AI-generated.
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You’ve written a lot of words there, but none of them actually engage with the point. You’re criticising a caricature you’ve invented, not anything I’ve actually said.
If you think acknowledging the existence of workplace politics is “abjection,” that says more about your experience than mine. Anyone who has spent more than five minutes on a trading floor knows that ability + relationships + internal alignment is how careers move. Pretending otherwise is naïve at best.
You call it a “Toadie Manifesto.” I call it reality. You don’t have to like it, but denying it doesn’t make you enlightened. It just makes you someone who’s never actually operated where decisions and risk live. If you’ve got a better take based on real experience, share it. If not, enjoying the view from the anthropology balcony is fine too, just don’t confuse it for participation in the actual industry.
LOL! 
Of course you’d say that. It’s easier to label something “AI-generated” than to actually deal with the point being made. These are my views from my career. If that doesn’t fit your narrative, that’s your problem, not mine.
If you have insight, share it. If all you’ve got is “AI-generated,” then you’re not here to discuss anything, you’re just here to deflect.
Can I ask a question myself, mr. equity sales trader who has worked for top US banks saar.
Between the management and the workforce, there is and will always exist a modicum of tension: it’s in the management’s interest to cut labour costs and increase working hours, while the opposite is true when we consider the best interest of the employees.
What would you then call that employee who breaks group solidarity, and at the detriment of his own interest (and self-respect), tries instead to captivate his bosses’ favour?
“Breaks group solidarity”, I wrote, and I think it’s obvious why: now the boss will expect everyone else to act in a more acquiescing way to his will, if they want to reap some benefit now, and in the long run if they want to preserve their job.
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You’re mixing up two completely different worlds. What you’re describing, “group solidarity,” collective leverage, labour vs. management, applies to factories, warehouses, logistics, retail, and industries with unionised workforces.
A trading floor is not that environment. It has never operated on collective bargaining, group cohesion, or unified labour interests. People on a desk are not a “workforce” acting in solidarity. They are individual P&L generators competing for risk, flow, client relationships and compensation.
You don’t get promoted because “the group” lifts you up, and you don’t get held back because you refuse to join some imagined collective front. You rise because you deliver value, build trust, and operate well (aka play politics well) inside the specific culture of that team.
Trying to frame trading-floor behaviour in terms of Marxist labour theory is not profound, it’s just a category error. And to answer your question directly: “What do you call someone who aligns with management on a trading floor?” You call them someone who understands the environment they’re actually in.
This isn’t a union hall. It’s a competitive, high-pressure, performance-driven arena where individual contribution and relationships matter far more than ideological camaraderie. You’re applying the wrong framework, which is why your conclusions don’t land anywhere near reality.
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AI-generated
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If that’s the best you’ve got, then you’ve run out of arguments. Labelling everything “AI-generated” isn’t analysis, it’s just avoidance and aimless. When you’re ready to engage with the actual points, let us know. Wishing you all the very best. 
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If that’s the best you’ve got, then you’ve run out of arguments. Labelling everything “AI-generated” isn’t analysis, it’s just avoidance and aimless. When you’re ready to engage with the actual points, let us know. Wishing you all the very best.
For the record, I reacted with a 
to his last message, then he just went full playground-style (“I know you are, but what am I?”) on me and mirrored the reaction under all my messages…
but then further he changed his mind and left the only under the messages where I call him out for using chatGPT.
By the way rereading this thread, it just dawned on me that civilizationally speaking we are pretty much done and cooked
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If your takeaway from all this is that “civilisation is cooked,” that says more about your emotional state than anything happening in this thread. Not to mention you clearly have way to much time on your hands. You reacted, I replied, you didn’t like the reply, and now we’re in the phase where you’re narrating emoji usage as if it’s some grand sociological event. I repeat, if you have an actual point to make about markets, careers, trading floors or anything remotely relevant, make it. If not, the dramatic commentary about the fall of civilisation isn’t adding much. Thanks
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Thank you for answering questions here. This is a question for the equities trader @HTST123 . Can you please explain for me exactly what you did in this job? I am trying to develop a deeper understanding of exactly what it involves. What does success look like? What does failure look like? Is this a job with very long hours? How much money can be made? Thank you for your time. Please answer in your own words!
