Any insight would be helpful. Trading vs. I'm planning to transfer to the finance industry after I attend business school, but am having trouble deciding between trading and investment banking. I have straight A's in econometrics, stats, finance, and accounting.

I earned A's in all my calc-requiring engineering courses but only B's in calc freshman year. I'm trying to figure out where I'm more likely to succeed and which division will pay me more. I think I wouldn't like sales as much as the IBD or trading. My goals are to live in Manhattan, enjoy being around my colleagues, and retire to a beach house in Duck, NC as soon as possible. I am currently pursuing my MBA at UofM Ross's evening MBA program. I will be done in summer or winter just depends on when I want to finish.

Main reason for pursuing an MBA was to switch careers to i-banking. I've been in sales mortgages for the last 9 yrs, 5 in management so I initially was leaning towards institutional sales. I'm very confident in my sales abilities and feel that I can succeed right away in this role. I am married with a new born. However, exit ops seems to be limited and once in sales, it seems like it will be difficult to make moves to areas within the same firm if you desired.

And income potential isnt as high as other positions. Going the IB route will lead to higher income potential, better exit ops, etc but I basically wont see my family for the 1st couple of yrs. Plus I will be 36 when I graduate. as an sa which is better place to have more options full time. Differences between trading, PE , IB , HF , etc. I spent this past summer interning, and I was amazed at how much clearer an industry becomes once you work in it. So I was wondering if anyone can enlighten me on what the important differences are between these industries.

I don't care much about salary differences; I'd rather know where are entry-level employees doing the most research? How do exit opportunities work between these industries?

Or anything else that seems to be helpful for someone like me, who hasn't had too much finance experience. Investment Banking vs. I haven't made a decision yet over whether to work in investment banking division or fixed-income trading when I graduate from university.

Which summer internship is better after freshman year. I guess a summer internhip in IBD will be better for learning financial modeling etc.

What do you guys think about? Sorry to bring it up. But need to make the same choice in this week. Anything change in with the prospect of trading going more automatic? Hey everyone, I know this is a really simple question, but I was wondering-- what exactly is the difference between Trading and Investment Banking?

At the moment, I am unsure which division best fits my personality and strengths, and where I might have the potential for success if finance is for me at all.

I have quite good instinct, I can tell whether someone is trying to rip me off or I straight away know what type of person someone is straight away as I meet them. I don't mean to come off as conceited or anything, I'm just trying to see whether a career in finance is for me or whether I should look at another industry. Any comments will be appreciated, thanks. Based on the information provided, you could probably swing either choice. It really depends on which area piques your interest most.

It would probably help if you networked more with professionals in both areas to help you make up your mind. Dont sit there like a mute deaf. Ask questions about things that will really give you a good idea what the job is about. I'm not sure if there's real shadowing in banking other than meeting people, shaking hands, and spending a few minutes or getting coffee.

Either way, do the legwork and put in some effort. No one here knows you so it's pretty useless to ask us. Of course, I guess I don't have to tell you this, since you're so good at reading people. I was just a little worried, since you thought it was worth mentioning here. Which division you pick should really depend on your interests and future career goals.

Excel does most of the math in IB. why'd you guys choose banking over trading, assuming you did? Was it the exit ops? I'm about to enter banking and sometimes wonder why didn't I go for trading. Trading seems meritocratic you make money, you earn money , your skills are very concrete, and if you're good, then it's smooth sailing ahead.

I guess what had concerned me were exit ops what if I didnt want to keep trading , and satisfaction with my job I'm just shifting securities around, which I guess I could justify as providing liquidity. Tons of exit ops. As everywhere it depends how good you are at trading. But then if you're good then you wont quit.

Some exit ops could be:. because in my finance courses I loved the valuation material and was indifferent to the trading ones. in my futures and options class after I finished taking the test all the information was gone after like a week.

Same as above post, I did not enjoy the classes that focused on trading but enjoyed other finance classes, and I had an internship in banking. At the end of the day, it's not about choosing the "perfect" career, because "perfect" really doesn't exist.

That's all there is to choosing a career. Quod voluptatem cum eius nobis esse nihil. Ipsam eos cupiditate est architecto. Culpa sapiente vel sit quae est maxime voluptatum. WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. or Unlock with your social account Quas molestias repellendus dolore nam. Quisquam labore et sit minima amet qui non. Sed et consectetur qui qui atque optio. Inventore voluptates animi corrupti doloremque nisi nisi officia. Possimus dolor placeat sit repudiandae.

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Qui aspernatur autem dolor sed enim ex architecto. Eveniet architecto et hic explicabo non magnam officia. Mollitia quia laudantium nobis et. Join Us. Already a member? WSO Virtual Bootcamps See all. Popular Content See all. Going Off Topic since I need some advice. One of my guy friends is struggling with properly relaxing on his time off.

He's constantly thinking of work and he's closing a deal really soon plus he just broke up with his boyfriend and he's not doing great. He's pretty stressed lately and it sucks to s…. Recently had a discussion with my friends on whether to learn another language.

