Traders buy and sell stock, currencies, bonds, cryptocurrencies and other financial assets to make a profit, usually dealing on behalf of, or for the benefit of, investment banks.
What does a trader do? Salaries | Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Skills
Financial traders use data and research to buy and sell financial assets on a short-term basis, balancing the risks involved against the potential for profit.
Typical duties include:
- researching prices and markets
- making plans for purchases and sales
- following news coverage for information about price changes
- gathering information from researchers, sales traders (traders who deal directly with clients) and other colleagues
- executing trades
- keeping notes and records
- collating reports.
Depending on the kind of work you do, you may also liaise directly with clients to understand their requirements and keep them updated on progress. You may also need to build and maintain professional relationships with new and existing clients, by presenting them with ideas that meet their requirements.
Trading offers high levels of responsibility, good promotional opportunities and impressive financial rewards including generous salaries and large bonuses. However, the hours are long and start early: research needs to be complete before financial markets open at 8.00am). The work can be stressful because high-impact decisions need to be made quickly.
Graduate salaries
According to Glassdoor, salaries for trainee or junior financial traders start at around £21,000 (you’ll likely receive a bonus on top of this). Both your salary and your bonus will rise with experience: the average salary for a financial trader is around £60,000.
Typical employers of traders
- Financial houses.
- Investment banks.
- Exchanges such as ICE Futures Europe.
- Treasury departments of major companies.
Vacancies are advertised by targetjobs and careers services. You’ll also find them advertised by financial recruitment agencies and specialist finance jobs boards.
Investment banks start recruitment very early in the academic year. Sector and company research, attending presentations, and networking are essential.
Qualifications and training required
You’ll need to be a graduate to enter this career. A degree (2.1) in any subject is required, though qualifications in economics, politics, business, financial or numerate subjects are often preferred.
This is a highly competitive field to enter so work experience will help your job applications stand out. Look for internships and vacation placements with investment banks, along with insight weeks and shorter-term events where you can meet recruiters.
Once you’re employed, you’ll need to complete further training before you can trade. Some will be on the job while some will be provided by external organisations. Employers will pay for your training, but working and studying at the same time can add to the stress of the job.
Key skills for traders
- Confidence.
- The ability to analyse data and make decisions quickly.
- Numerical skills.
- IT skills.
- Communication skills.
- An interest in financial markets.
- Analytical skills.
- Interpersonal skills.
- Teamworking skills.
Make sure to sign up to targetjobs to get all the benefits of our graduate job-hunting platform including tailored advice and job opportunities.
FAQs
What does a trader do all day? The typical day of a trader includes selling and trading stocks and securities. They work closely with clients to understand their finances, making trade recommendations and informing them of price fluctuations in the market.
How to answer why trader? ›
Why do you want to be a trader?
- Because I am very passionate to work in this industry.
- It excites me to join a fast paced and challenging work environment. ...
- For getting Good Knowledge of Share Market And Enhance My skills.
- Because it I will have fruitful and sucessful life.
A trader is an individual who engages in the buying and selling of assets in any financial market, either for themself or on behalf of another person or institution. The main difference between a trader and an investor is the duration for which the person holds the asset.
What is a trade job description? ›
A trade job generally refers to any job whose duties require advanced training and skills gained through means other than a bachelor's degree. For example, many jobs in the construction industry, such as plumber or electrician, require you to have significant experience and training before you can work.
What does the trader role do? ›
As the Trader you will turn your camp into a burgeoning business by sourcing materials for Cripps to produce into sellable goods. An investment of 15 Gold Bars to purchase a Butcher's Table will get your business up-and-running.
What do traders actually do? ›
Traders, also known as stock traders, buy and sell securities on the stock market. They analyse market movements and identify opportunities for profitable trades. By understanding the role of a trader, you can discover if a career in the stock market industry is right for you.
What is trader short answer? ›
A trader is a person who gets involved in buying and selling of a financial asset in any financial market. He or she can buy or sell either for himself/herself or on behalf of another individual or institution.
What is the most important thing for a trader? ›
A trader needs to be able to control their emotions and stick to a trading plan and strategy. This is especially important in managing risk by using stop losses or taking profits at set points. Many strategies are designed so the trader loses a little in bad trades and systematically gains more on good trades.
What is the goal of a trader? ›
Your trading goals should be clearly defined in terms of your stop loss and your profit booking triggers. As a trader maintain a reasonable trade-off between your risk and your return. If you are targeting a stop loss of 1% then keep your profit at above 2.5% for the trade to be meaningful.
What is the business description of a trader? ›
Financial traders use data and research to buy and sell financial assets on a short-term basis, balancing the risks involved against the potential for profit. Typical duties include: researching prices and markets. making plans for purchases and sales.
Trade is a fundamental economic concept involving the purchase and sale of goods and services, with compensation paid to a seller by a purchaser or the exchange of goods or services between parties. Trade can take place in a producer-consumer economy.
What defines a good trader? ›
Among the most important traits of a successful trader, is the passion to trade. You need to have the passion for doing what it takes to stick to the game without being overpowered by emotions. Passionate traders painstakingly plan and record their trades for future reference and make fool-proof risk management plans.
What are the duties of a trader? ›
Trader Responsibilities:
Buying and selling securities on behalf of the company. Evaluating trading algorithms. Implementing effective trading strategies. Working with quantitative researchers to improve trading strategies.
What is the job description of a day trader? ›
Day traders monitor the stock market closely and make same-day stock purchases, sales and trades. Working in this profession requires monetary investment and financial risk, but it can also bring in profits.
What is the responsibility of trading? ›
Responsible trading is about exercising control over your trades and taking accountability for your actions. Trading responsibly also means acknowledging when you may not be suited for trading. Responsible traders do not go beyond their means. In other words, you should never risk funds you cannot afford to lose.
What does a position trader do? ›
Position trading is a popular long-term trading strategy that allows individual traders to hold a position for a long period of time, which is usually months or years. Position traders ignore short-term price movements and prefer to rely on more precise fundamental analysis and long-term trends.
What are duties in trading? ›
A tariff or duty (the words are used interchangeably) is a tax levied by governments on the value including freight and insurance of imported products. Different tariffs applied on different products by different countries.
What is the job objective of a trader? ›
Their objective is to capitalize on short-term market fluctuations by buying and selling assets quickly to turn a profit. Unlike long-term investors, day traders leverage market volatility, technical analysis, and real-time data to make their decisions.
