at you, and it can be very exciting to get in.
to interpret implications from news of the
day or macro themes. I say it’s the worst 9:30am. I have a call with the PM and
because sometimes you have to rip up your another analyst on the team. We have a
daily schedule and reprioritize depending on three-way chat and bounce ideas off each
what’s taking place. other. Our collaborative approach is helpful
for understanding industry dynamics and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
learning from my team. The way we work job that I really enjoy. Most quarters I will
is distinct from the way equity analysts travel for a few weeks to meet people face
typically work in banks. Here, it’s ongoing to face.
research and interaction rather than about
the production of a discrete piece of writing. 4:00pm. On some afternoons I am active in
Most of the time, my role is to bring these interviewing associates. I started here as an
investment ideas proactively. Sometimes associate myself, and I am often asked to
the PM will come to us with some of his own interview more junior candidates. The PM
thematic ideas – he might be worried about likes to have input from across the team.
big themes like credit or funding, and I will
look at the impact on individual stocks and 5:00pm. I work on my investment ideas.
then present back to him. I put a concise thesis together on my
conclusions and send it to the PM. Aligning
10.30am. On some mornings we have different data points into an actionable
special calls hosted by banks on the investment thesis is one of my favorite
mortgage sector or the rates outlook. I also parts of my current role, and my goal is to
get a lot of calls about research notes that become a PM at Citadel. In that position,
have been published by analysts at banks the focus is more about team building
in the mornings – it can be good to chat to and overall portfolio risk and portfolio
sell-side analysts about their thoughts. construction. Over half of PM’s in Global
Equities have been Analysts at Citadel,
11:00am. I’m a bit of an early bird luncher. including my PM.
We have a cafeteria on every floor and the
pantry opens at 11, so I tend to go right then. 6:00pm. I usually try to stop working around
They serve different food every day, so it’s this time and go to the gym for an hour
easy to have a balanced diet. or so. There’s a gym in my building, but
recently it’s been pretty nice outside, so I go
12:00pm. Once a week at noon we have for a run.
a cross-team financials call. All the other
teams in Global Equities get together on Sometimes in the evenings we have events
a Zoom meeting over lunch (they are still and engagements. For example, this week
eating theirs!) for a big picture review of we have a financials team from New York
what’s going on across the market. Citadel coming to Chicago and they’ve scheduled a
puts a big emphasis on collaboration and dinner with me and some peers from other
there can be a lot of interconnectivity funds. It’s work – we talk about markets and
between subsectors – real estate has a lot the industry – but it’s pretty informal. We
of overlap with banks, for example, so these also can have Citadel team-building events,
meetings are always interesting. either within Global Equities or for the
Chicago office.
1:00pm. I spend a few hours working
through some ideas and update our models. 7:00pm. I usually try to allocate some
personal time for myself in the evenings.
3:00pm. I prepare for a meeting with the I decompress and make dinner with my
management team at one of the banks I partner. Usually I log on to work again for
cover later in the week. This is an important another hour or so just to tie up any loose
aspect of my job. I have the primary ends from the day and review my schedule
responsibility for building the relationship for tomorrow. It makes the following
with these teams. I’ll often meet them in morning a little less busy.
person at industry events, but sometimes
we arrange specific catch-ups. I know most 10:30pm. I try to go to bed at 10.30pm
of the management teams well – we’ve every night. Usually it’s more like 11pm
been working together for several years and because I’ve been reading or staying up. It’s
it’s one of the interpersonal aspects of the become a bit of a bad habit!

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Quantitative careers in finance

Author: Paul Bilkon
Prestige What do quantitative finance jobs derivatives, and structured products.

involve?
7 Risk Management: The measurement and
Pay Quantitative (quant) finance is a broad management of financial risks in trading,
church. Before the financial crisis of banking, insurance, corporate and other
6 2007-2008, the most lucrative jobs applications.
in quantitative finance were found in
Grind Statistical Finance: Statistical, econometric
the creation of the ever-more complex
analysis with applications to financial
6 derivative products. Since the crisis, the
markets and economic data.
emphasis has shifted to risk and complexity
Competitiveness management, regulation, and robustness.
Trading and Market Microstructure:
8 Today, quantitative finance is a catch- Looking at market microstructure, liquidity,
all term that covers numerous different exchange, and auction design, automated
subfields. If you have a quantitative finance trading, agent-based modelling, and market
job, you might be working in any of the making.
following areas:
What quantitative jobs are there?
Computational Finance: Computational
methods, including Monte Carlo, PDE, Creating derivative pricing models:
lattice, and other numerical methods with Derivatives trading, especially exotic
applications to financial modelling. derivatives trading, exploded in the run up
to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and has
Economics: Including micro- and been rising again recently.
macroeconomics, international economics,
theory of the firm, labour economics, and Whereas before the GFC the emphasis was
other economic topics outside finance. on increasing complexity, e.g., the creation
of exotic derivatives, after the GFC the
General Finance: The development of focus shifted to taming complexity and
general quantitative methodologies with increasing the realism and robustness of
applications in finance. Mathematical pricing models. The quants who work on
Finance. Mathematical and analytical derivatives pricing models are referred
methods of finance, including stochastic, to as derivatives pricing quants or simply
probabilistic, and functional analysis, pricing quants. They may also be called
algebraic, geometric, and other methods. Q-measure quants because they work
under the risk neutral (Q) measure.
Portfolio Management: Selecting and
optimizing securities, capital allocation, Applying existing derivative pricing models:
investment strategies, and performance Not all Q-measure quants have the
measurement. opportunity to contribute new derivatives
pricing models. Risk aversion also dictates
Pricing of Securities: The valuation and that instead of developing something new,
hedging of financial securities, their one should go for the tried and tested

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
solutions. Therefore, most quants simply Nowadays though, instead of creating new
implement and customize models that have exotic products, financial services firms
been created by someone else. often manufacture the so-called structured
products. These are pre-packaged financial
This doesn’t mean there’s no room for products for facilitating customized risk-
innovation. You can engineer custom return objectives based on the returns
solutions around existing models. This from certain investible assets. Structured
is why the term financial engineering is products can offer the exposure for specific
often used in preference to quantitative market views and desired risk profiles
finance to describe this kind of work. under the constraints of financial budgets
Financial services firms are prepared to pay and legal frameworks for investment.
handsomely for both these activities.
The experts that work on structured
Quants creating new products: Financial products are usually referred to as
engineering and, more broadly, financial structurers rather than quants, although
innovation often take the form of the the work of a quant and that of a structurer
creation of new financial products. Even has a significant overlap.
though there is a large array of classical
exotics (digital options, barrier options, Quants creating trading strategies:
look-back options, Asian options, options Whereas the pricing of derivatives usually
on baskets, forward-start options, takes places under the risk-neutral (Q)
compound options, etc.), there is still measure, the design and development
scope for new ideas and occasionally the of trading strategies is a P-measure
market sees some radically new and useful activity. This is why those who engage in
products. it are usually called P-measure quants.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Their skillset is often different from that arrives every millisecond, microsecond,
of derivatives price setters: derivatives or nanosecond, whereas quants working
pricing relies on applied mathematics, for longer-term asset managers (more on
such as the solution of partial differential them later) look at hourly or daily returns.
equations and stochastic analysis, whereas
P-measure work relies on different kinds Validating existing pricing models and
of mathematics – such as those described trading strategies: Since the financial crisis,
in the book The Elements of Statistical pricing models and strategies have been
Learning (statistics and, increasingly, subjected to increasing scrutiny. Trading
machine learning). disasters, such as the 2012 Knight Capital
stock trading disruption and the flash
On the surface, statistics appears easier crashes, which happen every couple of
than applied mathematics. It doesn’t involve years in different asset classes, have also
such deeply nested formalisms (e.g., one contributed to the regulatory attention.
doesn’t rely as much on measure theory in Regulatory frameworks, such as MiFID II
statistical work). However, the successful in Europe, require that the nature of the
application of statistical methods to derive trading strategies be disclosed to the
trading strategies with high Sharpe ratios is regulators and stipulate requirements for
a highly challenging endeavor. an audit trail.
P-measure quants vary dramatically in Regulatory attention alone is not the only
outlook and skillsets. There are a few reason why pricing models and trading
successful quants that have developed strategies should be carefully validated.
(or adopted) one or two profitable trading Trading firms themselves are naturally
strategies and have built their careers interested in their validation. Trading
around them. However, this is rare, strategies and, especially, derivatives
since individual strategies are subject to pricing models are often very complex and
alpha decay and what works today may nontrivial. Experts other than their creators
fail to work tomorrow. Therefore, many (and not subject to the same conflicts of
quants invest their time and efforts in interest) are therefore requested to validate
the development of sufficiently general them. This need has given rise to a different
methodologies and frameworks (be it quant specialty – model validation quants.
scientific or software) that enable them to
quickly generate new trading strategies and On the one hand model validation quant
adapt the existing ones. Many trading firms jobs are less “glamorous” than that of the
have taken this activity to an industrial originators of new models and strategies.
level; they constitute “factories” for the They suit the more detail-oriented people
mass production of trading strategies. who don’t like to work under the pressures
Others provide services to these trading of the front office. Model validators work to
firms, e.g. in the form of software, less stringent deadlines and they have the
connectivity, data, etc. opportunity to thoroughly test the ideas
of others (and learn from them). As a by-
Much of the time of a P-measure quant is product of their activities, they are often
spent on backtesting trading strategies responsible for writing the documentation.
and ideas (testing predictive models on
historical data). On the trading floor: The closer you are to
the profit and loss (pnl) made from trading,
When you’re creating trading strategies, the more money you’ll typically be paid
the nature of your job as a quant varies as a quant. Most quants don’t own the
dramatically by trading frequency / holding pnl. Instead, the trading (short-term) and
period and asset class. Quants working for investment (long-term) decisions are made
high frequency trading firms, for example, by others – traders and asset managers.
build their strategies on tick data which

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
However, the boundary between the two quants (see below). Quants who are
roles can be quite blurry. For example, in closer to the money (to the pnl) usually
algorithmic trading businesses the quants get a larger share of the profits. However,
are responsible for developing the trading with this proximity comes the increased
strategies. The role of a trader – in this responsibility: who will lose their jobs first if
context called the book runner – is more the trading strategies don’t perform as well
formal and less creative than that of a as expected?
quant. Since the trading decisions have
already been made by the quant’s software, Quants in asset management firms: Usually
the book runner’s role amounts to vetting the word “trading” is used to describe
or validating these decisions after the fact. shorter-term, tactical decision making,
In practice the quant and the book runner whereas “investing” is reserved for longer-
must work closely together for the trading term, more strategic decision making.
endeavor to be successful. Professional investors tend to be called
asset managers or portfolio managers (see
By comparison if you’re a quant pricing our section on asset management jobs).
derivatives and writing derivatives-pricing
software, you’ll often lack hands on trading Portfolio management jobs are pnl-owning;
and hedging expertise, and you won’t have portfolio managers are responsible for
client relationships. You’ll know in more the bottom line. If their methodology is
detail than the trader how the products systematic (quantitative), rather than
are priced, but it’s the trader who owns the discretionary, they may also describe
dynamic hedging know-how – and it’s the themselves as quants. Or they may be
trader who is usually compensated for it. working with quants, who perform the
analysis for them, but who don’t own the
Many options traders themselves come decisions and therefore don’t own the pnl.
from quantitative backgrounds and have (See the description of a desk quant below).
previously worked as pricing or desk

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Desk quants: A desk quant supplements banking institutions that manage the XVA
the trader/portfolio manager on a trading exposures. These are regarded as separate
desk. Desk quants usually sit on the trading from the traditional risk function.
desk with the traders (whereas derivatives
trading and model validation quants, along Developer jobs: Quants in financial services
with technologists, often sit separately and jobs produce vast amounts of code. This
may work in cubicles rather than on trading code may be in tactical (e.g. Jupyter
desks.) Different trading desks pay different notebooks needed to create and debug
levels of respect to their desk quants. a model) or strategic (e.g. a derivatives
pricing library). Depending on how strategic
Some desk quants are regarded as the code is, it must be written to different
quantitative gurus; others simply perform software engineering standards. Those who
the number crunching required by the write code that will be run in production
traders and aren’t as important. In each must be accomplished software engineers.
case the role of a desk quant is usually Often, quants themselves have this skillset.
based on tighter schedules than that of Some of the best quants are often also
a pricing quant and is seen as part of the some of the best coders. At other times,
front office. the less software-minded quants may rely
on the help of quantitative developers,
Quants in risk management: People with whose job it is to create (and debug) code
quantitative finance expertise often serve rather than come up with new quantitative
not only as risk calculators but also as models.
risk managers. Since the financial crisis,
risk calculation has grown in importance What’s the difference between a
relative to trading; it is seen as a critical strat and a quant?
supporting, nonrevenue generating
function. The importance of quants in finance has
been underlined by the renaming of quants
Risk calculation involves not only to strats. The word strat is an abbreviation
quantitative talent, but also technologists, for strategic analyst. The emphasis
who build risk systems. The robustness has shifted from the nature of the work
of these systems plays an important role (quantitative analysis) to its strategic role
in the bank’s success (or otherwise) as a within the organization.
business.
If you want to be a quant, however, you’re
Risk numbers used to take the form of advised not to look at the title of a role but
VaR, CVaR and related metrics, which at its deeper nature. There are many quant
are heavily relied on to this day. After the jobs, differently named, with different
global financial crisis these metrics have strategic importance (and corresponding
been supplemented by various “valuation compensation).
adjustments” that banks must make when
assessing the value of derivative contracts Career paths for quants in finance
that they have entered into. These are
collectively known as X-value adjustments You might start as a quant in a bank or
or XVA. The purpose of these is twofold: a fund but you don’t have to stay there.
primarily to hedge possible losses due to You have other options. For example, you
other parties’ failures to pay amounts due could move into the financial technology
on derivative contracts, and to determine (FinTech) industry. Fintech refers to the
(and hedge) the amount of capital required technology and innovation aiming to
under the bank capital adequacy rules. compete with traditional financial methods
in the delivery of financial services.
The emergence of XVA has led to the Some larger Fintechs are competing with
creation of specialized desks in many established banks and hedge funds for

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
at universities. More recently, with the

development of specialized quantitative
finance education, pricing quants started
to come from dedicated quantitative and
computational finance programs (such as
the MSc in Mathematics and Finance at
Imperial College, London).
The mathematics you’ll need for quant

jobs: Traditional Q-measure quant roles
consisted in the (often numerical) solution
of partial differential equations (PDEs) and
stochastic calculus/analysis – the classical
applied mathematics.
Such mathematics used to be taught at

mathematics and physics departments of
leading universities. Often quants came
from relativity and string theory and fluid
dynamics backgrounds – those areas where
PDEs and stochastics abound.
quantitative talent. In particular, this applies
to nonbank liquidity providers.
After the GFC, P-measure jobs became
more numerous. Such jobs relied more on
You could also move to FAANG (Facebook,
statistics than on PDEs and stochastics.
Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet -
Accordingly, more people were hired with
formerly known as Google). Many FAANG
statistical rather than applied mathematics
firms hire quants to work on machine
background.
learning and artificial intelligence systems.
Best degrees for quant jobs: In more recent

