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A Trader's Train to Wall Street, Connecticut

I heard an opinion that in general european banks require shorter working hours than the american ones. This might be true because there are a lot of European managers at those firms who set the pace of work for all others. I can confirm that from my experience. I used to work for a German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort. I was working on trading floor in Frankfurt as a fixed income product controller, I usualy started around 9.15, went home around 5.30-6.00. Basicly it was a 8 hour shift+ lunch (European standard). When I moved to NY and worked for the same bank. I usualy showed up around 8.45, went home around 6.00, sometimes I had to stay longer, sometimes left earlier. No work on weekends, everybody makes full use of their 20 to 30 days of vacation- this applies to all employees including traders with whom I worked.

The bank pays less, bonuses are smaller, but it is a very good place to work for people who work for living, not live to work (I consider myself one of them).
So I would say Yes, there is an option for those of us who want to work on the street, have an interesting job and still have time for the family.
 
In the face of the Amaranth fiasco, does anyone still want to travel to Greenwich for work after graduation ? :mrgreen:

Here is a Bloomberg exclusive. Citadel and other big IB step in to stem the bleeding.
Amaranth Hedge-Fund Losses Hit 3M Pension, Goldman (Update2)

By Jenny Strasburg

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- 3M Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and San Diego County's retirement fund say the meltdown of Amaranth Advisors LLC, the hedge-fund manager that lost about $4.6 billion in the past month, may cost them millions.

The $9.2 billion pension fund of 3M, maker of Post-it Notes and electronics and cleaning products, gave less than $92 million to Amaranth, according to Jacqueline Berry, a spokeswoman for the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company. Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Partners LLC has about $13 million with the firm, according to a regulatory filing today.

``This will spark activity by Congress, or by regulators, for some oversight of an area that has not been watched,'' said Dan McAllister, a board member of the $7.2 billion San Diego County Employees Retirement Association. The fund invested $175 million with Amaranth in 2005.

Amaranth, named for an imaginary flower that never fades, had gained more than 25 percent earlier this year on bets natural-gas prices would rise. Prices tumbled this month, triggering losses that grew as it scrambled to unwind trades. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm's blowup is the biggest since Long-Term Capital Management LP almost collapsed in 1998.

In a bid to stem losses, Amaranth plans to give up its energy trades to Citadel Investment Group LLC, a $12 billion hedge fund in Chicago, and New York-based bank JPMorgan Chase & Co., two people with knowledge of the decision said today. Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank by assets, may buy a stake in Amaranth.

Wall Street Clients

Amaranth has managed money for Wall Street banks Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of New York Co., according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. A $2.3 billion Morgan Stanley pool that invests in other hedge funds had about $126 million in Amaranth as of June 30, according to regulatory filings. Bank of New York allocated $10 million of a $165 million fund to the firm.

Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada's biggest pension-fund manager, had C$77.3 million ($68.5 million) with Amaranth at the end of 2005. New York-based Arden Asset Management, which farms out $13 billion to hedge funds, gave about $39 million to Amaranth, according to spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter.

Max Re Capital Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurer, may also be a casualty. The company said today third-quarter earnings will be reduced by $35 million because of losses from hedge-fund investments. Max Re didn't disclose which hedge fund caused the losses, and spokeswoman Sheila Gringley didn't respond to a phone message seeking comment.

Natural-Gas Selloff

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he's examining Amaranth's losses.

``We are taking some initial steps to investigate what went so terribly wrong, whether there was a truthful and accurate disclosure to investors,'' he said today in an interview.

Tom Carson, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor in Connecticut, declined to comment, as did Bryan Sierra, a spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington and SEC spokesman John Nester.

Natural-gas futures have plunged 17 percent this month. The losses may have been exacerbated by Amaranth's attempt to exit bets on rising prices, said Robert Van Batenburg, head of research at Louis Capital Markets LP in New York.

``The whole debacle has left Amaranth trying to unwind its positions,'' he said.

