Sales & trading
The desks in markets that talk to investors (sales) and quote and hold the prices they deal at (trading).
Sales and trading is the front line of a bank's markets division, the desks that take orders from investors and buy and sell shares, bonds, currencies and commodities for them. Salespeople own the relationship with each client, bring their orders in and pass on the bank's ideas. Traders set the price, fill the order and manage the risk the bank is left holding afterwards.
Desks are split by what they trade. Equities covers shares and the contracts built on them. FICC stands for fixed income, currencies and commodities, and covers government and company bonds, interest-rate products, foreign exchange and raw materials. Most banks also have structurers, who design tailored products when a client needs something an off-the-shelf one cannot do.
The day starts before the market opens and moves with prices on the screen. Someone starting out prepares the morning notes, books and checks trades, runs pricing and risk reports and answers client questions quickly. Speed and accuracy under pressure matter, and graduate programmes often rotate people across several desks before they settle. The wider Global Markets division has its own page on Learn.
Open jobs
| Job | Firm | Level | Stage | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and trading · Markets | BNP Paribas | Spring week | First or second year at university | 2 days |
| Sales and trading · Commercial |  JPMorgan | Off-cycle | Second-to-last year at university or graduates | 6 days Closes 29 Nov |
| Sales and trading |  Crédit Agricole CIB | Summer | Second-to-last year at university | 7 days |
| Restructuring · Special situations / Credit | BNP Paribas | Off-cycle | Second-to-last year at university or later | 2 weeks |
| Sales and trading · Credit |  Bank of America | Summer | Second-to-last year at university | 2 weeks |