Not all quants are employed by banks,
years, dedicated mathematical finance
hedge funds, and other financial firms;
programs have been created at most
some work in academia. The pay is lower
leading universities. In addition to such
in academia, but the problems can be a lot
programs, which are usually delivered at
more interesting. As you get more senior
the master’s level, it is nowadays possible
it can be possible to sit in both worlds, and
to obtain a PhD degree in mathematical
to hold an academic job while working in a
finance and/or complete a certification
bank or fund at the same time.
course, such as CQF.
For quants who want to publish research,
The recent ML/AI revolution has further
there can also be opportunities to work
shifted the focus towards subjects
on research desks, or for non-bank
traditionally regarded as computer science
organizations that publish blue skies
– the ML and AI. Dedicated programs,
quantitative research. For example,
such as Imperial College’s MSc in Artificial
Bloomberg has a sizeable research division,
Intelligence, have been created in response
although they are not a trading firm.
to rising demand. Imperial’s MSc in
Mathematics and Finance also includes a
Skills you’ll need for a quant job in
significant ML/AI component – a dedicated
finance track. There are also certification programs,
such as the MLI.
Traditionally, quants have had a background
in applied mathematics of various flavors.
Programming skills for quant jobs:
Sometimes they come from the physics
Programming is as important to many
rather than mathematics departments

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
quants as mathematics. Quants who • Kdb+/q and shakti for big and high-
oversee quantitative libraries need to be frequency data.
well versed in software architecture. • CUDA for programming GPUs in
high-performance computing (HPC)
As well as writing code, quants spend their applications.
time debugging and speeding up existing
code, creating quantitative infrastructure Soft skills for quant jobs: Quants don’t
(eg. the way that different systems use to work in isolation. They collaborate (and
talk to each other, objects are persisted sometimes compete and coopete) with
and stored, and interaction between the traders, structurers, sales, technologists,
quantitative libraries and the underlying risk analysts, and other quants. For this
databases), automating tasks and – most reason, the so-called “soft” skills are just as
recently – applying machine learning. Some important as quantitative skills.
leading financial institutions have dedicated
machine learning teams. At others, Senior quants often end up managing
machine learning research or artificial people and projects. People and project
intelligence implementation is conducted management expertise increases
by regular quants. Banks, hedge funds, and in importance as the quant’s career
trading firms are beginning to adopt new progresses, unless they choose to focus
methods, such as deep pricing and deep purely on the technical side of things, which
hedging. is rarely possible.
Which coding language do you need Quants at various levels of seniority also
to learn if you want to become a have the task of convincing others of the
quant? usefulness and importance of the work that
they do. As usual, there are many sceptics
Modern coding languages have each their around, particularly when it comes to the
respective “ecological niches”: latest approaches and technologies.
• Python for prototyping and research.
• C++ for high-performance production Pay for quantitative finance jobs
systems.
• Java and C# for production systems Given the huge variety of jobs on offer
where software engineering is in quantitative finance, it’s hardly
somewhat more important than surprising that pay varies enormously.
performance (although in some areas The eFinancialCareers salary and bonus
these languages compete with C++ for survey shows that entry level salaries and
performance; see, for example, Azul). bonuses for quants at banks are typically
• Julia attempts to combine the around $95k plus bonuses of around $21k,
advantages of C++/Java/C# with those stretching as high as $218k and $112k for
of Python. salary and bonus. However, you’ll earn a lot
more as a quant in a hedge fund.
Average compensation by seniority for quants, US$

Analyst $94,773 $20,589 $115,362
Associate $144,600 $37,058 $181,658
Vice President $161,147 $37,556 $198,703
Director $217,943 $111,784 $329,727

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Ruizhou Ding,

quantitative research team,
Citadel Securities
R
uizhou Ding is a quantitative have a meeting with the software engineers
researcher (QR) at Citadel Securities. who provide the technical support, data
He joined in February 2020 after and infrastructure for the traders, and
completing a PhD in machine learning with the traders who monitor the market
at Carnegie Mellon University following and are reacting to the changes in real
a bachelor’s degree in electrical and time. Though we play different roles, we’re
information engineering at Peking all focused on the same objective and I
University. usually leave these meetings feeling pretty
energized.
7:30am. I usually wake up between 7:30am
and 8am and start the day by listening 10:00am. When we’re not responding
to financial news via Alexa. I’m based in to market events, I spend the morning
Chicago and if I walk to the office it takes working on my model. My job requires a lot
me about 15 minutes. I try to walk to work of creativity – I’m trying to build a model
to get some exercise, but I usually take the that trades as efficiently as possible and
bus in the winter. this means I need to try a lot of different
ideas. Many of the ideas won’t work, but
8:30am. I arrive in the office and review when I find something interesting, we use
the results of the experiments we ran it to upgrade the model. It’s definitely a
overnight. Our models are complicated job for people who like to think and ponder
and we’re dealing with large amounts of different possibilities!
data—at the order of terabytes—so our
experiments take a long time. 12:00pm. I have lunch and meet with
other QRs. We discuss the news, share
The experiments I’m currently working on the problems we’re seeing and think about
cover the execution element of trades. I’m possible solutions. Citadel Securities
focused on determining the most efficient provides us with lunch, which changes
and least risky way of executing trades. every day, so I never get bored of what’s on
This includes the best time of the day to offer!
trade and the volumes we should trade for
each stock. 12:30pm. I spend the first part of the
afternoon working on my model. This
9:00am. My mornings are dictated both involves collecting data, building a research
by the results of the experiments and by framework, testing it, and analyzing the
market events. If there’s news coming in results. When the results don’t align with
that changes the risk profile of the market, my expectations, I’ll delve deeper into the
then we’ll make some immediate changes data to determine my next course of action.
to our models. I work with our systematic This is a really fun process and sometimes
traders, and in most cases our trading I feel a bit like a detective trying to solving
strategies can handle market news and a case.
don’t need manual intervention, but there
are some instances where we need to make 2:00pm. I have a meeting with some of
immediate tweaks. When this happens, we’ll the other QRs to discuss the model I

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
am working on. They often have helpful improve the prediction accuracy of the
suggestions and provide fresh inspiration. stock prices, the real-time speed of the
models, or the resilience of the trading
2.30pm: I incorporate some of my system. After that, I start to prepare the
teammates’ suggested changes into my overnight experiments for the next day.
model. We are a highly collaborative team
and are constantly learning from each 6:30pm. I usually finish work between
other. 6.30pm and 7pm and I’m home by 7.30pm.
I call my parents in China in the evening,
3:00pm. This is when the market closes in as it’s morning over there. If the weather
Chicago. The pace of work changes after is good, I go biking around Lake Michigan.
the markets close – I have more time for Weather wise, Chicago is very similar to
research and for internal meetings. I often my hometown in China – summers are
read academic research papers that cover very warm and winters are very cold.
problems similar to those I’m trying to It’s a beautiful place to live. In addition
solve. to the scenery, Chicago has some great
restaurants, and I enjoy exploring those in
4:00pm. I have a meeting with my manager my spare time.
to discuss how my work is progressing.
12:00pm. I’m usually in bed by midnight,
5:00pm. It’s time for the changes I’ve made which is pretty late compared to most
to the model throughout the day to go into people. It’s a bad habit I got into while I was
effect, which is exciting and a little nerve- studying for my PhD!
wracking. These changes are intended to

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Risk management jobs in

investment banks and financial
services firms
Author: Ken Abott
Prestige What do risk management jobs in country, and regional levels. About half of
financial services involve? all bank assets in the US consist of loans,
6 making them the largest single source of
Pay If you work in risk in the financial services credit risk, but banks also incur credit risk in
industry, your role will be to help prevent their investment portfolios. This is usually
5 your employer from becoming unstuck by in the form of bonds and in their trading
virtue of any of the things that could cause books, but also through counterparty and
Grind settlement risk (ie., the risk that a trade
a shock to the institution.
doesn’t settle properly). In addition, banks
6 also take credit risk via guaranties and
There are four broad kinds of risk you need
Competitiveness to be aware of: market risk, credit risk, letters of credit.
operational risk, and liquidity risk.
7 Operational risk jobs: The Bank of
Market risk jobs: Market risk reflects International Settlements defines
the risk of loss from changes in market operational risk as the risk of loss resulting
prices, yields, and volatilities and from inadequate or failed internal
correlations. At its heart, market risk processes, people, and systems, or the risk
provides a gauge of sensitivity of P&L, and of loss from external events. Operational
ultimately capital, to changes in market risk typically includes legal risk but excludes
conditions. Its core responsibility is to strategic and reputational risk. Some of
identify, measure, monitor, and control these risks result in actual financial losses,
exposure to these risks in accordance while others lead to inefficiencies, lost
with a bank’s size, risk capacity, and opportunities, and other indirect costs. In
overall risk appetite, and to report on essence, operational risk captures those
these exposures to senior management direct and indirect risks not captured
and the board.1 The fundamental role of by market or credit risk. If you work in
market risk management is to ensure that operational risk, your role will be focused
management is fully informed about the on the maintenance of an effective control
risk profile of the bank and to protect the environment within a firm.
bank against unacceptably large losses
resulting from the concentration of risk. Liquidity risk jobs: Liquidity risk is a
different type of risk altogether and is
Credit risk jobs: Credit risk is the potential one which has come under increasing
that a borrower or counterparty – a person regulatory scrutiny since the 2008
or entity that owes money - will fail to meet financial crisis. Liquidity risk gauges an
their payment obligations. The goal of the organization’s ability to meet its immediate
credit risk management function is to keep cash obligations to its creditors. It sounds
a company’s credit risk exposure within simple, but it’s not. Ready cash in a financial
predefined credit limits. These are usually institution comes from bank balances, the
calculated at the issuer, currency, industry, capacity to borrow, and the ability to sell

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
(or “liquidate”) assets without suffering and leverage IT infrastructure to get

severe losses. Meanwhile, obligations information.
incurred include loan and bond interest and
principal, contractual obligations to lend, Credit risk analysts usually start out by
and derivative securities commitments. doing financial statement analysis in the
Failure to meet any of these obligations case of issuer credit risk. For counterparty
can have severe repercussions, up to and credit risk, new analysts focus on
including bankruptcy. The liquidity risk how expected exposure is measured,
function in a bank measures and monitors aggregated, and reported.
sources of uses of cash, including both
those of a fixed nature and those driven by Many credit risk professionals stay in the
markets and client behavior. credit risk function for extended periods in
their careers. They often manage groups of
Career paths in risk credit analysts and become specialists in
particular industry areas like media, energy,
How your career evolves in risk or hospitality. This specialization requires
management will depend upon the area of them to become experts in their fields
risk you go into. both with respect to the balance sheets
of the companies involved and in the
For example, career paths in market risk fundamentals of the business itself. From
often start out in desk coverage or in the there, some move on to manage credit
reporting function. The reporting function exposure in hedge funds, pension funds
conveys to management and the board and mutual funds. Others can apply their
the risks associated with trading activity, knowledge of how cash moves through a
decomposing them into their core equity, business in the private equity business,
commodity, interest rate, foreign exchange, where financial statement analysis is a core
and volatility components. They aggregate competency.
risks by type and compare them with the
firm’s risk limits, ensuring that risk-taking Operational risk as a career path has only
is within management’s risk appetite. really existed since the early 2000s. The
They also calculate statistical measures people engaged in operational risk since it
of risk, including Value-at-Risk (VaR), became a Basel focal point are thus career
and run stress tests to ensure capital trailblazers, establishing new career paths.
adequacy. This reporting is done on both Currently, many op-risk professionals are
a regularly scheduled and ad-hoc basis. expanding into cyber risk management and
Market risk professionals with quantitative environmental/climate risk management.
backgrounds also move into model risk and In these new areas of interest, the skills
quantitative audit roles. associated with event risk identification and
event reporting are highly valued, as is the
Once you’ve done your time in reporting, development of risk appetite frameworks.
you might move into desk coverage. This
is the process by which teams of risk Liquidity risk management as a discipline
management staff are assigned to cover is also relatively new, although banks have
specific trading desks. These teams are been managing liquidity for years. New
co-located with the trading desks and analysts here tend to focus on particular
are actively involved in the new products areas within liquidity risk like balance
process, model implementation, regulatory sheet management and analysis, repo/
and management reporting, and limits reverse markets, or regulatory reporting.
monitoring. Staff in these areas are There is frequent movement in both
expected to monitor market conditions directions between the bank treasury and
closely and be able to articulate clearly liquidity risk management areas as the
what the risks are in any particular area. skill sets required are fungible. Liquidity
They are also expected to understand risk management skills are also readily

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
applicable in both nonbank financial Quantitative competence is also a must in

institutions and in corporations, where cash all areas of risk management. While there
management is just as important. are certainly many subjective elements to
risk management, its essence lies in the
Which skills will you need for a risk analysis of numbers. Both market risk and
management career? liquidity risk are heavily dependent upon
econometrics, statistics, and of course
If you want to work in risk, you’ll need an finance. There is a great deal of on-the-job
inherent interest in the way markets and training, but having a basic background
companies work, an appreciation of the in these areas is very helpful. Since rates
importance of process, and a core level of of change are often of interest, calculus
quantitative competency. is also important. Counterparty credit risk
is dependent on market conditions and
While many are attracted to the financial therefore it helps to understand markets.
rewards of a career in finance, the primary Issuer credit risk is more focused on
requirement is a curiosity about companies, financial statement analysis because these
products, and markets. You really need to statements reflect a company’s financial
look at the markets and companies the health. Therefore, here, an understanding
way an entomologist studies an anthill or a of basic accounting is essential. An
beehive. People drawn only to the financial understanding of corporate finance and
rewards often burn out. At a minimum, they how firms manage their capital structure is
are often less willing to devote the time and also helpful.
effort required for success. If you are not
naturally drawn to markets, this may not be Salaries and bonuses in risk
for you. management
Process at the heart of everything that Outside of jobs in the investment banking
takes place in risk management. In order for division (M&A and capital markets) and
risk to maintain its key role – to keep senior sales and trading, risk jobs are some of the
management aware of the risk profile best paid in banking. Again, however, you
of the firm and to prevent unacceptable won’t be making over $100k for a few years
concentrations of risk – business activities here. The eFinancialCareers salary and
need to be carried out in a regular, orderly bonus survey puts salaries and bonuses for
fashion in a way to which everyone involved risk management professionals in London
agrees. This is obviously easier in small at the levels below. As a junior, you’ll be an
organizations but is absolutely crucial in analyst. It usually takes over a decade to
large ones. become a managing director.
Average compensation by seniority in risk, US$

Analyst $77,544 $6,026 $83,569
Associate $81,518 $21,349 $102,867
Vice President $152,088 $25,074 $177,162
Director $194,511 $60,808 $255,319

