What might you be doing?

The main areas within Sales, Trading & Research are Currencies & Commodities, Equities, Credit, Rates, and Emerging Markets.

But what will you be doing?  Broadly speaking, the roles are split as follows:  Research, Structuring, Marketing, Sales, Trading, and in Equities only  - Sales Trading.

Research

The role of equity research is to value companies, determine what drives share prices and then make investment recommendations. Credit research focuses on the credit worthiness of companies and the impact of this on the price of corporate bonds. The research role has evolved with the stockbroking business. Clients expect a more rigorous approach to fundamental analysis than ever before - encompassing macro views on economics and politics, to company specific issues such as M&A speculation or business structures. Equally important is the ability to continually convey these ideas to the market in conjunction with sales, and in Equities, sales trading, and client interaction is a large part of the role. The aim remains the same: to help traders and money managers profit from our knowledge base.

Structuring

Structuring is connecting Sales/Marketing and Trading in the space of complex derivatives, i.e. where an additional layer of expertise regarding financial engineering is required in the workflow. The structuring tasks in different lines of business may vary – a Credit Structurer for example will not only focus on financial modeling but also on legal frameworks and rating agency criteria when working on a deal. In other areas such as Equity or FX, Index development and solutions may be an important part, as well as education, marketing and execution of complex structures and new payouts.

JPMorgan is renowned for its product innovations in this area and we are proud to be constantly at the forefront of the market. The key factor for achieving this position is by making the recruitment and development of the best graduate talent in the market a top priority in our business strategy.

Beside the quantitative interest and understanding a graduate should have, a structuring role combines logical and analytical abilities with sound communication skills, in order to deliver the engineered solutions successfully to the marketers, clients, and the market as a whole.

Marketing

Marketing analysts form an integral part of the deal making process, from being responsible for cultivating relationships with clients, to understanding their needs and advising them on the wide range of derivative solutions JPMorgan can provide.

The Marketers act as a hub for the different groups involved in constructing the deal, creating the communication link between the investors, the sales force and the structuring team. Marketers need strong interpersonal skills to be able to work seamlessly with the different parties and understand and express their needs, strong technical skills to lucidly explain the products to investors, and also strong presentation skills when overseeing the design of the marketing materials.

After the pitch has been developed, it is the Marketer's responsibility to identify target investors and tailor the pitch to their specific requirements.

Once the roadshow is set up, the Marketers are responsible for accompanying the issuer, leading the roadshow meetings, and working closely with the Salesperson to answer all the investors' follow up questions to bring the trade to a close.

Sales

As a Salesperson, you're effectively the link between our Researchers, Traders and the client. Building great relationships with clients is essential because you're there to provide analysis, insight and solutions to their needs. Some of these issues are hugely complex and you'll be required to provide up-to-date market information at the drop of a hat.

Your day starts early as your first task will be to review overnight market activity, and form your own independent views. Then you're on the phone, calling clients to give them fresh ideas and news, which they cannot get from our competitors. You'll also be working proactively to get the best market prices for your clients so they trust and value your advice.

As you can guess, you'll be treading a very fine line.  Naturally, you're representing JPMorgan but on the other hand you are representing the client's interests and building long term relationships. So tact and diplomacy are pretty critical, as well as a good sense of humour.

Trading

Traders are the people who actually price and execute all financial transactions. They buy and sell assets - either for our clients or on behalf of the firm itself. Our Traders also manage risk - neutralising any exposure JPMorgan might incur by entering a transaction with a client. This is what we call hedging.

There are two types of trader: Market-Makers and Proprietary traders. Market-makers provide liquidity and market insights to our clients, they need to remain calm and focused in all market environments and ensure they provide a first class service to the client franchise while protecting the capital of the bank. Our proprietary traders invest on behalf of JPMorgan. Their challenge is to maximise the return on the significant capital entrusted to them.

The start time is early. You will be assimilating the overnight news and once the markets are open and client orders start flowing, you are responsible for balancing the interests of the client with that of the firm under considerable time pressure.

If you are looking for an exciting role in a fast-paced environment you should watch our Virtual Tour of a Trader's Desk. This three minute film presented by one of our traders will give you a taste of what it's really like to work on a trading floor and explain what those many, screens, buttons and phones actually do.

Sales Trading (Equities only)

This differs from the classic sales role, in that Sales Traders speak directly to the dealing desks of our clients, who range from institutional investors to Hedge Funds. As a Sales Trader, you would liaise with these dealing desks and traders to facilitate client business either via block, single, electronic or program trading. You would also ensure that you can give the best description of the flows and themes occurring within the market place. You'll need to ensure that clients are aware of any news flow that may be relevant to their business, so they are in the best position to make decisions. As clients are getting more sophisticated, so are our Sales Traders. We are looking at more asset classes (for example, Delta 1) with the aim of generating better returns for our clients as well as JPMorgan.

Can you do this?

Sales, Trading & Research is a natural destination for the intellectually curious and those driven to succeed - a place where innovation and creativity are highly valued. With enormous deals occurring on a daily basis we won't kid you; this is a highly pressurised business area which is certainly not for the faint hearted.

We don't mind if your degree is in pure maths, engineering, history or even zoology, as long as you have the entrepreneurial spirit, competitive streak and self-confidence to impress and influence colleagues and clients alike.

You'll need sharp analytical skills, flexibility, resilience and perhaps most importantly, a genuine belief in your own abilities. We are looking for people who are dynamic and decisive. One must always expect the unexpected as no two days will ever be the same.

There are some roles, such as Structuring or Marketing or roles within Derivatives, for which mathematical ability is key. Those with strong numerical ability who want to be closer to the markets and desire a compact and intensive working day may also wish to consider trading. Numbers are second nature for traders, as they need to be able to make calculations or change currencies directly, quickly and decisively.

Sales, Trading & Research is populated by extremely bright people and specialists of all kinds, but no person or team functions in isolation. The Derivatives team need a stream of refined and tested products, Traders rely on Researchers to help identify opportunities and Sales require the knowledge provided by the Researchers and Structurers in order to be convincing. There's a strong team ethic where individual strengths combine to ensure that the total is greater than the sum of the parts.

Our training

Even though we're already acknowledged as one of the leaders in this business, we're never satisfied.  We want to be the first with new trends and opportunities and one of the ways we do this is by recruiting well and developing our people.

The 7-8 week Sales, Trading & Research Analyst Training Programme develops your understanding of the concepts, mechanics and applications of market fundamentals as well as providing instruction on the interrelationships between products and markets. The programme takes place in New York and is taught by professors from leading business schools, consultants with special expertise in their fields and JPMorgan professionals.

A full range of teaching techniques are used including lectures, computer-based exercises, exams, case studies, trading simulations and daily presentations. The formal academic component is complemented by an orientation to the firm, including team building exercises and a full range of business insights from senior management.

The programme also offers the opportunity to network with new joiners from across the firm and you will be presented with a unique opportunity to start building a large network of peers which will prove to be vital to your career progression.

The financial market constantly evolves and therefore your training will never be complete. Continuous learning is an integral part of our culture and there are opportunities to participate in business-specific product training and firm-wide programmes on a continuous basis.