Experienced trader needs career advice

[maptrader]

Can anyone enlighten me on what a job in a mutual fund might be like? I'm not talking about a major wall street firm. But more of a smaller tier firm. With maybe 2-10 billion under management.


I threw in the towell on a 5 year trading career last week because I want to find something more stable now that I have 2 kids. I made money every year trading but not enough to compensate for the risk. Time to get a real job. The initial reception I am getting from people is that I'm branded as a wild card trader.

Hopefully someone on ET has some advice they can give on the mutual fund/money management business. Just to make myself clear and to keep some of the harrasing threads to a minimum.....I'm not trying to get investor money. I'm trying to make a career switch. Although I think I would be good in a sales position, I don't think I would enjoy it. I'm more interested in finding an analyst position where I can learn the business and work my way up. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

[Ripley]

Read "Secrets of the Investment All-Stars" by Kenneth A. Stern to get an inside look at those methods and strategies employed by medium sized mutual fund managers. The methods top mutual funds employ are very well similar to those employed by most traders.

It also goes into tangents as to how the office set ups are and such.

If you have almost $500,000 or so starting capital, my recommendation would be for you to start a mutual fund.

And I don't really know why you would say, trading your account is risky? Because Bruce Kovner, PTJ all keep 80% to 90% of their money in their own futures funds because they think it is "safest place" to put their money at. I just think there are safer way to trade your account if the mutual fund route isn't for you.

so did you take GMAT? and how did it go?

 

[Copernicus]

Quote from maptrader:



you should have no problem in getting a sales position since you have a lot of "broad market" experience.

the problem with "I'm more interested in finding an analyst position where I can learn the business and work my way up." is that these positions are filled by 22-25 year olds getting paid 60k max. you are going to have very tough time explaining why you are willing to take a substantial pay cut and accept such a drop down the corporate ladder. hr will throw out you resume instantly if you apply for a position such as this, best bet is network and get a job that way.

 

[maptrader]

I'll read that book for sure. Thanks.

As you can tell from looking at my past posts, I've been contemplating this move out of trading for a long time. Probably 2 years. I realized around 2003 that I was a pretty good floor trader (in options) , but the off-floor thing has been somehwhat of a flop. Not losing money but not making any either. Also, I have had a backer all along. Never traded my own money. I have always been financially backed by clearing firms so of course the pressure is on to churn commissions.

I never took the GMAT because I couldn't decide what I would want to do outside of trading. And going back to school would have delayed the need to figure out what's next.

My interest in working at a mutual fund is that, from what I can tell, it is a very similar to trading. Only it involves more of a fundamental approach than worrying about the size of the bid and offer and order flow. More of a thinking man's game than that of the reactionary daytrading environment.

The sad reality of it is that I wasn't making great money daytrading. And most of the "entry level" jobs in these firms wouldn't be that huge of a step down for me. I've learned to control my ego years ago so admitting I need to try something else and re-tool isn't hard.

MY reason for starting this thread is to see if anyone has worked, or is working, for a fund and could tell me what to look for in a position or what to emphasize from my trading career. i.e. risk management or the analytical aspect. Or if it would be better to try and get into equities or fixed income. Is there a difference in career paths or income potential. Sales doesn't really float my boat. I'm not introverted at all, but I don't think I would be able to get out of bed everyday with a smile on my face if I had to prospect for clients.

Thanks again for your ideas.

 

[Mr Kamikaze]

Quote from maptrader:

I'll read that book for sure. Thanks.

As you can tell from looking at my past posts, I've been contemplating this move out of trading for a long time. Probably 2 years. I realized around 2003 that I was a pretty good floor trader (in options) , but the off-floor thing has been somehwhat of a flop. Not losing money but not making any either. Also, I have had a backer all along. Never traded my own money. I have always been financially backed by clearing firms so of course the pressure is on to churn commissions.

I never took the GMAT because I couldn't decide what I would want to do outside of trading. And going back to school would have delayed the need to figure out what's next.

My interest in working at a mutual fund is that, from what I can tell, it is a very similar to trading. Only it involves more of a fundamental approach than worrying about the size of the bid and offer and order flow. More of a thinking man's game than that of the reactionary daytrading environment.

The sad reality of it is that I wasn't making great money daytrading. And most of the "entry level" jobs in these firms wouldn't be that huge of a step down for me. I've learned to control my ego years ago so admitting I need to try something else and re-tool isn't hard.

MY reason for starting this thread is to see if anyone has worked, or is working, for a fund and could tell me what to look for in a position or what to emphasize from my trading career. i.e. risk management or the analytical aspect. Or if it would be better to try and get into equities or fixed income. Is there a difference in career paths or income potential. Sales doesn't really float my boat. I'm not introverted at all, but I don't think I would be able to get out of bed everyday with a smile on my face if I had to prospect for clients.

Thanks again for your ideas.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is accept reality, but you have been realistic in your self-assessment and that puts you streets ahead of many burnt out traders. The problem you will encounter is that trading sucks on a cv. All ex-traders are branded as risky to employ purely because employers assume that you will eventually want to return to the markets once you are faced with office politics and a boring 9-5 routine. Networking is your best bet by far, HR pricks and agencies will just ignore your cv without even properly reading it. And before you say that you don't have a network of friends that can help, believe me that you would be suprised. Even friends of friends can sometimes make the difference. So ask around and see if anyone you know can help.

Good luck with the job search. If nothing else you can take away with you the knowledge that you gave it your best shot and had the emotional maturity to know when you were overmatched by the market. After all there is more to life than trading.