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Technology jobs in banking

and finance
Author: Sarah Butcher & industry insiders
Prestige What do technology jobs in banking planning rather than day-to-day

and finance involve? functioning. A core team might embark on
5 a technical strategy for a user interface
Pay So, you want to be a developer in an and develop a framework that starts to be
investment bank or financial services used by business-aligned teams. If you’re
6 firm. Congratulations. Even if the industry someone who mostly wants to interact with
doesn’t always have a great reputation, it’s other developers and be able to keep up
Grind with industry trends, then core teams are
a worthwhile career.
the way to go.
4
Before you embark on a technology job
Competitiveness in a bank, it’s worth considering that your Middle and back-office technology jobs: If
experience will vary hugely depending upon you work in the middle or back office, you’ll
7 which area you work in. find a whole host of teams doing different
types of work. There are compliance and
Front office technology jobs: A lot of people regulatory technology teams who often
want to work in this space when they first have to work to externally mandated
start out. Front office technology is sexy. deadlines. You also have market risk,
If you’re a front office technologist, you’re payments and settlements, valuation
going to be allied to a line of business. Think control, and capital management.
commodities, equity derivatives, rates,
portfolio managers in asset management, If you work on middle or back office
or maybe even a banking team. technology requirements, your clients will
be teams in operations, in financial control,
As a front office technologist, you’ll be in compliance, or in any other non-revenue
developing tools like trade and position generating team. Things tend to be a bit
blotters or creating pricing engines in more relaxed than front office, and you’ll
partnership with quantitative research (see be more likely to use industry standard
our section on quant careers) and market tools and languages. Some of the roles in
data teams. compliance (Regtech) can be interesting
and involve the use of natural language
Sounds great? Well, the bad news is that processing (NLP) and AI.
front office technology teams often run
very lean. They can have arduous support Infrastructure technology jobs:
rotas and a lack of investment in adopting Infrastructure technologists work on the
strategic frameworks and renewing tech technological framework that underpins the
stacks. The most important work is given bank. This includes cybersecurity and cloud
to trusted individuals, and work tends to be computing.
very atomized. Front office technology can
be both stressful and boring. If you work in infrastructure technology,
your clients are other developers. There will
Core technology jobs: Core technology typically be highly skilled specialists hired
teams are where the long-term strategic in this area – with ‘fellows’ or ‘distinguished
work is done. This is about long-term engineers’ more common than elsewhere in

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
banks’ technology teams. and delivery milestones. Project managers

are often used to arbitrate between
Business analyst jobs: Business analysts different teams for complex projects.
are the people who intermediate between
the business and developers. This is a role To a large degree they are little more than
that’s going out of fashion - banks want secretaries, but the senior ones are paid like
‘T-Shaped’ developers. What they mean by technical architects. If you’re a developer,
this is that they want to cut costs and have this can be particularly infuriating.
developers talk to the business directly –
pretending that complexity and interaction Data science jobs: Data science jobs
over multiple silos doesn’t exist. There are arguably need an entire section of their
fewer people working in business analysis own in this guide because, as data
now than before: graduate tracks for proliferates, banks and funds are building
business analysis no longer exist at some armies of data specialists. Hedge funds
banks. especially are increasingly trying to get an
edge by looking at “alt data” sources, like
Project manager jobs: Project managers are information on footfall in shopping malls, or
some of the most infuriating people for the sentiment on social media.
average developer to deal with - they put
meetings into developers’ calendars to talk Data jobs in finance fall into various
about project timelines, why things are late, categories, and your role and skills will vary
INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
with each. For example, if you’re a data your second language based upon the role
engineer you’ll need to take the raw data, you want. If you want to work on trading
clean it, move it into a database, tag it and execution algorithms, learn Java. If you
make it easily accessible. If you’re a data want to work on derivative pricing, learn
analyst, you’ll develop visualizations to C++. If you want to work on user interfaces
interpret the data. If you’re a data scientist, (UIs), you could also learn Javascript. If you
you’ll work with the business and with data want to work on tickdata level work, there’s
engineers to develop machine learning Kdb/Q. The list is endless.
algorithms that are trained on the data
and can make suggestions relevant to the Salaries and bonuses in technology
business. jobs in banks
Coding languages you’ll need for If you work in a technology job in an

technology jobs in finance investment bank, you won’t get paid as
much as if you work in sales and trading or
Python is the number one language used M&A and corporate finance, but you will still
in finance. It’s used for data analytics and get very well paid. The eFinancialCareers
for data investigations and interrogation. salary and bonus survey puts the average
Python is also the language of machine salary for financial technologists globally at
learning and AI, and as AI becomes more $140k (including salary and bonus), which
widely used in finance, so does Python. works out at £107k. The average bonus was
$47k (£36k) across the board.
Java is also widely used, including for the
broad decision-making within algorithmic Pay is heavily staggered, with juniors
trading code. C++ is used for the high- (analysts and associates) receiving rather
speed elements of trading systems. Java miserable bonuses, all things considered,
derivatives like Scala are used for data compared to their peers in other parts of
ingestion and languages like R and MATLAB the bank ($2k and $7k, respectively). Whilst
are used in bespoke research scenarios but things do take a healthy upswing at VP and
are losing ground. Director level, it’s only at MD level where
things begin to shine and technologists
The languages you choose to learn should begin to earn bonuses of around half their
therefore depend upon the sort of banking salary for the year.
technology job you aspire to. It will almost
always help to know Python but choose
Average compensation by seniority in finance technology, US$

Analyst $79,100 $2,094 $81,194
Associate $82,989 $7,171 $90,160
Vice President $145,382 $39,159 $184,541
Director $184,418 $63,291 $247,708

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Fiona Wharton,

executive director, domain
architect, UBS
F
iona Wharton is a domain architect function, Financing serves hedge funds,
at UBS in the firm’s Chief Digital and investment managers, sovereign wealth
Information Office. Based in London, funds, and global family offices, providing
she is responsible for the technology prime brokerage, equity swaps, clearing
architecture for the investment bank’s (listed and OTC products) and stock borrow
financing business. She has worked for lending activities. Collateral services are
UBS for 17 years after a 15-year career as a also supported. In much the same way that
consultant at Accenture. an architect will design a new building, I
work closely with the Financing business
6:00am. I wake up early and focus on to help them make the best decisions
getting myself ready before trying to get on application structure and style (eg,
my teenager out of bed at 7am. If he’s not microservices and layered) combined with
downstairs by 7.30am, I start calling for architecture characteristics that include
him as I don’t want him to be late. When availability, reliability and scalability.
he appears, we have breakfast together
before he heads off to school on time, thus I also ensure there’s adequate governance
avoiding detention. I live in Hackney, and and that the architecture we’re
the London office is around 4km away. I’m implementing is fit for purpose and cost
there three days a week and I usually run, effective. My role is about the technology
bike, or walk in – I try to build as much landscape and I’m responsible for around
exercise into my daily routine as possible to 150 apps where we control the code base.
avoid the need to go to the gym. That requires a lot of coordination and a lot
of meetings!
8:15am. Clear communication is important
to my job. That means I usually start the 10:00am. I have a meeting with a project
day prioritizing urgent emails. Most emails manager about moving applications to the
are from my UBS colleagues, but I do cloud to review the challenges faced by
receive external emails, particularly when impacted teams and discuss solutions to
I’ve been at a conference, from vendors and address these. Cloud migration is critical
others sharing information they think I’ll be component of our overall IT strategy, which
interested in. will yield significant benefits including
increased agility and speed to market, IT
9:00am. My meetings begin! Teamwork is innovation, cost transparency and better
essential. It’s also half the fun: managing infrastructure utilization.
people and complexity. As a domain
architect for the Investment Bank’s 11:00am. I have a meeting on governance
financing business, my role is to design a with another member of the team. This
blueprint of the IT systems, working with is to confirm that the changes we’re
the business to ensure they have the right implementing are in line with established
technology in place to help be successful principles and approved architecture
in their roles. If we get the tech right, patterns.
everything else in this highly complex
business can work smoothly. As a business 12:00pm. I take time to have lunch and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
I deliberately use this time to engage in development lifecycle. When I had enough
personal activities – a little “me time.” Once experience, I specialised.
a week I sing with the UBS choral society,
another day I volunteer at a local primary 3:00pm. Staying up to date on new
school and play games with the children developments is essential in my role. I
to help them learn their times tables. On attend a fintech presentation on new
Fridays, I work from home and play tennis! technologies, since part of my job is to
Other times I either have lunch with a understand how technology evolves and
colleague or grab something to eat at my ensure we are constantly thinking outside
desk of the box.
1:00pm. There’s a meeting to discuss 4:00pm. I have a meeting on data. Our

the implementation of a new system emphasis right now is on building a data
and discuss how we align this with the mesh for the investment bank. This is an
business’s priorities. This meeting focuses innovative approach that has considerable
on content architecture and design: using advantages over how we approached data
technology to get from A to B. They’re often in the past.
refined brainstorming sessions and a place
where we can be quite creative. I love that 5:00pm. I have a design authority meeting
part. with the US team where we review the
architecture options and recommendation
1:30pm. The US comes online and, as we’re for a new application
a global team, this can be a busy time
interacting with members of the team in 5:30pm. There’s a daily wrap meeting
the Americas. towards the end of the London working
day. I don’t attend every day, since this
2:30pm. I have a meeting with one of my meeting is focused on individuals with
direct reports where we focus on reviewing production responsibility for each of our
the architecture for a new cloud hosted apps, but I will attend if we have had any
application and discuss progress on the resilience issues. Resilience and uptime are
target architecture for that domain. I’m of paramount importance to us, and we are
also a chapter lead at UBS, which means working proactively to ensure there are no
that I look after the careers and skills of production incidents.
employees that want to be architects like
me. 6:00pm. My meetings usually end, and
I have an hour to go through my emails.
It takes years to become an architect – I usually leave at 7pm and I try to avoid
that’s what makes it so exciting. You need logging on again until the next morning.
to have experience in diverse technologies, I used to logon in the evenings, but I’ve
frameworks and platforms and you need to found it’s not often necessary because
have knowledge of the business. There are when you’re an architect, you don’t face
different routes you can take to become emergency requests – although I can
an architect – some people start out as an always be contacted if necessary.
engineer and go down a technical path first;
others go down a systems development I usually spend the evenings exercising
path and learn about individual systems or chilling out. I try to be in bed by 10pm,
before understanding how the systems which is much earlier than it used to be.
come together to create a broader I have focused much more on my health
architecture. I went down the systems path as I’ve gotten older! At the weekend I play
– I have a finance and business background tennis, both days if I can, go for dinner/
and then taught myself to code and took theatre or both, meet friends and chill out.
a job where I worked on the full system

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Geraint Harcombe,

technology team, Citadel
Securities, London
G
eraint Harcombe is a software and they’ve spanned the whole lifecycle of
engineer on the fixed income a trade. Though the deliverables and team
market making platform at Citadel differ from project to project, they have all
Securities. He joined in September 2020 had a direct impact on the business. I really
while working toward a PhD in Physics at enjoy seeing my work in action.
Cambridge University.
Right now, I’m developing a new quoter.
7:00am. I wake up at 7am and whenever This is a program that connects to an
possible I like to jog to the London office. I exchange and places orders according to
live about five miles away. The office is right a given trading strategy. I’ve previously
in the City, near Moorgate Station, which is worked on book management tools (tools
a cool place to be. that the middle office uses to manage our
swaps portfolio) and reporting tools. All of
8:00am. I arrive at the office, head to the projects, whether for the front office or
the showers that the firm provides for the middle office, help move the business
those who run or cycle to work, and have forward. For example, if we want to trade a
breakfast, which the firm provides every new product, we can’t do anything until the
day. I respond to any emails and Slack reporting systems are built. The diversity
messages that have come in overnight. My of the work and the impact it has makes it
job involves working on the platform that interesting.
supports Citadel Securities’ institutional
market making activities across swaps and 10:30am. I have a break for a coffee. There
bonds. The platform enables all human are lots of really good coffee shops near
and algorithmic trading, strategy research, the office and we usually go as a team. It’s
position and risk management and post- a part of the day that I find really enjoyable.
trade reporting, so I work on a wide range Sometimes we talk about work, sometimes
of projects. We mostly code in C++ and we just talk about the weekend. It’s a social
Python, and our team moves very quickly, part of the day.
releasing new code every few weeks.
11:00am. I’m back working on my current
8:30am. Mornings are usually quieter for project. I did a lot of coding in my PhD
me. Much of our team is in the US and program, but this is very different. As a PhD
we have team meetings when they come student, I wrote a lot of code alone, but it’s
online in the afternoon. The morning hours the opposite when you are part of a larger
are generally when I’m most productive in firm. Here, there’s a lot of skills transfer and
terms of writing new code. a lot of training, with lectures, coding and
bootcamps on an ongoing basis. We have
I’ve been here for 18 months and have a great culture of code review, and while I
experienced a range of different delivery often code on my own in the mornings, the
timelines – anything from two weeks to six afternoons are much more collaborative
months. I’ve also worked on different types and I really appreciate the input I receive
of projects, including projects on my own from my colleagues, who are at the top of
and those where I’ve been part of a team, the field.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
1:00pm. I grab some lunch from the kitchen 3:30pm. Comments have come through on
to eat at my desk. The teams in New the pull request I made. I have a whiteboard
York are coming online and I usually have session with other technologists and
conversations with them over Slack while discuss which changes need to be made
I’m having lunch. before I finish the code. If there are small
tweaks to be made, I try to implement them
1:30pm. After lunch I typically make while they’re still fresh in my mind.
a pull request and participate in code
reviews. The pull request is when I ask 4:30pm. I have some interviews with
other members of the team to share their prospective candidates. The technical bar
opinions on the code I’ve created in the is very high here: we’re a small team of
morning. It often leads to opportunities for self-starters and we look for people who
me to make changes and improvements really enjoy a challenge. We have quite a
and has been a great source of learning. few interview stages – I conduct some of
I ask senior developers for their opinions the initial phone interviews and if those go
on my code on a daily basis and they are well, candidates are invited in for a day of
very generous with their time. I review code interviews with four or five other people.
myself too. Everyone here, regardless of During these interviews, we usually run
tenure or title, is encouraged to review each through a challenging problem together
other’s code, and it’s one of the key ways we and I answer their questions about Citadel
learn from one another. Securities and what it’s like to work here.
2:30pm. I have a meeting to discuss 6:00pm. I usually wrap-up around 6pm and
the status of my current project. The head home, though sometimes I work later
technology team I’m part of is based in or have weekend work. I generally set my
London and New York and we have a lot own schedule in that regard and am driven
of cross-team collaboration. We also work by a desire to deliver for my team. When I
with other technology teams within Citadel wrap up for the day, I don’t run home – I’m
Securities, such as equities, options or more of a morning person! It’s fun to be a
shared infrastructure. I typically meet with young person in London, so I often meet
other technologists and with the project friends at the gym or cook for them at
manager and team lead. We assess which home.
tasks are left, and how we’ll divide them
between us. 10:30pm. I’m in bed by 10.30pm or 11pm.
I’m not the sort of person who can survive
3:00pm. I have a meeting concerning on five hours of sleep a night – I need a
a project that’s coming up. The head of lot of sleep! At Citadel Securities we work
our team is very good at communicating hard, but there’s also a lot of attention to
what’s in our book of work for the coming well-being: the firm is investing in you for
six months and we meet regularly on a the long run and trusts you to manage
one-on-one basis to discuss what I could your time and your workload. There’s never
work on next. I also meet up with the a shortage of interesting and meaningful
product managers and the product users work to be done, and I know there’s more in
to discuss what their ongoing requirements store for tomorrow.
are. The principal users of our products are
quantitative researchers and traders, and
we work very closely with them.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Compliance jobs in banking

and finance
Author: Ken Abbott
Prestige What do compliance jobs in banking compliance function within financial

and finance involve? institutions has grown dramatically
4 since the financial crisis of 2008. While
Pay In financial services, the compliance compliance has always been important, the
function serves two key purposes. Firstly, explosive growth of regulation as a result of
5 it ensures that the institution operates the weaknesses exposed by the crisis has
within all applicable laws, rules, regulations, brought compliance needs into sharp focus.
Grind
and standards. Secondly, it creates and
The specific duties of compliance officers
6 maintains a “compliance culture”.
vary by institution, but core compliance
Competitiveness The compliance team ensures that an jobs can roughly be categorized in four key
institution operates within the rules and areas.
6 regulations applicable to its specific
lines of business. You could say that Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know
compliance operates as an internal police Your customer (KYC): KYC due diligence is
force, monitoring behavior and tracking conducted for both new and existing clients
adherence to specific rules and regulations. and investors. It’s an ongoing process: the
Laws are typically created by government origins of investors’ funds can change over
bodies and administered and enforced short periods of time. There are two key
by government agencies. These agencies objectives to each due diligence exercise:
create rules that firms must obey. The a) the identification and verification of
interpretation of these rules requires both investor’s identity and b) determining the
a thorough understanding of the law and ultimate purpose of the investment.
an appreciation of the practicalities of
the businesses affected. The compliance Anti-money laundering (AML) programs
function provides this interpretation. are a key to compliance. AML staff review
the details about new and existing clients in
Compliance is also responsible for the terms of their locations, their relationships
establishment and maintenance of an with others, and the laws applicable to
appropriate compliance culture within a them. The key elements of AML include
firm. That involves not only line-by-line training staff to spot money laundering
review of the rules and regulation, but issues, client due diligence, the designation
also the education process as well as the of an AML officer, independent testing, and
creation, along with senior management governance documentation (policies and
and the Board of Directors of a compliance procedures).
program for the entire company. This notion
of a “compliance culture” goes well beyond Compliance Risk Management: Financial
the employee training. It’s about influencing institutions of all kinds require governance
behavior and setting expectations so processes to be carried out and monitored
that adherence to rules and regulations to reduce the risk that regulations are
becomes second nature. infringed. Compliance risk managers look at
everything from the compliance reporting,
The importance and influence of the to roles and responsibilities within the