First, happy to answer but don’t be so rude with the “answer in your own words” bit. I’ve been doing that the whole time, so, your attitude is not appreciated, but I’ll answer anyway. Here’s what high-touch sales trading actually is:
What the job is: a high-touch sales-trader is on the sell-side of the business (at an investment bank). They act as agent between buy-side trader client (at hedge-funds, long-only (pension funds), SWF’s (Sovereign Wealth Funds), quant funds, family offices), and the single-stock position traders at the investment bank. The sales-trader helps said clients to buy or sell equities/shares in companies that are listed on stock-exchanges, in this case in the UK/Europe/CEEMEA region. Our job is to handle the relationship between the two (client vs position traders) to get best price for the client on potentially complex, sensitive, size-able, time-critical trades that cannot be left to an algorithm (low touch). This invariably means a “bad price” for the position trader, hence there are always arguments between traders and sales-traders - traders don’t want to lose money (naturally), and sales-traders want to get a good price for their clients because that’s how we get a good reputation with them, which is what our job is all about! Think of it as: risk taker/execution advisor/market commentator/client relationship manager, all wrapped into one seat. You are meant to “know your client” = form strong client relationships = the only thing that counts:
• understand what the client is trying to do - know how they trade.
• advise on timing, liquidity, market impact, and venues = be the eyes and ears for a client for the life of their order and beyond
• work with internal traders, quants, algos, and risk offerings
• read the tape = understand price action
• manage flow intelligently = right price is everything
• protect the client from slippage in price, information leaks, and erroneous share fills in their orders
You’re the human layer where judgement still matters.
What success looks like: you make money = become valuable.
• Clients trust you with size orders and risk
• You get the first call on difficult trades
• Sales relies on you
• The desk listens to you
• Clients ask for you by name & they pick your (phone) line up when you call them, instead of it ringing off the hook
• You handle volatility without blowing up = stay calm
• You add value: timing, liquidity, judgement. You make the client (in this case the buy-side trader) look good in-front of their PM’s with timely news, and money-making trade ideas. If a trade makes money, you’re good, if it doesn’t, you’re useless.
• Your P&L/block-loss ratios, call-ratios (number of calls you get from clients with orders), and client votes reflect it
What failure looks like: you make no money or lose money on trades, and are made redundant, unless you play politics.
• Clients stop calling
• You leak information
• You mishandle orders
• You panic during volatile moments
• You lose trust internally
• Risk escalates away from you
• Your analysis adds no value
• You become just a button-pusher
Hours: Long, (but not investment banking-analyst-long). Think:
• in well before the stock market open of 8am, so 6am
• out after close (sometimes 9pm if a post mkt block deal is on)
• on call around macro events
• mentally “on” all the time
It’s intense because markets don’t wait for you.
Money: Ranges massively by firm and performance, but historically:
Analyst/Associate: £80k–£150k total comp / VP: £150k–£350k+ / Director: £300k–£600k+ / MD: £600k–seven-figures (only when you’re genuinely driving flow)
It is NOT the old glory “Wolf of Wall Street” days, as it’s far more diluted & process driven but it’s still a top-tier job for comp if you’re good.
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Thank you so much for this. sorry for any offence. Can you possibly explain what ‘single-stock position traders’ are? I’m sorry. This is all new vocabulary for me
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No offence taken and I appreciate the apology very much. Note - “having a thick skin” is essential on a trading floor - you get told to “go away” all the time, you just have to keep going. At the same time, you have to set boundaries and stand up for yourself. Moving on….
