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Things We Love and Hate about Trading
It's definitely a love-hate relationship. Advanced Trading editors asked buy-side traders what they love and loathe about trading. Here's what they had to say:
Tim
Olsen |
Rob
Shapiro |
David
Stevens |
Michael
Crockett |
NYC
trader |
Michael
Levas |
Marybeth
Forbes |
Lisa
Utasi |
Josh
Levy |
Mary
McDermott-
Holland |
"What I love about trading from a buy-side perspective is that the more things change the more they stay the same. We all get too much emphasis on the newest and greatest Dark Pool, Algo, Smart Router, etc. But the bottom line is that without service, liquidity and minimal market impact, these 'new ideas' don't have a chance. Partnering may be a solution for some firms, but without liquidity it will only continue to create clutter in the liquidity landscape. I want to trade blocks and I will use the 'latest and greatest technology' if it minimizes information leakage and market impact while allowing me to find a meaningful piece of stock. What I don't like so much is that while we really have the choice of what to use, we have to tip-toe through the junk to get what we want."
—Tim Olsen, SVP/Head Trader, ICM Asset Management
"What I love is the obvious evolution of the buy-side trader's role in terms of skill-set sophistication and value-add to the investment management process. What I hate is that a framework for proving a buy-side trader's value-add in a transparent, objective and metric-based context has yet to be devised. I love that a big part of my role is to develop the value-add framework at my firm."
—Rob Shapiro, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management
"I love crossing a big block of stock late in the day that completely screws all the people trading versus the VWAP. I hate (or love?) that watching flashing monitors all day has given me ADD when I try to have a normal conversation with someone outside of the trading day. I love that the job almost forces you to be informed about current events and economic conditions so that you're constantly current on those things."
—David Stevens, Head Trader, SouthernSun Asset Management
"I love that every day on the desk is different than the day before. I love how finding a size natural for our small and micro-cap products proves that there is no substitute for that human touch and knowledge in trading. One pet peeve is the never-ending vendor replication of each others products."
—Michael Crockett, Senior Equity Trader, Brazos Capital Management
"I hate missing prints and taking bets that go the wrong way for the wrong reasons ... and always being second-guessed by analysts and portfolio managers. But I love the adrenaline rush when things get hot — making the right call on a name for any reason; making the portfolio manager or analyst look smart. And, of course, rarely is trading ever dull."
—A New York City-based trader who prefers anonymity
"Trading has to be the most fulfilling aspect of my professional life. ... It is exciting, challenging and, at the same time, keeps you incredibly focused. I look forward to it every day."
—Michael Levas, Founder, CIO and Managing Member, Olympian Capital Management
"I love that foreign trading is always interesting. ... Once, I got a phone call at home from a broker in Japan. My 9-year-old answered the phone. Upon handing the phone to me she said, "Yada, yada, yada ... It's some guy from Tokyo for you Mom. Where in the heck is Tokyo anyways?" The broker was laughing hysterically when I got on the phone. He said it's the best introduction he's ever had. And my daughter got a geography lesson after that. My daughter is from China, and we actually flew through Norita airport when we brought her home, so Japan was actually somewhere she'd been!"
—Marybeth Forbes, Global Equity Trader, Batterymarch Financial Management
"I love the pace of change, and I hate the pace of change. I love the speed of technology but loathe the slowness of processing and integration!"
—Lisa Utasi, Senior Equity Trader, Clearbridge Advisors
"Being empowered by the technology but overpowered by it as well. Trading? What head trader gets to trade anymore? We spend the bulk of our day dealing with regulatory and compliance issues. Boards are tasked with trading oversight, but I spend so much time explaining trading to them."
—Mary McDermott-Holland, SVP, Franklin Portfolio Associates
"What I love most about trading is on how many levels it can be challenging. Trading by itself is a constantly challenging undertaking, most would agree. But the precise nature of how and why it's challenging keeps changing, and this is what's so fascinating. Which different (seemingly unrelated) markets are correlated this period? Why are they correlated? How can we profit from this phenomenon? Grappling with these questions is a career, and it forces one to always ask new and ever-more-probing questions about what is happening in the world — and its markets — around us. I don't really see a downside to trading, except of course losing [money]."
—Josh Levy, Managing Director, Tactical Asset Management