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
compliance function, the disclosure of manage the information flow to the board
information about transactions, insider of directors and senior managers, ensuring
trading prevention, secrecy and privacy, that they’re fully aware of the compliance
recordkeeping of transactions and risk profile at the heart of the bank.
complaints, and potential conflicts of
interest. Career paths in compliance
Business conduct: These jobs are about There’s no specified background for a
embedding a firm’s culture of compliance career in compliance, but it’s also not
and code of ethics into specific business uncommon for people with a background
practices. Adherence to the specified in law, business, accounting, or finance to
requirements is constantly reviewed. move into compliance jobs. If you have a
legal background, for example, you might
Compliance monitoring, documentation, find it possible to immediately apply your
and reporting: Information flow is a key knowledge of relevant securities laws and
part of the compliance process. If you regulations.
work in monitoring, documentation, and
onboarding, you job will involve keeping an If you’re not coming from a legal position
eye on how clients are being on-boarded, and are looking for an entry-level
on transaction flow and on policies and compliance job, you might find that you
procedures to maintain an effective control start out in the “control room”. The control
environment. Technology has made these room is responsible for the maintenance of
roles much easier: compliance monitoring the information “wall” between the public
professionals now have easy access to side of the institution dealing directly
data about trades, clients, conflicts, and with investors and the private side which
market practice. Their role is to aggregate, has access to non-public, confidential
report and interpret this data. They also information.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Other entry-level compliance jobs include Investment and International Compliance

screening clients for criminal activity Association.
(KYC), ensuring that antifraud checks are
carried out; performing due diligence on Which skills will you need for a
payments to make sure funds aren’t being career in compliance?
used to finance illicit activities (AML); or
providing information to regulators and If you want a job in compliance, it will help if
law enforcement agencies. Ultimately, you have the following skills.
these functions are all managed by senior
compliance managers, but there are plenty Legal and regulatory skills: More than
of junior opportunities too. The nature anything else, you’ll need an understanding
of your job in compliance will depend of the legal and regulatory framework
partly on the kind of firm you work for. For surrounding both the business you cover
example, in a small institution like a start- and the overall financial services industry.
up hedge fund, a compliance officer could The regulatory environment is constantly
wear several hats including customer and changing. You’ll also need to be acutely
payment screening, managing people and aware of the changes and the implications
writing policies. If you have a compliance for the way business is done. Failure
job in a big bank, your work is likely to be to do so may have severe financial and
much more specialized. reputational costs.
Ken Weiller, a veteran compliance and Communication skills: Good compliance

operating professional with experience in people have excellent communication
both banks and the hedge fund industry skills. While this requirement is not unique
says compliance professionals in hedge to compliance, it is particularly important
funds have become more prominent given that a major component of the job
in recent years. “The compliance staff involves the explanation of often-complex
interacts regularly with the rest of the rules and regulations. Compliance is
firm on multiple levels; by setting policies often called to provide interpretations of
and being the point person for their complicated rules that must be understood
implementations,” says Weiller. He says by everyone form new hires to senior
that compliance professionals in hedge management.
funds have responsibilities spanning
everything from approving and regulating Problem solving and critical thinking skills:
employees’ personal trades to participating You’ll need to be a good problem-solver.
in decisions about the allocation of The rules are not static. Compliance
expenses to investors.“ officers are charged both with addressing
current issues and anticipating potential
At many firms, Compliance personnel are new ones. They must have a good sense for
involved in daily trading/research meetings the direction of business practice and the
as well as being members of firmwide evolution of the laws and regulations.
committees dealing with areas such
as valuations and conflicts of Interest,” People skills: Compliance issues affect
Weiller adds. If you want to get ahead in everyone in an organization and staff must
compliance, there are various professional be able to establish good relationships from
certifications for compliance officers the top to the bottom. This requires an
that can differentiate you. The American ability to “read” individuals and to develop
Bankers Association offers one in the U.S., relationships that span the organization.
for example, as does the Independent This can be tricky; compliance sometimes
Community Bankers Association (if you has to say “no.”
want to work for a community bank). In the
UK, compliance qualifications are offered by Business acumen: Compliance people
The Chartered Institute for Securities and need to understand the functions they

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
cover. They must be seen as promoting to be “above the fray”, and capable of
the interests of their internal clients and making the right call even when it may be
not labelled as the “business prevention unpopular.
department.” Being called “commercial”
is one of the highest compliments a Salaries and bonuses in compliance
compliance officer can receive.
Compliance jobs are not the best paid in
Technical knowledge: Technology is financial services, but they won’t pay you
changing rapidly in financial services. badly either. If you work in compliance, you
Compliance professionals need to probably won’t get a bonus that’s many
understand technology infrastructure. The times bigger than your salary, but you’ll still
rise of crowdfunding, use of cryptocurrency, get a bonus that’s a lot bigger than those
growth of digital banking, and increased on offer in many other industries.
reliance on cloud storage mean that today’s
compliance professionals increasingly The eFinancialCareers salary survey
need technical expertise. Compliance is suggests that starting salaries for
increasingly about the way that data is graduates taking compliance jobs are
collected, aggregated, processed, and around $58k, plus a $7k bonus. Just seven
stored. or eight years into your career, you could
expect to make $147k, plus a $28k bonus.
Personal integrity: Compliance officers However, more experienced compliance
are often called upon to make difficult professionals – those with around a decade
decisions. They need a keen sense of right or two of experience – are on salaries
and wrong. Banks rely on compliance to of $273k plus bonuses of $68k – so
define the often-vague restrictions written compliance isn’t badly paid either.
into laws. Compliance professionals need
Average compensation by seniority in compliance, US$

Analyst $57,828 $7,379 $65,206
Associate $66,458 $5,488 $71,945
Vice President $146,622 $27,800 $174,422
Director $197,519 $54,005 $251,524

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Accounting and finance jobs in

banking
Author: Ken Abbott
Prestige What do finance and accounting accuracy of reported financials. They make
jobs in investment banks involve? sure the bank complies with accounting
4 regulations like GAAP. The duties of a
Pay The finance and accounting teams in banks controller involve ensuring the business
fulfill four discrete purposes. They are: operates efficiently and records its
5 transactions accurately. FC responsibilities
i) Commentators: Commentators explain often also include reporting and payments
Grind to taxing authorities.
the numbers. They describe what took
5 place during an accounting period and why.
Financial reporting jobs: The financial
Competitiveness ii) Business partners: Business partners reporting function is responsible for the
work closely with the business on value disclosure of financial information to
5 creation and the planning process. The also stakeholders (e.g., Shareholders) about the
ensure the completeness and accuracy of financial performance and overall financial
transaction reporting and the accuracy of position of the firm. The reporting function
P&L (profit and loss reporting). provides regular information about the
firm’s position and performance to a broad
iii) Scorekeepers: Scorekeepers maintain array of users. It provides information to
the firm’s books and records for investors management for the purpose of planning,
and regulators. In this way, they provide benchmarking and decision making. It
investors and other external people a provides information to investors, and to
method by which to assess the bank’s creditors about the financial condition of
performance. the company. And it provides information to
shareholders and the public.
iv) Custodians: Custodians are about
governance. They ensure that policies, Product control jobs: Product Control is
procedures and regulations are strictly responsible for keeping track of daily profit
adhered to with respect to financial and loss (P&L), along with its explanation
reporting. and attribution for a particular area. They
also monitor transactions to ensure they
These are the broad functions. If you’re are within specified size and risk limits.
joining as a trainee, you’ll likely get an They are also responsible for ensuring
opportunity to rotate between different that traders in investment banks mark
jobs in accounting and finance, but it’s good their trading books to fair value prices.
to have an idea of what might suit you best If you have a job in product control,
from the outset. you can therefore expect to produce,
analyze, explain and validate daily P&L
Financial control jobs: It’s the financial for trading books. You will also need to
controllers who are responsible for the ensure appropriate the establishment,
accounting processes within a firm. They classification, and maintenance of
produce financial reports and maintain books according to GAAP and regulatory
official books and records. They establish requirements.
controls to reduce risk and enhance the

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Business planning and analysis jobs: tax-efficient booking model.

BP&A develops and implements business
plans. These are strategic jobs within the Accounting policy jobs: The accounting
accounting and finance division: you’ll policy team is responsible for maintaining
be defining business strategy to meet the principles, rules and procedures that
performance objectives. The people in are chosen and followed by management in
BP&A identify and propose solutions for creating and reporting financial statements.
business needs, analyze complex risk and They look at issues like the consolidation of
mitigation procedures, and keep an eye out accounts, impairment, revenue recognition,
for potential issues for which they develop depreciation methods, goodwill, fair value
solutions. principles, disclosure, and pricing.
Tax jobs in banks: The people in the tax Investor relations jobs: Investor relations
department are responsible for ensuring are for multi-talented people. They require
that tax returns and financial records are knowledge of finance plus communication,
prepared and reported in compliance marketing, and compliance. Investor
with tax law. Their job is to minimize tax relations is all about enabling clear
liabilities within the rules established by tax and effective communication between
authorities. They consult with the business a company, its shareholders, and the
on structuring issues as well as maintain a investing community. IR coordinates

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
meetings for shareholders and the press, accounting and finance roles tend to be
releases financial information, and provides very analytical, process-oriented and
financial briefings. inclined to pay great attention to detail.
A company’s books and records are the
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) primary vehicle through which it presents
jobs: The office of the CFO develops itself to the public – accuracy is paramount.
financial strategies at the enterprise Regulatory authorities are stringent about
level (ie. the level of the whole bank) the accuracy of corporate disclosure;
by combining financial and accounting there’s little room for mistakes.
information with analysis to manage
the strategic direction of the firm. The If you work in accounting and finance,
CFO advises management on issues you’ll also need to be intrigued by the
regarding performance, forecasting and management of process and inclined
budgeting, headcount and compensation towards problem solving. There are often
levels, balance sheet management, and many ways of addressing complex pricing
profitability. and accounting issues, from which product
controllers must choose. This must be done
Treasury jobs: The primary purpose of carefully and with an eye towards accuracy
the treasury team is ensuring the prudent and transparency. Most of all, though, you’ll
management of cash in line with board need to care a great deal about detail.
approved directives and strategies, plus
managing the bank’s regulatory capital Salaries and bonuses in accounting
position. The treasury function spans and finance jobs
asset/liability management (ensuring
that liabilities can be paid-off with assets) Accounting and finance jobs in banks are
and capital management (overseeing the the middle office and don’t command the
issuance of debt and equity to maintain an huge pay packages associated with front
appropriate capital position). office sales and trading jobs – but they’re
not badly paid either. The chart below,
Which skills will you need for a based on eFinancialCareers’ own pay data,
career in accounting and finance in provided by our users, shows average
a bank? salaries and bonuses for the finance
function in banks, provided in dollars. This
It goes without saying that finance isn’t a job where you’ll be earning over
professionals need strong accounting £100k or even $100k within a few years.
backgrounds. While not all have But if you stick around for a decade or so to
qualifications like a CPA (in America) or become a managing director, you’ll be very
an ACA (in the UK), many do. People in well paid indeed.
Average compensation by seniority in accounting & finance, US$

Analyst $48,672 $5,127 $53,799
Associate $83,492 $32,104 $115,595
Vice President $120,694 $21,848 $142,542
Director $185,250 $94,260 $279,510

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Hywel James,

Business Auditor (ACA Trainee),
Societe Generale, London
9:00am. By nine I’m in the office. We work
using a hybrid model (a combination
of office and working from home) so,
depending on meetings, I’m generally in
the office three days per week on average.
Our state-of the-art office is in Canary
Wharf and we have a hot desk system, so
I book a desk prior to coming in. There are
around 40 people in my department with
varied years of experience and expertise. I
am one of nine staff selected to complete
a 3-year training programme to become
a chartered accountant. The programme
gives me study support and an opportunity
to develop industry knowledge and work
experience as part of audit missions.
9:15am. I might grab another coffee on the

way to my desk, then the first ten minutes
I’ll spend catching up with my team. No
day’s the same, so I’ll start the morning
looking at my calendar to see what the day
ahead looks like.
10:00am. My work involves understanding

business processes, analysing data, and
assessing risks and controls effectiveness.
H
There are a lot of acronyms in the audit
ywel James is a Business Auditor on business, but you learn fast. Our work
the ACA Trainee Program at Societe environment is very collaborative and open
Generale. Prior to joining Societe so I’m constantly communicating with my
Generale in 2022, Hywel studied economics team and asking questions. I’m enrolled in
at the University of York followed by a a python coding course in data analytics
Masters in International Relations at the alongside my accounting exams, so I’m
University of Bristol. This is what an average constantly learning.
day in his life looks like.
12:30pm. Lunch time. Depending on the
7:00am. If I’m going into the office, I wake weather, I’ll either grab food from the
up at seven, have a bit of breakfast and a cafeteria in the building or head out to one
coffee, catch up on the football news (I’m of the street food markets in Canary Wharf.
a Cardiff fan) and am out of the house by The office cafeteria has a selection of salad
quarter-to-eight. bars, sandwiches etc. but also rotating