If this is new to you, you’re asking the right questions. So, well done, and here’s the simple version answer to your question:
What a single-stock position trader is: They are the traders at an investment bank who take risk in individual equities/stocks rather than just executing agency flow that’s risk-neutral.
High-touch sales-traders speak with clients, and form relationships with clients to get orders. They then execute those orders themselves on the exchange (if it’s an agency working order), or via a position trader, if it’s large risk. So, position traders take risk, which exposes the bank to potential P&L. Think of it this way:
High-touch sales trader to a client: “I’ll work this order for you, minimise impact, time it well, and get you the best execution.” = agency order, no risk.
Position trader (to a sales-trader who’s acting on behalf of a client, or to a client directly): “I’ll take the other side of this trade and trade the risk or keep the position, because I think the stock moves in my favour, or because the desk needs inventory to recycle to win new business from other clients.” = position trader is thinking about risk taken that could have +IVE or -IVE P&L impact, AND about how to win ongoing business from other clients by using the risk they took from the prior client. The Position trader is meant to be skilled in managing that risk to make money out of it, or minimise a loss. So, what they actually do:
• Take positions in single stocks
• Run intraday or multi-day books
• Manage risk limits (sector, gross, net, beta, catalyst exposure)
• Provide liquidity to clients when they want size traded quickly
• Make prices on blocks
• Hedge risk using futures, ETFs, options
• Work closely with the sales-trader to understand client colour and flows
They are the risk engines of the equities division.
Why the role exists? Because clients often want:
• speed
• discretion
• size
• certainty that they can buy or sell an amount of stock at a certain price.
Sometimes the stock-market cannot absorb that naturally. So the position trader steps in with the bank’s balance sheet: typically, the bigger the investment bank, the larger risk they’re willing to take. Success looks like
• Positive P&L
• Smart risk management
• Being calm during volatility
• Having good feel for supply/demand dynamics
• Anticipating flow
• Working seamlessly with sales and execution
Failure looks like
• Bad risk calls
• Breaching limits
• Getting caught in liquidity traps
• Mis-hedging
• Losing client trust
It’s a high-pressure job and not as widely available anymore because banks run smaller books than they used to, but the seats that still exist are serious.
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Thank you for this. I had no idea that this was how it works. Which do you think is the best job? Being a position trader or being a sales trader? Thank you so much again
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The “best” job is completely subjective. And that depends on YOU, not me.
You need to figure out what actually interests you, what you’re good at, and what kind of pressure you enjoy. These roles are gruelling in different ways, and if you aren’t aligned with the one you choose, you will hate it, no matter how prestigious it looks from the outside.
Here’s the basic split:
-
Position trading is for people who love taking risk, managing a book, making calls on the market/stocks, and living with P&L volatility.
-
Sales-trading is for people who love clients, communication, flow, timing, and the human side of the market.
Both are intense. Both require different strengths. For me personally, and I’ve done both roles, I preferred sales-trading because I enjoy client interaction and the relationship side of the job. That’s where my personality fits.
So, on personality fit: which type suits which job? Well, consider:
Position Trader personality:
• Competitive
• Analytical
• Loves calling the market
• Handles stress and uncertainty well
• Comfortable being wrong and correcting fast
• Thrives on P&L pressure
• Independent thinker
• Prefers screens, models, and risk over people
This is a seat for someone who likes to own positions and live with the consequences.
Sales Trader personality:
• Strong communicator
• Likes building relationships
• Thinks fast on their feet
• Knows how to read people as well as markets
• Enjoys being the bridge between clients and the desk
• Thrives on pace, flow, interaction
• Values teamwork and coordination
• Gets energy from clients rather than screens
This is a seat for someone who gets satisfaction from helping clients navigate markets and trusts their judgement under pressure.
There is no “best.” There is only what fits your temperament, risk tolerance and what you can sustain for years.
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Thank you very much for your time. This is so helpful to me
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You’re very welcome. Wishing you all the very best of luck.
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This AMA is now closed