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I would really like to know if guys find that stuff attractive and what they generally prefer. I get everything has preferences but I'd like to see if it's a popular opinion. Should girls stick to more fem…. Every time I muster up the energy to apply to firms or get close to an offer, the process is halted by some sht. When I was recruiting out of UG, I had a pandemic to combat against in a sht country Canada and now, a goddamn recession.

I've given up in trying to enter a field I genuinely enjoy, an…. Humor is a large part of landing hot chicks. If you can make her laugh - you can win her over.

It could be pre-selection too - what do you think? Sorry that this is a bit of a serious if not a bit glum topic, but I'm certainly not looking at this with enough nuance or depth, so I'm looking forward to hearing deeper perspectives.

How do you justify that you are creating reports that seem to potentially be diminishing in value, to fir…. November Investment Banking. Leaderboard See all. Related Events See all. or Want to Sign up with your social account? Home Forums Off Topic Forum OFF Aug 01, Aug 01, Trading Vs. Gold Man Sack PE. Rank: Orangutan Some of the questions I'd personally like to see answered here are: What do recruiters look for when hiring bankers vs.

MDs in investment banking face a similar issue, but fees earned from closed deals tend to be more stable than trading commissions because companies execute deals even if the public markets are slumping or problematic. Investment banking exit opportunities are broad and plentiful: private equity , growth equity, venture capital , hedge funds , asset management, corporate finance, corporate development, and more.

Salespeople gain a broader skill set, so they could, theoretically, win sales roles at normal companies , or even go into areas like investor relations or buy-side fundraising. However, deal-based roles such as private equity or corporate development would be nearly impossible without actual deal experience first.

For more about some of these opportunities, please see our article on the hedge fund career path. And the quant hedge fund and quant research routes are still viable, but, again, those are different from traditional trading jobs. If none of these conditions is true, then I would strongly recommend investment banking instead. In his spare time, he enjoys memorizing obscure Excel functions, editing resumes, obsessing over TV shows, traveling like a drug dealer, and defeating Sauron.

Free Exclusive Report: page guide with the action plan you need to break into investment banking - how to tell your story, network, craft a winning resume, and dominate your interviews.

Hi Brian, As an outgoing and social person, enjoy being with fun and chill people, will S? T just be the better fit for me? Or IB can still be an option despite most work will keep the nose to the grindstone as you mentioned?

If you want to be social and outgoing at work, look at institutional sales roles. Pls suggest me if have any other idea? Or just in finance and related areas? My question is, what are the best kinds of sales jobs to shoot for? What are alternatives to Sales in Fiance in regards to learning curve, salary and future career prospects? The best alternative to Sales in finance is Sales at a large tech company or tech startup, ideally selling something like enterprise software.

I have a high gpa. I am still not sure if I want to go into investment banking or trading. I have a chance to minor in math. Is it worth it? The courses are advanced and will it really make that much of a difference if I do go into trading? I think a major in finance and minor in math would be better than a double major in economics and finance if you can change it at this point. I always think math and CS classes are worth it, as long as you can maintain a reasonably good GPA, and they will be quite useful on the trading side.

Ok, thanks. I am doing the double major with Econ only because it is a couple of extra classes. That, along with the highly regulated environment, can put some traders at ease and help them focus on their trading strategy. Short traders, however, may find that stock trading actually carries more risk, as a result of how currency pairing works.

When a stock market declines, you can make money by shorting, but that imposes extra risks. In forex trading, you can go short on a currency pair as easily as you can go long. The two positions present similar risks. No additional precautionary trades to limit losses are necessary. One risk of shorting a stock, at least in theory, is that you may have unlimited losses.

In reality, that's unlikely to happen because your broker will probably force you to end the short position. Nevertheless, most financial advisors caution against shorting for all, and many of the most experienced investors execute parallel stop-loss and limit orders to contain this risk. Most investors are more familiar with the stock market than with forex, and that familiarity may be comforting. Whichever you choose, trade carefully and control your risk with stop-losses.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Securities and Exchange Commission. National Futures Association. Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. Forex Trading Stock Trading Leverage Limits or more Liquidity Much larger supply, liquidity Less supply, liquidity Trade Pairing Any currency USD in the U. Market Hours 24 hours per day, five days per week Most trading occurs between a.

and 4 p. EST , Monday—Friday. Note This is just one way in which forex markets are less regulated than stock markets. Note When you buy Intel shares, your primary concern is whether the stock will increase in value; you're less concerned with the stock prices of other companies.

Note In forex trading, you can go short on a currency pair as easily as you can go long. Key Takeaways Forex trading is generally less regulated than stock trading, and forex traders have access to much more leverage than stock traders. Forex trading uses pairs, so the trade depends on the performance of two economies rather than trading a single stock.

Currencies are more liquid than stocks, they trade at all hours of the day, and large orders have less impact on currency pairings than they do on stock prices.

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If you're new here, please click here to get my FREE page investment banking recruiting guide - plus, get weekly updates so that you can break into investment banking. Thanks for visiting! You facilitate transactions, such as helping a company raise debt or equity, or helping an institutional client buy and sell securities, and you earn commissions on those transactions. Investment banking is concerned with large, corporate-level transactions such as buying or selling an entire company, restructuring a company, or helping a company raise debt or equity to pay for a major expansion or acquisition.