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
options like pizza. I usually grab lunch with individuals, but you never feel like you’re
my team, so there’s a nice social aspect to asking silly questions.
this part of the day.
4:30pm. Towards the end of the day, I
1:30pm. Back at the desk and I’ve got a try and write up quick minutes for any
call with one of the Head of Functions meetings so that me and my team know
that we catch up with periodically. These where we are on various ongoing tasks. I
calls mean as a junior I get to see what’s like to leave anything I’m currently working
happening in many different areas of the on at a good stage and I want to know
business and get a broad understanding of what’s going on tomorrow, so as I finish up,
what’s going on across the bank as a whole. I’ll chat with my manager on what stage
A very useful opportunity and one which we’re at on various deliverables.
you get when part of an audit function.
5:30pm. On average I leave the office
2:30pm. In the afternoon I’ll probably be at 5:30PM and will be back at home
preparing for upcoming meetings relating by 6:30PM. I live with two friends from
to audit work, if not attending meetings university, so we’ll often cook a meal
themselves. Prior to the calls, we’ll be together. I’m working towards various
preparing questions to ask, listing the exams as part of the ACA qualification,
information we want to request for review, so I’ll likely commit to a two-hour block
drafting tests and analysing raw data for of study in the evening. Once or twice a
trends and defects. Then, during the calls, month, when it’s not exam season, the
we’ll be given a view on business processes, group of ACA trainees at Societe Generale
and we discuss various aspects such get together. We’ll do a classic mini golf
as process design and governance, and or shuffleboard social and it’s good to get
the related risk and control environment together outside the office.
etc. You end up talking to a lot of senior

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Operations jobs in banking

and finance
Author: Ken Abbott
Prestige What do operations jobs in banking Similarly, investment banking operations

and finance involve? jobs help with the running of the M&A
3 and capital markets functions. Retail
Pay Operations jobs have traditionally been banking operations jobs are concerned with
seen as less prestigious than the “front transactions involving individuals and are
4 office” client-facing jobs like M&A or sales usually carried out at bank branches.
and trading. However, this is an increasingly
Grind Operations jobs can also be known as
outdated way of thinking about how banks
“back-office jobs.” In other words, you won’t
5 work.
be dealing with clients directly.
Competitiveness Rodney Sunada-Wong, a former chief risk
officer at Morgan Stanley’s broker dealer Operations jobs in securities businesses: If
4 business, says banks are like a human you work in an operations job in a securities
organism. In Sunada-Wong’s schema, business, you’ll be supporting the trading
senior management, risk and finance floor.
are the brain. Salespeople, traders, and
investment bankers are the muscles. You might be working on:
Technology is the skeleton and bones. • Clearance: Updating accounts of trading
Treasury is the lungs. And the operations counterparties, matching buys and
division is the heart and circulatory system. sells, and arranging for settlement (ie.
“All the parts have to work together,” payment).
says Sunada-Wong. “The better and • Settlement: Exchanging money and
more efficient your operations, the more securities between the seller and the
profitable, and efficient your bank will be.” buyer on the trade settlement date.
Banks increasingly recognize this, and • Trade confirmations: Documenting
getting operations right is increasingly the specific commercial terms of a
important for profitability. transaction to which the parties agreed,
including pricing.
The nature of your job in operations will • Reconciliation: Ensuring that the buys
depend upon the area of the banking match the sells. Resolving errors, or
business that you support. For example, checking the validity of transactions.
if you work in securities operations and
support the trading floor your role will involve Operations jobs in banks are about
the settlement, clearance, and reconciliation monitoring existing processes and
(checking that buyers’ and sellers’ procedures. They’re also about creating
documentation matches up) processes improvements and increasing efficiency.
associated with all the traded instruments In the U.S., most are sponsored by their
(e.g., equities or bonds). But, if you work in companies to sit for the Series 7 and
loan operations, you’ll be involved with all Series 63 securities exams. For a long time,
the administrative processes associated securities operations jobs were the most
with the lending business from the time loan numerous in investment banks. There were
proceeds are dispersed to the borrower until far more people processing transactions
the loan is repaid. on the trading floor than actually working

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
in sales and trading. These days, much of includes booking loans on the loan system,
what happens in the operations division maintaining loan documents, verifying
is now controlled by technology, but and auditing key data elements (including
human beings are still needed to help financial, tax, and business information,
with exceptions when processes don’t run assembling and maintaining credit files
smoothly. Those humans might not be in on borrowers) managing loan collateral,
London or New York. Securities operations exception resolution, and performing
jobs are typically located away from large regulatory reporting. The loan operations
Western financial cities, where premises function also performs loan research
and people are usually less costly. to resolve problems associated with
borrowers or transactions, and processes
If you have a job in commodities loan payoffs.
operations, you’ll carry out many of the
same processes as in securities operations Loan operations managers design and
– but you’ll also have to deal with the administer procedures and systems.
idiosyncrasies of the commodities markets. They also ensure that each stage of the
People with jobs in physical commodities loan process is carried out in accordance
operations need an understanding of what’s with federal, state, and local laws and
involved in buying or selling an actual barrel regulations, particularly in consumer loans
of oil, for example. where errors can be very costly.
Loan operations jobs: Loan operations Investment banking operations jobs:

jobs ensure the accurate and timely Investment banking operations jobs are all
operations of a bank’s loan process. This about helping the front-office complete

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
M&A and underwriting transactions. If you operations skillset: operational processes

work in investment banking operations, are now controlled by complex technology
you might be involved in the due diligence systems and even if you’re not coding these
surrounding a deal or working on the systems yourself, you’ll need to understand
graphics of a pitchbook. them.
In capital markets operations, your job Operations careers can progress along
will involve supporting the debt capital several different paths. Many operations
markets and equity capital markets units professionals find that they are called upon
as they underwrite the launch of new to broaden the scope of their activities as
securities. You’ll assist in data analysis, they progress. Others become specialists
data presentation, documentation and in a particular aspect of the operations
due diligence and will ensure that the process like settlement, clearance or
transaction proceeds smoothly. In many project management. Some move into the
ways, your job will be similar to that of front office in areas like sales and trading
securities operations professionals. – You’ll (although this can be a tough move to
work on client onboarding, trade capture, make, so don’t count on it happening).
settlement and clearance, and general
client support. Salaries and bonuses in operations
Skills you’ll need for operations jobs Operations jobs are not the best paid in
in banks banking. If you work in operations you will
not be earning $100k in year one – or even,
Operations people need strong product probably in year four. Nor will you get a big
and industry knowledge to facilitate bonus. However, if you stick with operations
transactions and address any processing for more than five years, your pay will
problems. start rising and you will end up earning six
figures very comfortably.
You’ll also need to be a strong
communicator. Operations professionals The chart below shows the average salaries
deal with everyone from traders to auditors in operations by job title. Analysts are the
to investment bankers and need to describe most junior in the table, directors are the
complex processes in simple terms. They most senior. It will typically take three years
also deal extensively with other control or so to climb each rung of the ladder.
functions, including compliance, credit, risk,
and technology.
Technical skills are also a critical part of the
Average compensation by seniority in operations, US$

Analyst $48,887 $3,559 $52,446
Associate $73,121 $10,491 $83,611
Vice President $124,244 $20,306 $144,549
Director $159,680 $52,514 $212,194

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Custody jobs
A
Prestige global custodian is a financial The result is that jobs in custody today
institution responsible for the vary between data-driven processing and
3 safekeeping and reporting of their administration role and more client-facing
Pay clients’ domestic and global financial roles where you will deal with the needs of
assets. Historically this meant the actual clients.
3 physical protection of stock and bond
certificates. But today, the physical Brian Allis, Senior Vice President at State
Grind certificates have largely been replaced Street, says: “At its heart, securities
by electronic records. These electronic services is a client facing industry.
5 records need continuous management to Client facing roles in custody go beyond
Competitiveness ensure all dividend and interest payments traditional sales, relationship management
are received. Both the client base and the and client service. Roles in product,
3 range of assets that custodians deal with operations, network management and
have also evolved in recent years. technology are often client facing. The
traditional role of custody provider has
The client base has broadened from transformed over the last three decades
being traditional fund managers and from focusing on safekeeping to covering
the trading arms of investment banks to the entire investment life cycle.”
encompass hedge funds, alternative asset
management firms and the family offices Which are the jobs you’ll do in
of high-net worth individuals. The assets custody?
custodians look after have also expanded
range from cash and shares to derivatives, When you work in custody you’ll be
real estate and digital assets such as fundamentally be working in operations, the
crypto-currencies. The services provided engine room for processing client activities.
by big global custodians – State Street, Operations is also known as the back
Northern Trust, BNY Mellon, JPMorgan, office. Junior jobs in global custody have
Citi and others – have evolved with the historically been very process-driven but
changing needs of their clients. As the that is changing with the most repetitive
custodian industry moves to a more digital tasks becoming automated.
footing, the big custodians are trying to
provide extra services to clients beyond the “The main job of the custodian is to
core business of simply settling trades. take away all of the administration
and processing work that their fund
Which extra services? Custodians were management clients don’t want to do,”
traditionally seen as providers of ‘back says James Manders, managing director
office’ solutions and while that’s still the of CassonX, a leading recruitment firm for
case they have also moved towards the’ middle and back office operations jobs.
middle-office’, offering services that go
beyond settlement of transactions and Custody covers a broad range of activities
into areas like regulatory performance but jobs fall into three categories –
measurement or compliance and risk trade life cycles, fund accounting and
monitoring. administration and distribution processing.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Trade life cycle jobs: These are the classic ensuring the smooth delivery of additional
bread-and-butter roles in custody. They securities added to the fund and for
include jobs in trade settlement and reconciliations, making sure there are no
confirmation, transaction reporting and discrepancies in trading.
asset servicing. Asset servicing covers
corporate actions, which includes proxy Distribution processing jobs: Distribution
processing, securities borrowing and processing covers client servicing,
lending and the transfer of shares related performance production and client
to corporate spin-offs or acquisitions. reporting. This area is the most client-
facing of all custody roles as it involves
Jobs in fund accounting and administration: dealing with the day-to-day information
In key global custody centres such as needs of clients. With custodians now
Ireland and Luxembourg, the core of global looking after the entire life cycle of an asset,
custody jobs focuses on the accounting State Street’s Allis says client service roles
and administration of client funds. The have expanded to match this increased
custodian will ensure all income is received solution set. “Staff in these functions now
into the fund and that the net asset value have an unprecedented opportunity to be
(NAV) is correctly computed with the involved in every stage of the investment
appropriate frequency, often daily. Global life cycle throughout their career, if they
custodians may also be responsible for have a curious mindset and an appetite

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
for a steep learning curve. Once they Melíosa O’Caoimh, head of Northern Trust
have built their knowledge, they become a in Ireland, explains: “Custody has continued
critical interface between the client and the to evolve into a technology-first business.
provider.” As a result, our hiring practices and the
talent we recruit has changed to keep
For most large custodians, prime services pace with innovation. That innovation also
will make up a significant proportion of the requires us to consider graduates and
business. Prime services involves providing talent from different backgrounds and offer
advice and assistance to hedge fund career paths through the organization that
clients. Within prime services there will be may cross through a number of different
business analysts, assisting the client and related areas and even include an exchange
introducing appropriate securities services, program – for example to our India
all with the ultimate aim of improving business, and vice versa.”
profitability for the hedge fund.
O’Caoimh says that innovation in areas
Technology jobs are taking over like cryptocurrency and blockchain, along
custody with the automation and digitization
of custody processes is changing the
Another way of thinking about the jobs landscape. “This creates different career
you can do in custody is consider them paths and opportunities for people across
by functional area rather than high level our organization – whether they are looking
job categories. These functional areas to expand a range of skills or specialize in
include client relationship management a particular area. I don’t think there’s ever
and sales (eg. Helping to prepare Requests been a more exciting time to be part of a
For Proposal (RFP) for prospective clients), custodian and fund administrator – the
product development, delivery, and pace of change has been accelerated
technology. through the pandemic and we continue to
see evolutions in AI and machine learning
What’s common across each of these enabling us to expand roles in other
areas are data and technology. Allis says: advancing areas.”
“Data collection, storage and analysis will
become the basis for all future service Data has become the tool by which
offerings and business models. Technology custodians can offer higher value services
is changing to support this paradigm shift, to their clients, and that is redefining many
as a result investment service providers jobs in the sector. Allis explains: “Roles are
are increasingly becoming their clients’ becoming increasing dependent on solution
Investment data custodian. This requires engineering and data analytics, being able
client service staff to become familiar to understand how to translate a clients
with the processes to source, curate, and operating model to a target state operating
analysis data across the entire investment model and articulating the benefit of the
cycle, including custody, for the benefit of transition is now at the heart of what we
their clients seeking operational alpha. do.”
This is having a big impact on custody What to expect in custody when

jobs and the skillsets custodians require. you start as a graduate
Allis says: “The digitization of custody is
enabling a far more focused view on value If you start your career in custody as a
add and differentiated services that are graduate trainee, you may find yourself on
dependent on people to execute. Staff need a ‘rotational training program.’ These allow
to be engaged in the end-to-end business graduates to gain experience in a number
process and move away from the traditional of different areas over a four or five year
functionalized view of custody.” period and then specialize later on.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Bryan Murphy, Global Head of Banks Sales, graduates enter the marketplace. Northern
Securities Services, at Citi, says: “We’ve run Trust sponsors the Kemmy Business School
a successful graduate program on a global / Northern Trust Outstanding Scholar
basis for a number of years and graduates Awards.
are given the opportunity to work alongside
industry specialists to gain first-hand Career progression in the custody
experience in the different areas of our industry
global securities services business.”
Like banks, global custodians often use
Candidates with technical skills and the job titles of analyst, associate, vice
experience in global custody are highly president (VP) and managing director (MD)
sought after as are those with subject to signify different levels in the hierarchy.
material expertise (SME) in individual You’ll start out as an analyst looking at ways
products such as derivatives. of creating solutions for products “from a
technical perspective.” As an associate,
When it comes to industry-recognized you’ll have a broader remit and will look at
qualifications, Manders recommends the the solution in terms of market practice
Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and servicing the client with roles such
an entry-level qualification that provides as a client operations specialist. As a vice
a strong foundation for a career in the president, you’ll work across different
investment industry. products and will prioritize each one
based on client requirements. And as a
Citi’s Murphy says: “Successful candidates managing director you’ll be responsible for
typically have a broad understanding of making sure a solution gets implemented
global capital markets. They also need by working with all different parts of the
to demonstrate the ability to apply this business to coordinate the product’s
knowledge to join the dots between the development and launch.
broader macro and operating environment
and client requirements and solutions.” Pay in global custody jobs
Meanwhile, Northern Trust recruits Jobs in custody aren’t as well paid as
candidates from a wide variety of so-called front office jobs such as trading
backgrounds, including business and investment banking, which pay higher
and accounting, but also areas such bonuses related to performance, but
as engineering, hospitality or retail. they offer greater job security and fixed
“Successful candidates are usually positive, hours. “It’s very structured, very corporate
resilient, with attention to detail who are and safe as houses,” says Manders. “If
open to continuing their professional you’re looking for more variety and want
development with Northern Trust through to provide a bespoke service to clients,
the various in-house training and support there are a growing number of small and
networks provided,” adds O’Caoimh. medium-sized custodians outside of the
global heavyweight.”
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
Northern Trust primarily conducts graduate Big banks have outsourced their custody
level hiring in its operations in Limerick, businesses to cheaper regional hubs
Ireland where it draws from a pool of outside of big cities, and salaries can
business graduates from the University vary considerably depending on location.
of Limerick and the Limerick Institute of As a typical rule of thumb, a graduate in
Technology. The Kemmy Business School London can earn between $30k and $45k
in the University of Limerick is the largest if they work in a trade life cycle or fund
business school in Ireland with more than administration role, while in distribution
2,000+ students currently enrolled; and that could rise to between $40k and $50k.
annually approximately 350 business