MotherRock LP, a $400 million fund run by former Nymex President Robert ``Bo'' Collins, shut last month after unsuccessful bets on the direction of natural gas.

Amaranth Equity Stakes

Both funds attempted to profit from spreads, or discrepancies in price, between different gas-futures contracts. Amaranth used loans to expand its bets, increasing its losses.

Shares of companies in which Amaranth invested have also been hurt.

The stock of Cinram International Income Fund, a Toronto- based maker of digital-video discs, fell 5.4 percent earlier this week on concern that Amaranth would sell its 15 percent stake. The shares rose 50 cents to C$22.10 at 4:30 p.m. in Toronto after the Globe and Mail reported Amaranth had received bids for its holdings.

Counsel Corp.'s stock has dropped 14 percent this week. The investment firm, also based in Toronto, said in a Sept. 18 filing with Canadian regulators that Amaranth proposed selling its 34 percent stake.

Consultant's Advice

The San Diego County pension board invested in Amaranth on the recommendation of consultants Rocaton Investment Advisors in Norwalk, Connecticut, board member McAllister said. The San Diego County fund is unconnected to the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System, which has a deficit of more than $1 billion.

``We are aware of the Amaranth situation, and we are in dialogue with our clients,'' Rocaton spokesman Todd Miller said, declining further comment.

It will take weeks to find out how much pension money melted away with Amaranth's bad trades, Damon Silvers, associate general counsel of the Washington-based AFL-CIO, said in an interview today.

The largest U.S. labor association, whose member unions hold more than $400 billion in pension assets, has criticized provisions of the pension-reform law signed by President Bush last month that loosened restrictions on pension-money flows into hedge funds.

``This shows what an appalling decision that was,'' Silvers said.

Caveat Investor

Hedge-fund investors should take Amaranth as a warning to do better homework before trusting money with a fund, said Robert Schulman, chief executive officer of Tremont Capital Management Inc., a Rye, New York-based investment firm.

``Investors need to understand the risks,'' Schulman said.

McAllister, who is also San Diego County's treasurer and tax collector, said the pension fund was led to believe by Rocaton that the Amaranth investment would reduce its risk.

``If it looks too good to be true, maybe it is,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jenny Strasburg in New York at jstrasburg@bloomberg.net
 
I wouldnt trave to Greenwich, I would try and live there if I worked in Greenwich, though it is quite pricey. There may be some surrounding areas that might be cheaper
 
He used to get to work between 6-6:30 am and leave at 6 or later when he started.

In this case, for one thing, I don't have chance to take the summer statistics class. For the other thing, I probably need to sleep early now and begin to adjust my biological clock as soon as possible. A friend told me that in commodities desk, traders are expected to work at least 12 hours per day. I guess it is the same for all other desks, right?
 
frankm, I remember interning for B of A at the mortgage desk. Vacations actually seemed to be the norm. But the lunch hour thing was a no no.

After one of my particularly lengthy lunches, the traders rode my case about it and that was that.

On the bright side, I became pretty well-versed on New York food delivery services.

Most of my co-workers made it to work about 7:30-8 and left by 5 (the younger ones trying to make a push for promotion, impressions stayed until 6). My MD constantly showed up past 8am...but he was a star.
 
I guess it is the same for all other desks, right?
No. It depends on the desk. Flow desks have a more structured schedule than prop desk. Desks that trade OTC don't necessarily follow market trading hours. If you work in a support role, then your schedule have to match the traders you support.
But wherever you work, count on some crunch time where something important needed to be done such as before a big trade.
 
there is no state income tax in connecticut, I believe (it was true in the past). The real estate is lush and within a short hop, probably affordable (Stamford had among the highest foreclosure rates recently reported); apart from the fact that the local government can get pretty weird, can't imagine why someone working there wouldn't also want to live there.
 
both of my uncles live in Stamford :)

thats why i've been there quite a few times and also i interviewed with UBS there. this is one rich small lush town!
 
Great article and thread.

I most likely will have to do this commute(Nyc-stamford) starting this summer.
 
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