Salespeople build relationships with these clients and encourage trades, and the traders execute the trades by making markets for clients and getting them the best prices. Many products are now traded electronically, and eventually, trading will be electronic for all but the most complex and customized products.

One process difference is that MBA-level recruiting is far more prevalent for investment banking roles, especially in the U. Then, you need to present that experience effectively on your resume by focusing on the most important internships and activities. There is some controversy over whether or not you should list mock trading accounts on your resume.

But if you are a very young student and you have absolutely nothing else, then yes, you could list mock trading accounts or, better yet, real personal accounts and your results. Presentations involve investment pitches rather than advising companies on acquisitions or capital raises. This is also true on the sales side — senior salespeople simply sell more and work with more important clients.

By contrast, the work changes significantly as you move up in investment banking. Analysts and Associates do mostly grunt work, such as Excel, PowerPoint, deal process tracking, and pitch book creation. How good was the bid-ask spread?

Just think about how everyone in group activities in university received credit even if one person did all the work and someone else did almost nothing. MDs in investment banking face a similar issue, but fees earned from closed deals tend to be more stable than trading commissions because companies execute deals even if the public markets are slumping or problematic. Investment banking exit opportunities are broad and plentiful: private equity , growth equity, venture capital , hedge funds , asset management, corporate finance, corporate development, and more.

Salespeople gain a broader skill set, so they could, theoretically, win sales roles at normal companies , or even go into areas like investor relations or buy-side fundraising.

However, deal-based roles such as private equity or corporate development would be nearly impossible without actual deal experience first. For more about some of these opportunities, please see our article on the hedge fund career path. And the quant hedge fund and quant research routes are still viable, but, again, those are different from traditional trading jobs. If none of these conditions is true, then I would strongly recommend investment banking instead. In his spare time, he enjoys memorizing obscure Excel functions, editing resumes, obsessing over TV shows, traveling like a drug dealer, and defeating Sauron.

Free Exclusive Report: page guide with the action plan you need to break into investment banking - how to tell your story, network, craft a winning resume, and dominate your interviews. Hi Brian, As an outgoing and social person, enjoy being with fun and chill people, will S? T just be the better fit for me?

Or IB can still be an option despite most work will keep the nose to the grindstone as you mentioned? If you want to be social and outgoing at work, look at institutional sales roles. Pls suggest me if have any other idea? Or just in finance and related areas? My question is, what are the best kinds of sales jobs to shoot for? What are alternatives to Sales in Fiance in regards to learning curve, salary and future career prospects?

The best alternative to Sales in finance is Sales at a large tech company or tech startup, ideally selling something like enterprise software. I have a high gpa. I am still not sure if I want to go into investment banking or trading. I have a chance to minor in math. Is it worth it? The courses are advanced and will it really make that much of a difference if I do go into trading?

I think a major in finance and minor in math would be better than a double major in economics and finance if you can change it at this point. I always think math and CS classes are worth it, as long as you can maintain a reasonably good GPA, and they will be quite useful on the trading side. Ok, thanks. I am doing the double major with Econ only because it is a couple of extra classes. I think my concern was that if I go into investment banking, and eventually private equity, the math minor would be pretty useless.

But what you are saying definitely makes sense. I think it really comes down to whether I want to go into banking or trading. Thanks again. The fields might become more math-driven, or you might use the skills in some other way afterward. Also, you might be perceived as more capable if you do the math minor because nearly all bankers would say that math is more difficult than economics or finance. With this route, is a math minor necessary. Also, I was wondering if an economics major makes a lot of sense for these roles.

If I work at a global macro fund, I figured an economics degree would make sense, but I am having second thoughts. Should I just major in finance and minor in math I may throw in a philosophy minor to diversify and because I enjoy it. Maybe one class but nothing more. We had an interview with a reader in corporate FX and interest rate derivative sales a few years ago, but unfortunately could never publish it because he disappeared.

The summary would be:. You might be pricing options or forwards for a client, but then have to change your focus when the phone rings. I will be starting as an investment banking analyst at a regional boutique this summer but would like to work in PE.

I understand I need to lateral to a MM or BB to have a shot, but would attempting a lateral for FT recruiting in the fall be too soon even though the start dates are for the following year?

But once you have deals to speak to, you can start recruiting at other firms. The main constraint is that you should aim to move to a bigger bank by the end of your first year or so. Your email address will not be published. by Brian DeChesare Comments learn more. Print as PDF. Break Into Investment Banking.

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I am married with a new born. and once in sales, it seems like it will be difficult to make moves to areas within the same firm if you desired. Leave this field blank. Most of our users highlighted that they liked the competitive nature of trading as well as the meritocracy of trading firms. All major world currencies are highly liquid, which means the two markets have very different price sensitivity to trade activity. accountspayable - Investment Banking Analyst:. Salespeople cultivate connections with these customers and urge them to trade.

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