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Karl Maguire,

Settlements, State Street
day’s work when work officially starts at

9am.
9:00am. This is a period for pure

organisation for my team, working closely
with our State Street Syntel operations unit
in Mumbai. They run analytics to help plan
our day, and inform us what trades need
to be settled and when. If we have a load
of euro and US dollar trades, we prioritise
the euro ones first as they have an earlier
currency cut-off time. As settlements
agents, my team helps in the final step for
our clients to receive or make payments.
These trades all need to happen before the
currency cut-offs, otherwise they can’t be
executed on the same day.
K
9.30am. I have a few meetings, often with
arl Maguire works in the Investment
other teams, in which we discuss how
Settlements Services team at State
to settle complex transactions involving
Street. He joined the firm’s Dublin
our more high-profile clients. This is the
office at associate II level earlier this year,
most enjoyable part of the day because
having previously been an intern in the
interesting new challenges always crop
same team while studying for a Bachelor
up and I get to talk to senior management
of Business Administration degree at
across the firm.
Maynooth University. He has almost
completed a MSc in Finance at Dublin City
11:00am. My team helps clients receive
University.
their money, transactions, and investments
in the time they request. If anything
6:30am. I wake up. If I’m not heading into
arrives late – after the cut-off – interest
the office, I hit the gym or go for a swim.
rates and bank charges can be high, so
On office days I take the 7.30am bus into
the client won’t be happy. That’s why I
Dublin city centre.
spend this hour planning: getting on top
of interest rates and making sure there
8:15am. I arrive in the office and grab
won’t be any unnecessary charges to the
breakfast in the staff canteen. As a
clients I oversee. This can be complex as
relatively new joiner, this is a good time
State Street has many clients across many
to introduce myself and get to know new
countries and currencies, and we also deal
people in other teams over a coffee.
with different banks charging different
interest rates.
8:40am. I log in slightly early and check
emails. I also review handover notes from
12:00pm. I take lunch, usually for an hour if
our Toronto and Hong Kong settlements
I’m at home. I took up cooking as a hobby
teams to get a good understanding of the

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
during lockdown, so I rustle up something 4:00pm. It’s US-dollar time for American
from scratch, which also helps me to clients. Sometimes I get requests for
recharge and refocus for a busy afternoon payment, but the client hasn’t funded the
ahead. When in the office, I enjoy the social account yet because it’s still fairly early in
side, so I go for lunch with my team in the New York. I ask colleagues to remind the
canteen or in the city centre. client, but if the funds don’t arrive within
Dublin working hours, things will be handed
1:00pm. This is my busiest time as I over to our Toronto settlements team.
move from planning to actually executing
settlements. With cut-offs approaching, 5:00pm. My team in Dublin has a meeting
my priority is settling money-market with the Mumbai team to do end-of-day
trades, especially in euros, but also in checks. We confirm the success of the
other currencies like GBP. We have clients transactions we’ve done and identify
who need transactions done by 3pm, any issues within a hand-over report
and different banks and currencies have for Toronto, so they can start their day
different cut-offs. We handle transactions smoothly.
worth millions of euros, so if any issues
crop up (for example, the client hasn’t 5:30pm. The work day usually ends for me,
confirmed the exact payment amount) I get unless there are late requests from the US.
on the phone to other State Street teams While my job can be pressurised at times,
to resolve them ASAP. Once each trade is my days fly by as I’ve got such a supportive
settled, I analyse it to make sure it’s gone team. I put on my headphones and listen to
through ok, and then I move on to the next a podcast on the way home.
client.
6:30pm. Some evenings I have Gaelic
3:30pm. Now that some of the important football training. The sport requires a lot of
cut-offs have past, I liaise with our team in dedication, so it keeps me fit, off the sofa,
Luxembourg about the trading needs of one and ready for the next day!
high-profile client of mine.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
How to get a job in fintech

Author: Alex McMurray
S
Prestige o, you want a job in fintech in 2023? What is fintech?
Perhaps you’re a computer science
6 student looking for alternative career As the name implies, fintech is a
Pay paths, or maybe you’re a finance student in combination of finance and technology.
search of something more innovative than This sounds simple, but is more complex
6 banking. No matter who you are, if you want the deeper you go. Fundamentally, though,
t work in fintech there are a few things you while fintechs can be start-ups, big players
Grind need to know. or even divisions within banks they all have
5 something in common: they provide a
First, what is a fintech and are the jobs service or product enabled by proprietary
Competitiveness in fintech really that different to jobs in technology.
banks?
6
Payments, FinTech and Blockchain landscape Source: Credit Suisse
Modern
Neobanks
Alternative credit
Asset Management / P2P, Budgeting

brokerage / exchange & Other APMs / LPMs
Modern Financial
Centralised Services Merchant acquiring
Crypto exchanges / gateway
Payment Service
Providers (PSPs)
DApps and Cross-border
DAOs Blockchains Payments
infrastructure
AISPs &
Hardware and Blockchain PISPs, A2A
wallets and related
technology
Core account
Bank Tech & processing
NFTs and
Other Software
Marketplaces
Ancillary banking
Banking Services modules
Networks/Schemes and infrastructure
& Wallets Banking-as-a- B2B / Expense
Service (BaaS) management
Fintech-as-a- Issuer Infrastructure-

Service processing as-a-Service

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
The diagram on the previous page was

produced by analyst at Credit Suisse (the The safest fintech jobs are probably in
now defunct investment bank!) and shows payments, which is still a growing sector.
what kinds of fintechs are out there. As This hasn’t stopped valuations from
it shows, fintech firms specialising in plummeting in the sector.
payments dominate the fintech space,
but there are also neo banks, firms Who are the big players?
managing expenses, firms providing
electronic exchanges and more. Fintechs The three top locations for fintech unicorns
love acroynms and include firms offering (startups valued above $1bn), are New York,
alternative payment methods (APMs) and London and San Francisco. Each is home to
local payment methods (LPMs). a number of the most prominent fintechs
operating today. In London, this includes
Fintechs can also be categorized in terms Revolut. New York has Ramp and San
of B2B and B2C providers. B2B (Business Francisco has Chime.
to Business) fintechs provide a service
or product, most often technological Many of the biggest fintechs come from
infrastructure, to another company. B2C outside the major hubs. Stripe, arguably
(Business to Consumer) fintechs provide the face of fintech in 2023, has its
services directly to the public. The most headquarters in Ireland. NuBank, one of the
prominent of these are the various types largest digibanks, is based in Brazil. Rapyd,
of neobank, as well as unorthodox loan another payments giant, is based in Israel.
providers such as those in the Buy Now Pay Grab is Asia’s biggest fintech and is based
Later (BNPL) space. in Singapore.
What’s the state of the fintech There are also a number of older, more
industry? established firms that aren’t always
considered among the fintech ecosystem.
Fintechs are not having the best time. After They include the likes of Visa, Mastercard,
a mammoth few years for investment, PayPal and, for eCommerce, eBay.
funding rounds have been smaller and
sparser in 2023. Initial Public Offerings Major banks have their own pseudo-
(IPOs), where fintechs float on public fintechs as they pursue a number of side
markets and the founders make a lot of projects and products with a technological
money, were infrequent even during the edge. Nomura has a crypto firm called
sector’s heyday; now they’re exceedingly so. Laser Digital, Goldman branched out into
consumer banking with Marcus (which is
The industry is at its bleakest for crypto now being closed); JPMorgan has ChaseUK
fanatics. What once was perhaps the most and is building a financial AI chatbot called
exciting career in all of finance has since IndexGPT.
been relegated to just another part of
the broad ecosystem. This is thanks in no What do fintech jobs involve?
small part to the collapse of FTX and Sam
Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire. Regulators Fintech jobs are fundamentally different
are scrutinizing those that remain far to jobs in traditional finance, especially
more intensely and, despite bitcoin slowly in a startup. While broader job titles are
and surely rising in price once more, the the same, much more is expected of you
industry is on a long, long road to recovery. because there are fewer people working
there and everyone has to do a bit of
Buy not pay later (BNPL) fintechs are also everything.
suffering. Firms like Klarna ballooned in
popularity and value and are now floating Software engineers and product managers
down to earth. (PMs) work on building and maintaining

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
the infrastructure of the firm, as well as How to get a fintech job

developing new products for it to begin
selling. Sales and partnerships people What is a fintech mindset? Michael Abdul,
look for institutions and clients to use a London based fintech recruiter at
the fintech’s services or help broaden recruitment firm Volition, says it “would be
consumer awareness of the firm. building viable products, prototypes and
proof of concepts; you should be trying to
If you want to set up your own fintech innovate.” There are a number of ways to
(not easy!!!), you’ll be in an executive role demonstrate this.
far earlier than they would in traditional
finance. You’ll need to engage with venture Working for a big name firm isn’t always
capitalists, private equity firms and other the same benefit to fintech as it would be
possible investors in the company. in traditional finance, especially if you’re
moving to a startup from a bank. “People
There are some duties required of all roles are more interested in what you’re building
in a fintech. The most significant joint effort and how new it is rather than the brand
is making the company appear attractive to name,” says Abdul. “Goldman are always
investors. “It’s not just sales,” says Adizah building innovative stuff,” for example, but
Tejani, a fintech portfolio manager of are also plagued with legacy tech.
HSBC’s venture capital arm, “it’s everyone’s When it comes to education, university
job to be an advocate for the company.” brand is key. “I put a lot of value on
Departments also intermingle far more someone who’s gone to a Russell Group
frequently. Engineers and PMs, for example, in computer science over someone else,”
may work together much more often Abdul says.
than in a bank and may be structurally
intertwined. As for your personal life, you might
need to live fintech there too. Abdul
The chain of seniority can also be far more says, “Companies heavily love people
ambiguous in a fintech. At Revolut, for that love tech, that do side projects and
example, young employees are handed are passionate about it.” They also love
senior leadership roles and allowed to bring “hackathons and competitions; if I’m
their ideas to fruition far quicker than would sending a CV over, and they have an active
be possible elsewhere. GitHub, I will include it”
As for working culture, it very much Passing the interview is another matter,
depends. Fintechs can be work from home however, and each fintech operates
friendly or offer amazing benefits like a differently. Scott Dawson, head of sales and
four-day working week, but the additional strategic partnerships at payments fintech
workload can take its toll. DECTA, emphasizes the personal aspect for
interviews in his firm.
Pauline Sim, a member of the Singapore
Fintech Association executive committee, “You can learn payments; you can’t learn
says that, in fast-growing fintechs, to be a decent human being,” Dawson
“certain structures that provide stability says. In his interviews, he likes “having a
for employees [such as HR practices] very candid discussion,” and to “avoid a list
might not be in place.” She warns that of questions.” Dawson says a successful
some fintechs prioritize their investments interview is when he “understands their
in “growth, scaling and product building” experiences, but [is] interested in their
over supporting employees. At Revolut, potential.”
for example, the culture is a notoriously
hardworking one that emphasizes results, Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Dawson
leaving many employees ostracized in the says a successful candidate has the “X
past. Factor... they could be given an idea, and

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
they could develop it, then come back with Stripe is well regarded as the top payer for
a question for me.” Dawson says this helps fintech. It ranks above not just banks, but
him understand that he “could teach them hedge funds, in a variety of pay packages
what they need to be taught.” according to Levels.fyi. An entry level
engineer there earns a total compensation
Some fintechs also offer student schemes, of, on average, $245k. Klarna has the
like NextGen from Adyen in Europe and opposite reputation: pay there is rather
Supernova from OKX in Hong Kong and underwhelming, with entry level engineers
Singapore. However, amid widespread cuts making, on average, $63k.
in the industry, many fintechs are shifting
focus to more senior employees, making Our list of the top global fintechs gives
these roles rarer in 2023. a rough expectation of pay at 50 of the
top fintechs worldwide, but the exact
Fintechs with university recruitment teams compensation number is just one part of
include: the story.
• Square
• Grab The real reason people want to work in
• Wise fintech are the stock payments, usually in
Fintechs with Graduate programs include: the form of restricted stock units (RSUs).
• Revolut $80k of Stripe’s entry level engineer pay
• OKX consists of RSUs, and the impact of stock
• Adyen only gets larger as seniority grows. The
Fintechs hiring interns include: ideal is to get stock in a company that
• Ripple subsequently conducts an IPO and lists on
• Ramp a stockmarket.
• Stripe
• Chime Fintech pay is sometimes great, sometimes
bad, often decent. Do your due diligence on
How much do fintech jobs pay? each firm you are interested in working at
and ask yourself if the culture makes up for
Pay in fintechs varies widely. the pay, or vice versa. Good luck.
Average total compensation and RSU rewards by fintech size
Fintech firm size Average compensation Average RSU

0-10 $103,427 $43,225
11-20 $89,232 $47,847
21-50 $89,529 $15,702
51-75 $103,420 $92,627
76-100 $88,083 $41,333
101-200 $141,981 $44,417
200+ $130,256 $35,697

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: What it’s really like

to work in crypto market making
morning, I usually talk to our traders in

Japan.
8:00am. My first task of the day is to review

all the systems and make adjustments
to parameters as required. I’m an options
quant trader: I focus on systematic trading
strategies and my role involves working
with algorithmic trading models and
strategies that provide liquidity to other
players in the market including exchanges.
We create automated trading tools that
trade according to the targets we set. We
monitor the trades that have been taking
place and adjust the targets based on
performance.
9:30am. I have a series of meetings with

the team, including traders and quant
strategists. Some of the traders work over
the counter (OTC), meaning that they talk
F
enni Kang is an options quantitative to and trade directly with clients, others
trader at crypto liquidity provider trade systematically like me, conducting
B2C2. She started her finance career quant research, implementing our
at Barclays in Singapore and in London algorithms and trading with the algorithms.
before moving to B2C2 in September 2021. The quant strategists create the pricing
This is what an average day in her life looks models and risk analytics that underpin the
like. algos.
6:30am. I wake up and check my emails It’s always helpful for me to talk to the other
and the market news before I get out of traders as they have a good perspective
bed. Depending on how the markets are on the market. Crypto trading never stops,
doing, this can take me up to 30 minutes. so we have traders who work on a shift
When that’s done, I get out of bed and get basis from our offices in London, Tokyo and
ready for the day. Jersey City. I communicate with them every
day to make sure we’re aligned on the work
7:30am-8:00am. If I’m working from home, that’s coming up.
I start earlier, after a quick breakfast before
connecting to the VPN. If I’m going into I then talk to our head of electronic trading
the office, it doesn’t take me long to get about what we want to do today in terms of
there since I live nearby. My team is global our trading strategy.
– they’re working everywhere from America
and Japan to Scotland. First thing in the 11:00am. I spend time working on our

