Superstar Traders?

UK2004 · Oct 19, 2001

Dpes anyone know the most somebody has earnt in one year in fx trading this being their first year say after degree as an fx trader whther spot forward or derivatives?

liltrdr · Oct 19, 2001

Whatever salary number you get will be irrelevant. I believe CSFB laid of 2k workers. I know for a fact that the incoming trading class of JPMorgan is half the usual number. Big cuts all around. Any past numbers will be almost irrelevant in the current atmosphere. Volume is down. The bull market is down. Check out the trade deficit. It's shrinking because the U.S. is importing less. But if you still want numbers, check out www.careers-in-finance.com.
Frankly, I'd be happy to just get into fx trading in the current environment.

dufferdon · Oct 20, 2001

Maybe he already is and just wants to know if he set a record

liltrdr · Oct 21, 2001

Good one. Yeah, I have to admit you might be right

UK2004 · Oct 21, 2001

I'm actually 17 and a half years old i will be going into trading in 4 years but i will be working in it for 9 months next year for work experience when i am 18

liltrdr · Oct 21, 2001

You might want to try vault.com for better salary figures too. I've heard all kinds of numbers. Top bank currency traders can take home 1 mil a year. Ibank traders can take home a lot more than that. Back in the eighties, traders at Salomon sometimes took home more than 10 or 20 mil. In the nineties, I've heard outrageous numbers like that too. Most of this info is secondhand from classmates who know people in banking. But it's pretty reliable. I also knew a guy who traded at Salomon. His boss was 27. He had a ferrari. He was a multimillionaire. The top players get payed more than some top NBA players.

UK2004 · Oct 21, 2001

Thats a hell of a lot of money are they trading currency derivatives or spot or forwards?

liltrdr · Oct 21, 2001

My best guess is that they would make more in OTC derivatives which have higher margins rather than just plain old forwards and swaps. I mean, the more expertise is required, the higher the profit margin. Just like any other business. Also, ever since the LTCM debacle, most banks are moving away from prop trading. It's viewed as risky. Have you talked to any institutional traders? There are a lot that hang out on vault.com under the company message boards (like goldman sachs). They would be able to give you really good info that's better than anything you'll get on elitetrader.