Financial trader : Employers and vacancy sources

Most traders work in the City, which describes the UK financial services sector rather than a physical place. The City is made up of a number of financial institutions involved in banking, asset management, insurance, and services to business. Major institutions include the Financial Services Authority (FSA) , The Bank of England , Lloyd's of London  and a number of market institutions, such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) , IntercontinentalExchange (ICE)  and The London Metal Exchange . In addition to this, there are thousands of firms, which include insurance companies, investment houses and financial advisers.

The vast majority of traders are employed by investment banks. An investment bank is usually a financial house whose role is to finance the trading and commercial activities of others and themselves. In the UK, these financial houses were known as merchant banks, but this term is not so commonly used today. The major investment banks have offices in financial centres throughout the world.

Investment banks have a high profile in the City and recruit significant numbers of graduates during peaks in the economic cycle. There is keen competition between the investment banks and selection is equally rigorous.

Specialist investment management firms employ a small number of traders. Treasury departments of very large companies may also employ a few traders, but this is less common.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Financial Times  
• eFinancialCareers  
• Guardian Jobs  
• Times Online  - Thursdays.
• The Daily Telegraph Jobs  
• Prospects Finalist  

Most vacancies are filled via specialist recruitment agencies, by word of mouth and through speculative applications.

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