Debt/Fixed Income: currently 231 jobs.The latest job was posted on 25 Apr 18.
Debt / Fixed Income
Fixed income is essentially the world of bonds, and for graduates, there are three distinct career paths within the fixed income department of a bank. Those with strong communications skills may wish to work within origination, which typically involves visiting corporate clients that are considering raising money by issuing bonds, discussing their financing needs, and communicating these needs to colleagues in fixed income structuring. It is the job of the structurers to create the right fixed income product or identify a solution to meet those requirements. The third and final team within fixed income is the syndication team, who line up other banks to assist in selling the bonds after analyzing the market and making any necessary final tweaks to the bond’s terms, such as ensuring a suitable interest rate.
Trading
As well as origination, structuring and syndication teams, the large banks also house fixed income traders who risk the bank’s money buying fixed income instruments, hoping to generate profits when the instruments are sold. Unlike equities, where the share market price is public, fixed income bonds are mostly traded away from the exchanges in so-called over the counter (OTC) markets between the financial institutions. These deals tend to be very sizeable, with trades of less than $1 million uncommon - so if the traders get it wrong it can be very expensive for the bank. It's a risky career path, but one that can really pay off.
Opportunities
While equity trading is the more well-known sector, the fixed income field is roughly twice as large. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that around 18 percent of the combined revenue of the United States largest banks comes from FICC - fixed income, currency, and commodities. So if you're looking to get into trading, you may find more opportunities for fixed income trading than equity trading. You can find these positions on efinancialcareers.com