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
options trading algorithms, such as 3:30pm. I’m back to working on my

trading signals, arbitrage opportunities, trading algorithms and monitoring their
automated trading on exchanges. I’m performance.
responsible for the whole lifecycle of our
options systematic trading strategy, from 5:00pm. I have a meeting with our US
idea generation to implementation through traders to discuss the market and our book.
programming to back-testing, and then live
trading. 7:00pm. I usually stop work. My time is
quite flexible – there are days that I start
I enjoy this breadth of approach. Some early or finish late. On a good day, I usually
places have quant research split out from finish around 7pm although 6pm finishes
execution, but it’s more fun to cover the aren’t unheard of when I have something
whole lifecycle of systematic trading. I planned. Once in a while, I work later –
come up with my own ideas, and I’m also sometimes until 10pm or midnight.
inspired by my colleagues.
My work is very interesting, so I always feel
12:30pm. I have lunch at my desk. It’s the day goes quickly. I enjoy working at a
normally very simple - a sandwich or a major global trading firm, developing the
salad. cryptocurrency options market. The team
at B2C2 provides excellent support to help
1:00pm. In the afternoon, we have our daily me succeed. My past working experience
stand-up. This involves the whole options on foreign exchange and fixed income
team, including the traders, quants and options has proved very useful in this role –
the back-end and front-end developers. my FX background in particular, due to the
It’s another brief catch-up to discuss what similarities in market conventions to crypto
we’re planning for the next few hours. - have made it a smooth and natural move
for me. The systematic strategies in TradFi
1:30pm. I continue working on my trading are transferable to crypto, although there
algorithms. My main delivery time is are some crypto-specific issues to take into
between 9am and 3pm. Either side of that, I account, for example the high volatility and
am typically trading, in meetings discussing vol of vol, the lack of liquidity in comparison
the options market, trading strategies to the TradFi options market, and the
and the business, or dealing with more impact of DeFi products on the market
managerial issues and business related such as DOVs – Defi Options Vaults.
cases.
8pm. I exercise quite a bit in the evenings.
3:00pm. I hop on quick calls with colleagues I used to do the tango but am now into
from different functions, for example traditional Chinese dance. I’m part of a
the data team to discuss our data feeds. troupe that recently gave a performance
Successful systematic trading strategies in Abu Dhabi.
rely on good data, so it’s important to make
sure we have data that will differentiate us
from our peers. I also meet with the finance
team to discuss our PnL and risk.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Day in the life: Ong Jun Xiong,

Intern, Thought Machine
O
ng Jun Xiong is a client engineering departments over breakfast. We talk about
intern at Thought Machine, which the latest happenings within the company
builds cloud-native core banking and industry updates, and sometimes I get
technology. In his 12-week internship, Jun the opportunity to seek advice from a more
Xiong helps the Client Engineering team senior colleague about building my career
deliver on their goals to design and build in the fintech space.
client-specific solutions. Jun Xiong is a
final-year computer science student at the 10:00am. We go to the office to kick-
National University of Singapore (NUS) and start the workday. As a client engineer,
President of the NUS Fintech Society. This my role centres around maximising
is what an average day in his life looks like. product usage by designing and building
solutions catering to the client’s project
8:30am. The day starts, meeting with requirements. I am also developing a
coworkers at a nearby café. Today is the balance adjustment remediation tool
last Friday of the month, so it’s “breakfast tailored to Thought Machine’s products, as
roulette”! We are randomly grouped with part of my internship project.
four other colleagues from different

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
10:30am. I enter a series of meetings with 3:00pm. I have a one-on-one discussion

my team, which consists of client engineers with my manager. We discuss my project
and business analysts. Our team operates progress, reflect on the insights from my
using the agile development methodology internship, and ensure my overall welfare
- these meetings involve conducting a brief and career advice, exploring potential
review of our past work and planning our future directions.
project’s future course. We come up with
ideas that innovate the project or address 3:30pm. I resume my project, investing
roadblocks impeding our progress. my time in writing test code for the parts I
have modified. This critical step verifies the
11:30am. I typically forgo lunch due to my quality and dependability of the code I have
preference for light eating; the hearty lunch developed.
earlier helped. Sometimes I take this time
to have a coffee chat with other colleagues. 4:00pm. As it’s a Friday, we have TMF -
These discussions give me a wider view Thought Machine Fridays. It is our weekly
of Thought Machine’s operations and town hall where we get to hear from
keep me abreast of the company’s latest colleagues on projects they are working
advancements. on, or we may have a Q&A session with
senior executives; sometimes, they join
12:00pm. I focus my efforts on coding for us virtually from the UK, where Thought
my assigned project and handling some Machine’s head office is based. In the
Jira tickets, which are tasks in the Jira upcoming weeks, I am excited to join TMF
project management tool used to keep to showcase my project, which is the
track of bugs, issues, and their status. balance adjustment remediation tool I have
The project I am working on is Python- been working on with another intern in the
based and slated to last roughly six weeks same team.
or three sprint cycles. If I encounter
difficulties comprehending our APIs or 5:00pm. Following TMF, we gather for
the product, I can contact senior client some light food and drinks. We mingle
engineers for help or my mentor, assigned with colleagues, discuss weekend plans,
by Thought Machine’s buddy system. and establish relationships beyond work
projects. TMF brings us all together to
2:00pm. We have a planned learning celebrate our successes and relax before
session on consumer banking facilitated the weekend kicks in.
by our in-house banking specialist. These
sessions are often scheduled when we 6:00pm. On a regular day, I usually head
need to deepen our understanding of the home now, or after finishing my tasks.
products we are handling.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
The eFinancialCareers
financial services glossary
If you want to work in banking, you have to talk like a banker. That means learning
jargon, technical terms, and slang. You’ll pick up a lot of it on the job, especially
the more technical terms, but you’ll do a lot better in an interview if you show
some insight and initiatives. Here are some things you’ll definitely want to know:
Advisory: Part of the Investment Banking financial instrument you could possibly
Division. Similar to M&A, but with slightly imagine. Also known for its news service
more emphasis on providing advice and (Bloomberg News).
less on providing finance. Often the
main or only business line of specialised Bond: A loan to a government or company
boutiques. that has been split up to be traded on
the market. Bonds are made up of small
Analyst: The most junior rank in a bank. At payments throughout its life (coupons)
this point, you’re basically on a graduate plus the final, full payment on the value
program – expect to break out to associate (principal). To give an example: the US
by your second or third year. government borrows $100m for ten years.
That loan is split into a million $100 bonds.
Associate: The second most junior rank in a Those bonds all pay a small coupon until
bank. Associates are either promoted from the ten years are up, at which point the
the analyst program or recruited directly government pays back the $100 on each
from a business school’s MBA program. bond. These are the bread and butter of a
Debt Capital Markets (DCM) team.
Back office: The staff who are responsible
for settlement, administrative tasks, and Boutique: A small, independent investment
maintaining IT systems. Some back office bank that offers a range of services usually
jobs, particularly in IT development, can be limited to M&A advisory or restructuring.
very well paid, but in general they do not
earn as much as the front office. Brokerage: A company which matches
buyers and sellers of securities, making
Bank: As a general definition, a corporation money either out of charging a percentage
that takes customer (individuals and commission, or out of the spread.
other corporates) deposits and lends the
money in its custody to other customers. Buy side: These are investment firms that
In an investment banking context, it’s any acquire corporations or bonds as part of
institution which provides investment their regular business. Includes private
banking services – which includes, for equity firms, hedge funds, and asset
instance, boutique banks, that do not take managers, among others. Contrasted with
customer deposits (and are therefore not the “sell-side”, which is only involved in
really banks at all). investment banking business.
Bloomberg: A company that specializes in Capital Markets: The part of the Investment
market intelligence. Its best-known product Banking Division which is responsible for
is the Bloomberg Terminal, a computer helping corporate clients to raise money
program that allows access to information from the bond and equity (capital) markets.
(such as pricing) on pretty much any Capital markets bankers need to gather

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
feedback from investors, decide on the Director: The rank between Vice President
price of securities and liaise with Sales & and Managing Director. Directors will
Trading to get the securities sold. generally have significant management
responsibility or be expected to look after
Cash market: As opposed to “derivatives clients of their own.
market”, the market in which “underlying”
securities are bought and sold rather Distribution: The final stage of a capital
than derivative claims on them. Not to be markets transaction, coming after
confused with “money market”. underwriting. This is the stage in which the
securities are sold to investors.
Compliance: The middle office team
responsible for ensuring that other parts ECM: Equity Capital Markets.
of the bank comply with all relevant laws
and regulations. Compliance officers Equities: Shares; securities which represent
are responsible for arranging training, part-ownership in a company. In an
monitoring activity, and providing advice to investment bank, the word on its own refers
employees. to part of the Sales & Trading division,
which will generally trade equity derivatives
Corporate finance: The team in a as well as cash equities, and may include
corporation that deals with finance. the Research and Prime Brokerage
This means day-to-day budgeting and operations as well.
accounting, as well as liaising with
investment banks to both raise capital and Execution: The activity of actually making
assist/execute a merger or acquisition. a transaction happen once it has been
agreed with the client. In Sales & Trading,
Coverage: A team in an investment bank this means finding a buyer to match the
specializing in a particular sector (such as seller (or vice versa) at the best price
technology or healthcare). These teams possible. In IBD, it means carrying out the
often work across both advisory and capital legal and administrative work to make the
markets. deal happen, and potentially conducting
meetings to ensure that it has support from
Credit: In FICC divisions, “credit” refers investors.
to fixed income products other than
government bonds and money market FICC: Fixed Income, Currencies and
instruments, where the credit risk of the Commodities. One of the two main parts of
issuer is a major driver of the value of the a Sales & Trading division, and responsible
security. for trading all instruments which aren’t
equities or equity derivatives.
DCM: Debt Capital Markets.
FIG: Financial Institutions Group, usually
Derivatives: Contracts between two parties one of the largest teams within Investment
which agree to exchange amounts of Banking. FIG teams concentrate on
money based on something else. Most providing capital markets and advisory
often, the “something else” (known as services to other banks and insurance
“the underlying”) is a securities price, so companies.
you have “equity derivatives” based on
share prices and “rates derivatives” based Front office: Refers to banking staff who
on interest rates. This isn’t necessarily either make decisions on applying the
the case, though; there are “weather firm’s capital or have direct contact with
derivatives” which pay out based on clients. Front office jobs are usually (but
average temperature or rainfall, and “credit not always) best paid, and often require
derivatives” which pay out when a company regulatory authorization.
defaults.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
admin tasks.
Hedge Fund: An investment fund marketed
only to other institutional investors and Money market: The market for short term
very rich individuals. Hedge funds typically fixed income securities, used by banks
charge higher fees than retail mutual and industrial companies to smooth out
funds and have fewer restrictions on their differences in the timing of their incoming
investment strategies. and outgoing payments.
Institutional investor: A pension fund, Origination: In investment banking

mutual fund, hedge fund or sovereign generally and particularly in capital
wealth fund, investing in securities. The markets, the process of persuading a client
normal client of a Sales & Trading desk. to carry out a transaction with your bank.
Investment Banking Division: Also known Primary / Secondary: The first time
as IBD, this is one of the two main divisions securities are sold to the public, this is
in an investment bank. As opposed to Sales the “primary” market. Trading in them
& Trading, IBD is concerned with providing afterwards is “secondary”. The distinction
financial solutions to issuers of securities roughly matches that between Capital
rather than to investors. It is often further Markets and Sales & Trading internally
divided into Capital Markets and M&A within banks. If a company sells shares
Advisory. Note that “investment banking” is without raising new capital (for example,
also often used as a generic term including because the founder wants to reduce their
Sales & Trading, so it’s important to stake) this is also called a “secondary”
understand which sense someone is using issue.
it in.
Prime brokerage: Not to be confused
IPO: An Initial Public Offering. The sale for with “Brokerage”. Prime brokerage teams
the first time of a company’s shares to the provide services to hedge funds, such as
general public on a stock exchange. IPOs looking after their settlement and back
are run by the Equity Capital Markets team office functions and providing financing to
in an investment bank, and they can be them.
extremely profitable transactions.
Private equity: Investment funds which buy
M&A: Mergers and Acquisitions. Bankers whole companies or large ownership stakes
working in Investment Banking Division in specifically negotiated deals rather than
who provide advice to companies on taking shares quoted on a stock exchange. The
over and buying other companies, either on term includes “venture capital (VC)”, which
an agreed or a hostile basis. This includes is focused on new companies and startups)
strategic advice on the actual deal, advice and “financial sponsors” or “leveraged
on the valuation of targets and arranging buyout (LBO) firms”, which is focused on
financing. taking over existing companies to be sold
later on for a profit.
MD: Managing Director, almost always the
most senior regular rank in an investment Quant: Short for “quantitative”, this refers
bank. MDs are generally expected to to a specialist in applied mathematics
be able to originate deals and generate working on securities practices. There are
revenue for their bank. “front office quants”, who aim to design
profitable trading systems, “middle office
Middle office: Generally refers to better- quants” who design systems for efficient
paid and more senior back office roles. execution of trades and “risk management
Compliance and Risk Management staff quants” who measure probabilities of loss.
would be considered middle office, as
would senior prime brokerage staff who had Rates: In FICC divisions, “rates” is the
contact with clients as well as managing opposite of “credit” – it refers to bonds and
derivatives where the value is driven by

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
expectations about interest rates and credit teams cross the boundary between Capital
risk can largely be ignored. Markets and M&A.
Research: The teams in Sales & Trading SPV: A Special Purpose Vehicle. A “brass
responsible for valuing securities and plate” company formed by a bank in order
issuing recommendations to investors as to be the legal owner of some assets. An
to whether to buy or sell them. As well as SPV generally has no staff or operations
company experts, research divisions will of its own. SPVs are a key building block in
usually employ economic forecasters and Structuring and in Securitization
“strategists” who attempt to forecast bond
and equity markets as a whole. Spread: The difference between the price
quoted by a brokerage to buy securities
Risk Management: The division responsible (the bid) and the price quoted to sell the
for measuring the bank’s exposure to risks same securities (the ask). Buying at the bid
based on the securities it holds and the and selling at the ask is how brokerages
loans it has extended and setting limits on make money. The word “spread” can also
them. refer to the difference between two interest
rates.
Sales and Trading: One side of the most
important divide in an investment bank. Structuring: Designing complex securities
S&T divisions, sometimes called “Global (usually involving derivatives) to achieve
Markets”, deal with brokerage activities. particular goals for either the investor or
Research divisions are generally within the issuer – these can include specific tax
Sales & Trading, as is prime brokerage. treatment, particular mixtures of risk and
Sales & Trading is generally further divided reward, or the bundling up of small loans
into Equities and FICC. into a larger security which can be publicly
traded. This activity crosses the divide
Securities: Tradeable claims on future between Investment Banking and Sales &
payments. Shares (equities), bonds (fixed Trading and might be found on either side
income) or derivatives. depending on how a bank is organized.
Securitization: The process of buying a Syndicate: A specialist team within Capital

large number of smaller loans (mortgages Markets which handles communication
or credit card debts, for example) and and relationships with other banks in
bundling them into a Special Purpose transactions which involve a large number
Vehicle which then issues bonds to the of investment banks – usually to fund a
public, effectively transforming the loans large bond issuance or stock offering.
into securities.
Underwriting: The practice of buying
Sell side: People who work at investment securities from the issuer, then distributing
banks, speaking to clients on the buy side. them to the public. During an underwriting,
the bank is at risk because it is holding the
Settlement: The activity of making sure securities and so is exposed to movements
that records are updated, and payments in their value; it takes a fee to compensate
are sent to the right place after a securities for this. Underwriting is one of the activities
transaction has been carried out. managed by Capital Markets teams.
SPAC: A Special Purpose Acquisition VP: Vice President, the rank above
Company. Carries out an IPO despite Associate and below Director. VPs usually
having no actual business, to raise cash have five to seven years’ experience and are
in order to acquire an existing company. A the most junior of the management roles.
technique often used by financial sponsors
as a way to get a stock market listing, SPAC

