Hi,
This is my first post. I interviewed last Thursday and was offered the position on the Friday.
At first, about 11 of us sat around a desk. The age range seemed varied starting from around 22 (moi) and working upto early to mid thirties, though most of the guys looked like recent grads or at least young guys.
We did a quick Maths test, where speed was the factor. It was the easiest test I have done in my life but then again I do study a masters in Physics! Well I do, but almost any person should find this test EASY, it was nothing like Citigroup, JP Morgan Deutsche Bank, UBS or any other IB numerical reasoning test...(to give some REAL info rather than what people have said so far)...The test contains a total of 50 questions. It test consists of two sections, each containing two columns A and B. In the first section (~30 questions) you just multiply A by 2 and take away B. In this section both A and B are rational numbers, in fact they were hole numbers..e.g.
A = 49, B = 17 => (2*49) - 17 = 81
And most of them were alot easier than that one
So no need to learn probability theory like someone suggested.
The second section had a further ~20 questions, again it consisted of two columns A and B. This time all you had to do was take B away from A, these numbers were also rational and contained a maximum of two decimal places, again, basic mathematics and nothing too challenging for someone who wants to be a trader. A typical question:
e.g.
A = 1234.50, B = 113.30 => 1234.50 - 113.30 = 1121.20
Then one guy (Delme) was doing the talking and the and the candidates jumping in with their questions in between.
The main points were:
They give you two weeks classroom training, with industry 'experts' and people from the stock exchange and coaches, then simulated trading in week three, then access to bloomberg machine and other components for the fourth week in which you actually go live with a 1 lot account. If you survive, they give you a further 2 months free access to the trading stations (arcades or whatever you want to call them) and if you are good and consistently making profits they keep increasing the size of you trading account.
Scheider helps you set up a company, funds your trading account and lets you keep 50% of the profits. If you take cash out of your trading account, say £10,000 at the end of a good month then they will give you £5k, they take £3k and put the remaining £2k into a holding account which is then paid to you in 6 months time, if you have left in this period you forfeit the holding account cash. So essentially they give you 70%, which is very good.
You can also finance your account fully in which case you keep 100% of the profits and only pay Schndeider for the use of a station and compliance and risk services which is a fixed monthly fee ranging from £1500-£1800 or higher depending on your software options. Otherwise this fee is payable from the trading account.
What else....hmmmm.
Apparently some people on the floor there only make a few grand a month, while others make over £250,000 per month and apparently one guy made £1.26 million in a month, however, those are only words and it is not until I actually start there that I will be able to comment further. I am going to give it a go and put my full into it, I haven't had any formal training and I have managed to consistently make double-digit returns every month for a while now. I was in the process of setting up a company in London this summer after I graduate anyway and have a good amount of capital to back us and this seems like a good opportunity to be trained for free and be given help in setting up a company so definately a plus.
Anyway, May 2nd is the official starting date for the second wave of trainee associate traders and there is likely to be a third since due to my examinations I won't be starting until after this date.
I will warn people though, this is not easy and 95% of people that enter these types of jobs dont make money but those that do, do VERY well. If you do genuinely have an interest in the markets and the determination, commitment and all the other traits required to succeed in this field then I encourage you to apply, otherwise dont.
There are other options as well, some people would prefer the security of working in an investment bank (if there is such a thing) but there are also alot of pros and cons when you compare the two. Everything depends on the individual and their circumstances, only you will know what is best for you.
Anyway, I hope this has been a little more informative than the previous posts and wish you all good luck in your chosen paths.
Good luck to you speculators and good investing to you investors
The Econophysicist
Welcome to the zero-sum game!
