ADD ADVICE TO FAVTrader
Traders deal in financial products or commodities on behalf of banks and their clients, or for other organisations such as energy companies.
What traders do
- read the market and set a price
- keep in constant contact with their own research and sales teams, and in some cases their clients
- start early and work non-stop while the markets are open.
Key skills
- instinctively understand the market mood when setting prices
- the ability to understand demand and supply pressures in the market
- the ability to work in close proximity to others while under enormous and constant pressure
- concentration
- the ability to think quickly and respond quickly to constantly changing circumstances
- data analysis skills
- good understanding of human psychology
- numeracy and mathematical ability.
Training to be a trader
Both the markets and the products traded change so quickly that almost all expertise is in the hands of current traders. Consequently, nearly all training is on-the-job.
However, new graduates receive formal classroom-based training on broad aspects of the role and traders receive specific technical training in areas such as valuation skills.
Salaries
Salaries start at around £25,000 but, supplemented by annual bonuses, these can rise to very high levels very quickly. Top earnings are similar to those of stockbrokers.
Professional bodies
No general body, although there are individual associations for specific commodities and derivatives.