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Directory
Banks
Asian Infrastructure https://www.aiib.org/en/opportunities/career/job-vacancies/internship/index.
Investment Bank html
Banco Santander S.A. Filiale
https://www.santander.com/en/careers
Frankfurt
Bank of America https://campus.bankofamerica.com/opportunities.html
Barclays https://search.jobs.barclays/graduates
BNP Paribas https://careers.bnpparibas.co.uk/early-careers/graduates/
Centerview Partners https://www.centerviewpartners.com/careers.aspx
Citigroup https://careers.citigroup.com/students-and-graduates/
Credit Agricole https://www.credit-agricole.com/en/candidate
Credit Suisse https://www.credit-suisse.com/careers/en/students.html
DBS https://www.dbs.com/careers/internships/university
Deutsche Bank https://careers.db.com/students-graduates/#/graduate/
Evercore https://www.evercore.com/join-our-team/students-and-graduates
Goldman Sachs https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/students/
Greenhill & Co https://www.greenhill.com/en/careers/analysts
https://www.guggenheimpartners.com/firm/careers/internship-career-
Guggenheim
opportunities
https://www.hsbc.com/careers/students-and-graduates/graduate-
HSBC
opportunities
ING https://www.ing.jobs/luxembourg-en/graduates-programme.htm
https://careers.jpmorgan.com/us/en/students?search=&tags=location__
JP Morgan
EuropeMiddleEastandAfrica__UnitedKingdom
Macquarie https://www.macquarie.com/uk/en/careers/graduates-and-interns.html
Moelis & Co https://moelis.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/University-Hires
Morgan Stanley https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/students-graduates
Perella Weinberg Partner https://pwpartners.com/careers/intern-graduate-recruitment/
PJT Partners https://pjtpartners.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Students
Reichmuth & Co.
https://www.reichmuthco.ch/en/private-clients/reichmuth-co/career/
Privatbankiers
RW Baird https://bairdcareers.com/
https://careers.societegenerale.com/en/students-graduates/graduate-
Societe Generale
programmes
Standard Chartered https://www.sc.com/en/global-careers/early-careers/
UBS https://www.ubs.com/global/en/careers/recent-graduates.html
Wells Fargo https://www.wellsfargojobs.com/internationalearlycareers

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Hedge Funds
AQR https://www.aqr.com/About-Us/For-Students
BAM https://www.bamfunds.com/careers/campus-recruiting
Brevan Howard https://www.brevanhoward.com/careers/
Citadel https://www.citadel.com/careers/open-positions/positions-for-students/
DE Shaw https://www.deshaw.com/careers/internships
Farallon https://www.faralloncapital.com/careers
Man Group https://www.man.com/students-and-graduates
Marshall Wace https://www.mwam.com/join-us/graduates/
Millennium Management https://www.mlp.com/careers/students/
Point72 https://careers.point72.com/#
The Children's Investment
https://careers.ciff.org/
Fund Management
Two Sigma https://www.twosigma.com/careers/internships/
Private Equity
3i Group https://www.3i.com/careers/why-join-3i/#
Abris Capital Partners https://abris-capital.com/summer-internship/
Advent International https://www.adventinternational.com/global-reach/talent/
Alpha Group https://www.alphape.com/contact
Altor Equity Partners https://altor.com/careers
Apax Partners https://www.apax.com/people/careers/
Ardian https://www.ardian.com/join-us
Astorg https://www.astorg.com/contact
Bain Capital https://www.baincapital.com/news
BC Partners https://www.bcpartners.com/contact
Bowmark Capital https://www.bowmark.com/contact
Bridgepoint https://www.bridgepoint.eu/about-us/joining-the-team
Capvis https://www.capvis.com/en/jobs.html
Castik Capital https://www.castik.com/career
CEE Equity Partners http://cee-equity.com/contact/
Cinven https://www.cinven.com/media/media-contacts/
CVC Capital Partners https://www.cvc.com/about/working-at-cvc/
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG https://www.dbag.de/karriere/karriere
Enterprise Investors https://www.ei.com.pl/en/contact/
Epiris https://www.epiris.co.uk/team/careers/
EQT Partners https://eqtgroup.com/about/life-at-eqt/eqt-academy
Equistone Partners Europe https://www.equistonepe.com/contact/london
Exponent Private Equity https://www.exponentpe.com/contact-us
F2i Sgr https://www.f2isgr.it/en/contatti.html
HG Capital https://hgcapital.com/life-at-hg

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Hitecvision https://www.hitecvision.com/career/graduates-internships
IK Investment Partners https://ikpartners.com/contact/
Intermediate Capital Group https://www.icgam.com/people-and-careers/careers/early-careers/
Investindustrial https://www.investindustrial.com/our-contacts/offices.html
KKR & Co. Inc. https://boards.greenhouse.io/kkr
LDC Private Equity https://ldc.co.uk/contact/#footer-form
Livingbridge https://www.livingbridge.com/get-in-touch/
Lone Star Funds https://www.lonestarfunds.com/contact-us/
MCI Group https://careers.mci-group.com/
Mid Europa Partners https://mideuropa.com/recruitment/
Montagu Private Equity https://montagu.com/contact/
Neuberger Berman Group
https://nb.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/nbcareers?q=intern
LLC
https://career.nordiccapital.com/jobs/1750112-internship-stockholm-
Nordic Capital
spring-2023
PAI Partners https://www.paipartners.com/contact-us/
Partners Group https://jobs.partnersgroup.com/content/Internship-Programs/?locale=en_GB
Permira https://www.permira.com/contact-us
TDR Capital https://www.tdrcapital.com/contact/
The Blackstone Group Inc. https://www.blackstone.com/careers/students/
The Carlyle Group Inc. https://www.carlyle.com/careers
Thoma Bravo https://www.thomabravo.com/people-culture
TPG Capital https://www.tpg.com/contact-us/
Triton Partners https://www.triton-partners.com/careers/#internshipfrankfurt
Vista Equity Partners https://www.vistaequitypartners.com/careers/open-positions/
Vitruvian Partners https://www.vitruvianpartners.com/contact
Warburg Pincus LLC https://warburgpincus.com/careers/
Asset Management
Aegon https://www.aegon.co.uk/careers.html
Affiliated Managers Group https://www.amg.com/contact-us/
AllianceBernstein https://www.alliancebernstein.com/corporate/en/careers/students.html
ARDIAN Germany GmbH https://www.ardian.com/join-us
Artemis https://www.artemisfunds.com/en/about-artemis/careers
Ashmore https://www.ashmoregroup.com/en-gb/self-certify?dest=/en-gb/contact-us
Avaloq https://www.avaloq.com/careers
Aviva Investors https://careers.avivainvestors.com/starting-your-career/
Baillie Gifford https://earlycareers.bailliegifford.com/graduate-programmes/
Barings https://www.barings.com/en-gb/guest/about/careers
Blue Tree Group (IB) https://bluetreegroup.de/news/
BlueBay Asset Management https://www.bluebay.com/en-gb/institutional/who-we-are/about-us/
Charles Schwab Corporation https://jobs.schwabjobs.com/internship-academy

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Colchester Global Investors https://colchesterglobal.com/united-kingdom/contact-colchester-global/

Columbia Threadneedle https://www.columbiathreadneedle.com/en/about-us/?attested&country=glob
Investments al&language=en&investorType=all
Dimensional Fund Advisors https://careers.dimensional.com/
https://www.dodgeandcox.com/financial-professional/gb/en/about-us/dei.
Dodge & Cox
html
https://global.eatonvance.com/contact.php?RP=contact&asp_
Eaton Vance
role=Investment+Professional&asp_token=723600
Edward Jones Investments https://careers.edwardjones.com/career-areas/students-and-recent-grads/
https://fidelityinternational.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/brand-5/
Fidelity Investments
candidate/jobboard/vacancy/1/adv/
Franklin Templeton
https://www.franklintempletoncareers.com/
Investments
Genesis Investment
https://www.giml.co.uk/contact/
Management
Geode Capital Management https://www.geodecapital.com/careers
Guggenheim Partners https://www.guggenheimpartners.com/firm/careers
Insight Investment https://www.insightinvestment.com/uk/careers/graduates/
Intermediate Capital Group https://www.icgam.com/people-and-careers/careers/early-careers/
Invesco Ltd https://careers.invesco.com/emea/
https://www.investec.com/en_gb/welcome-to-investec/Careers/graduates.
Investec
html
J.O. Hambro Capital
https://www.johcm.com/uk/contact-us/sales
Management
Janus Henderson https://www.janushenderson.com/careers/
Jupiter Asset Management https://www.jupiteram.com/careers/opportunities/
KKR & Co. Inc. https://boards.greenhouse.io/kkr
Lazard https://www.lazard.com/careers/students/
Legal & General https://www.legalandgeneral.com/careers/future-talent/
https://www.loomissayles.com/website/about-us/working-at-
Loomis, Sayles & Company
loomis?scrollto=internships
https://www.lordabbett.com/content/lordabbett/captivate/en-us/financial-
Lord Abbett
advisor/index/about-us/careers/careers.html
Majedie Asset Management https://www.majedieinvestments.com/
MassMutual https://www.massmutual.com/about-us/careers/early-careers
MetLife Investment
https://jobs.metlife.com/content/Intern/?locale=en_US
Management
MFS Investment
https://www.mfs.com/en-us/individual-investor/about-mfs/careers.html
Management
Mondrian Investment
https://www.mondrian.com/graduate-program/
Partners
New York Life Investments https://jobs.newyorklife.com/go/Investment-Jobs/4451800/
Newton Investment
https://www.newtonim.com/global/careers/
Management
https://ninetyone.com/en/united-kingdom/
Ninety One
careers?ipnl=Graduates+and+interns&subTab=Graduates+%26+interns

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Nuveen https://careers.tiaa.org/nuveen/global/en/home
Pantheon Ventures https://www.pantheon.com/careers/
Record Currency
https://recordfg.com/careers/
Management
https://www.rothesay.com/about-us/working-here/careers/graduate-
Rothesay Life plc
programme/
Royal London Asset
https://www.rlam.com/uk/contact-us/
Management
Russell Investments https://russellinvestments.com/uk/careers
Savills Investment
https://careers.savillsim.com/
Management
Schroders https://www.schroders.com/en/about-us/careers/graduates/
SEI Investments https://careers.seic.com/global/en/c/students-entry-level-jobs
Standard Life Aberdeen https://www.standardlife.ie/about-us/careers
Swiss Life Asset Managers https://www.swisslife-am.com/en/home/careers.html
T. Rowe Price https://www.troweprice.com/corporate/uk/en/careers.html
TCW Group https://www.tcw.com/Our-Firm/Careers/Internship-Recruitment
The Vanguard Group https://www.vanguardjobs.com/students-and-recent-graduates/
Veritas Asset Management https://www.vamllp.com/contact/
Voya Investments
https://www.voya.com/page/internships
Management
Walter Scott https://www.walterscott.com/careers/
Western Asset Management
https://careers.westernasset.com/students
Company
Winton Group https://www.winton.com/working-at-winton
Cryptocurrency
Anchorage Digital https://www.anchorage.com/careers/
B2C2 https://www.b2c2.com/team/careers
Binance https://www.binance.com/en/careers/department?name=Internships
BlockFills https://www.blockfills.com/contact/
Bluesky Capital https://www.blueskycapitalmanagement.com/careers/
Chainanlysis https://boards.greenhouse.io/chainalysis
Ciphertrace https://ciphertrace.com/jobs/
Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/careers
Copper https://copper.co/careers
Elliptic https://apply.workable.com/elliptic/
Elwood https://boards.greenhouse.io/elwoodtechnologies
Eventus https://www.eventus.com/company/#Careers
Fidelity Digital Assets https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/careers
Fireblocks https://www.fireblocks.com/careers/current-openings/
Galaxy Digital https://boards.greenhouse.io/galaxydigitalservices
Gemini https://www.gemini.com/internships

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
GSR https://www.gsr.io/careers/
Inca Digital https://inca.digital/careers/
Kraken https://www.kraken.com/en-gb/careers
NYDIG https://nydig.com/careers
Solidus Labs https://www.soliduslabs.com/careers
Tagomi (Acquired by
https://www.coinbase.com/careers
Coinbase prime)
Talos https://talos.com/join-talos/
TRM Labs https://www.trmlabs.com/careers
TSImagine https://tsimagine.com/about/careers/
Big Four
https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/programmes.html?icid=top_
Deloitte
programmes
EY https://www.ey.com/en_uk/careers/students/programmes/graduates
KPMG https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/careers/graduates.html
PWC https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/student-careers.html

Banking Careers Guide 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Banking Careers Guide 2023

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Banking Careers Guide 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 2

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 5

What’s the front office, middle

A variety. Settlements, for example – traders with electronic trading systems

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 7

The graduate recruitment

In Europe and Asia, you should devote the person interview.

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 9

What to expect when you apply

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 11

The highest paying banking jobs

Working hours and compensation, by sector, US$

Total Hours Worked Average salary Average

are other Compliance $132,952 43.6 $47.8 $58.7

options.” Operations $131,139 44.8 $42.2 $56.3

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 12

The absolutely perfect

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 13

Keywords You want to learn (if you haven’t already)

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 14

problems. When you’re quantifying following for non-traditional applicants,

Senior Students In conclusion, sell yourself. With a bit of

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 15

M&A Advisory jobs

Global H1 2023 M&A revenues by bank, US$

Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share H1 2022 rank

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 16

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 17

more predictable. What’s your career path in M&A?

M&A is also a client-driven activity. As an One of the benefits of a career in M&A is

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 18

becomes increasingly client-facing. The Salaries and bonuses in M&A

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 19

Sales & Trading jobs

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 20

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 21

Global Interest Rate Swap Market

Market Estimated Market electronification

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 22

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 23

Average Compensation by seniority in sales and trading, US$

Job Title Average Salary Average Bonus Total

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 24

Day in the life: Citadel Securities,

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 25

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 26

Day in the life: Sophia Mastrell,

I make markets on convertible bonds. These

8:45am. We have a morning meeting every

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 27

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 28

Prestige What do capital markets jobs in Investment bankers working in capital

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 29

Banks expect their DCM analysts to As Virginia Draper, graduate recruitment

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 30

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 31

Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share Rank Bank Rev. $m %Share

September, 2023 efinancialcareers.com 32

Average compensation by seniority in the IBD, US$