Westpac Traders (1 Viewer)

[IronMaiden]

I went to Westpac in the city, 32 level building with funky furniture and nice carpet. My interest was drawn to the traders room and sparked my imagination and I thought it would be a valuable goal as a future job, as it seemed to be an area which tied in with my interests. I asked the lady and she said they take grads from many different degrees, including economics and commerce, or any other "businessy" degree. I thought this was a rather lame explanation, so yeah.

My question is how do traders become traders for top tier banks?

 

[velox]

They have numerate degrees, are full of energy, have a strong interest in financial markets, are well composed under pressure, dont over analyse, can pick trends, are quick thinkers, are confident.

And wear nice suits.

 

[turtleface]

Hey man you should see the melbourne offices of PwC and KPMG. They make the bank offices look 3rd world.

 

[IronMaiden]

So they're good at maths (2unit), better at maths(extension1), or excellent at maths (extension2)..?

 

[jase_]

Westpac's Kent/Sussex office is pretty awesome I agree. They do take grads for many different divisions and many degrees, so you could try and get into one of those. They do take a fair amount of people from Business/Commerce degrees into accounting and finance type roles. Usually you rotate around different positions for the first year or so, so if you are interested in trading then really it's just a matter of asking once you get into the program and see if any roles are available. Even if you don't get it straight up, it's just a matter of doing something else and getting yourself known within the bank, and eventually a space will open up.

 

[IronMaiden]

Yeah, I don't want to aim for a grad job somewhere and be so 100% confident i'm going to get it. She told us that they take Cgrade average or something, I thought it would be distinction average at the least.

She also mentioned an economics degree, this is a numerate degree yes?

 

[Conspirocy]

depends what you major in

economics - slightly

econometrics - very

but they like economics students because even with an economics major they are teaching you models to analyse trends - also depends what options you take as well i'd say

 

[jase_]

Yeah, I don't want to aim for a grad job somewhere and be so 100% confident i'm going to get it. She told us that they take Cgrade average or something, I thought it would be distinction average at the least.

She also mentioned an economics degree, this is a numerate degree yes?

Most grad jobs usually look for at least a credit average, though the higher the better. It's not all about your marks though (well some jobs like IB's and actuaries prefer really good marks) as they also look at your extra-curricular activities, your soft skills and your work experience over your uni life, so work on those too.

The top 4 banks (CBA, NAB, WBC, ANZ) all have pretty similar grad programs and so do some of the other banks, so just apply to all of them when the time comes.

 

[IronMaiden]

So they're good at maths (2unit), better at maths(extension1), or excellent at maths (extension2)..?

Just to give me an idea, what level of NSW HSC Mathematics equivalent are we talking for the level required in such a job/related courses?

 

[freakonomics101]

hey, i'm also interested in trading. Does anybody know what kind of hours a typical trader at a big 4 bank would work?

 

[turtleface]

I read the quasi-auto biography of one of the so called NAB rogue traders. They were from the currency options trading desk. According to him, they had shifts (e.g. the London shift, the New York shift etc.) of roughly 8-10 hours each. (The least popular member of the team got the overnight London (i think) shift and eventually quit because it was too much. Outside of this they generally kept up to date with the goings of the market and often came into the office outside of the hours, though that could be because their position was getting worse.

 

[velox]

hey, i'm also interested in trading. Does anybody know what kind of hours a typical trader at a big 4 bank would work?

If you have to ask you probably wont make it as one. Generally 10-12 hours a day.
Btw: How did you find the book?

 

[freakonomics101]

Btw: How did you find the book?

I'm assuming you're talking about the book 'freakonomics'?
I thought parts of it were really interesting and other bits boring.
I liked how they related events to a problem that seems totally unrelated, like legalised abortion to the crime drop.

 

[Omnidragon]

To become a trader in a top tier bank, you apply for a grad trading position at a top tier bank.

Of the stocks I monitor, the volume an investment bank trades far exceeds commercial banks. Forget about Westpac.

 

[mr_shittles]

To become a trader in a top tier bank, you apply for a grad trading position at a top tier bank.

Of the stocks I monitor, the volume an investment bank trades far exceeds commercial banks. Forget about Westpac.

Trading is not just about trading the handful of stocks that you monitor. Commodities, futures contracts, foreign exchange etc. are also examples of financial instruments/assets that get traded by "traders."

Westpac is actually one of the largest traders of foreign exchange in Australia, carrying out much more forex trading in Australia than most investment banks.

But yeah, forget about Westpac, they probably don't monitor as many stocks as you do!

 

[Conspirocy]

Westpac is actually one of the largest traders of foreign exchange in Australia, carrying out much more forex trading in Australia than most investment banks.

classic lol -

on a side note - best currency strategist is at NAB, but he started in IB

 

[SoCal]

There are hardly any jobs available for traders. This is the job I wanted out of University but it really is too hard unless you are the absolute best at what they are looking for (quick thinker and highly numerate). All I can say is good luck.

 

[velox]

SoCal what are you doing in 2007?

 

[Omnidragon]

Trading is not just about trading the handful of stocks that you monitor. Commodities, futures contracts, foreign exchange etc. are also examples of financial instruments/assets that get traded by "traders."

Westpac is actually one of the largest traders of foreign exchange in Australia, carrying out much more forex trading in Australia than most investment banks.

But yeah, forget about Westpac, they probably don't monitor as many stocks as you do!

Comparing a corporation to me, an ordinary fella? Get serious man! How about comparing Westpac to Goldman. Anyway, have a good life trading at Westpac, like most people in denial of their fortunes.

And yes! Fixed income is the shit. No one cares about equities trading

 

[Capitalist]

I think a trading job would be pretty cool.

On top of academic achievements, participating in share games, having your own equity portfolio, and being knowledge of markets would help, not only in the interview process, but to develop a general interest in financial markets and help you decide if you really want to be up in the early hours of the morning (if necessary) doing your job.

I spoke to a UBS equities trader a while ago on one of those info evenings, and he told me he was in the office from around 8am and left at around 6-7ish (if I remember correctly), but occasionally he'd be called up at obscure hours, like 4AM, to answer queries and undertake work.

Omnidragon: Do you work as a trader for Goldman? What's it like?