Anyone Work on a Forex Desk? (I have an interview on Tuesday)

[mxchris727]

Hi All,

I am currently an associate working in an alternative investments group at a big bank supporting large private equity clients. My work now is fund administration, which includes fund accounting, investment custody/operations, and other support roles. I like most of the banking aspect of the job (moving billions and speaking to fund managers is thrilling), but the accounting is starting to get old really quickly. I have been working very long hours for a pay that does not reflect the efforts I am putting into the role. Because the alternatives group (private equity, hedge, and real estate) operates under their own infrastructure, it is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the bank’s management. Promotions are not a common occurrence. Even with one submitted for me now, the pay is not competitive enough to keep me.

In efforts to move my career forward, I had reached out to a manager with an open requisition in the trading arm of the bank. We were going to meet informally as I wanted to learn more about the business area, but he instead had a recruiter reach out to me with an offer for an interview. I hadn’t even applied for the role yet, so I informed my current manager and did so. I’ll be meeting with the hiring manager (AVP) and his boss (VP) for a three-hour interview on Tuesday. The role is for a senior associate position in the FX middle office supporting the traders. I would be on the trading floor connecting clients with the FX desk and other supportive tasks. I figure that this would be great exposure to the markets and a path towards the front office. It’s also a double jump position wise, which is very uncommon.

My father was a forex trader for some time, so I know what’s involved in the actual trading aspect. However, being a part of a desk the supports institutional clients is very different. My funds I service now are considered “hybrids” in that they are operate as a hedge funds do (FX/equity/derivative trading), but with the capital commitment and allocations of a private equity fund. Therefore, I do have some exposure to forex activity, but mostly on the settlement side. Does anyone here actually work on a Forex, equities, commodities, FI desk? How does your middle office team support what you do? Any good talking points/suggestions for when I meet with these senior managers? I would greatly appreciate any input.


Thank you!