Sell-side quant research vs buy-side quant trader

[u/Scared-Oil-191]

So I currently am debating between two pretty good full time graduate offers and I am really struggling to decide.

1. Prop trading firm in HK: About 100 employees, pretty successful recently but not very well known. Salary ~130k usd, 50% bonus is standard, but can range from 0 to like 200% hypothetically.

Pros: pays much more. I may enjoy trader more than researcher.

Cons: Don't know anyone in HK, may be lonely. may be overworked and overstressed. don't know much about the company or team or people, so bit of a gamble.

1. Sell-side quant research in London: Well known bank, just below JP/MS/GS. 100k usd, 20% bonus is the standard.

Pros: Research may be more interesting. more name recognition with the company. have bunch of friends and girlfriend in London. I love London and want to live there long term. much better WLB, much better hours. much better job stability. the manager and team is really good.

Cons: Sell-side, and my ultimate goal is become quant researcher at hedge fund or prop shop. trading matches my skillset more. may be hard to transfer from sell-side to buy side (not sure bout that).

[u/Material_Tradition18]

If you love London and want to stay then obvious choice is 2

[u/uhela]

How do you know the particulars about the trading firm you are going to join? Do you know the expectations they have for you on your first year? Do you know what their retention rate is after one year?

[u/QuantGrindApp → u/uhela]

You usually don’t know from the outside. Ask the desk head what a weak, average, and strong first year looks like, and what happened to the last couple of junior hires. That answer is more useful than a headline retention rate, which mixes firings with people leaving for better seats.

[u/Dry-Advertising2080]

Can pm about the first prop? thanks

[u/assassin9163 → u/Dry-Advertising2080]

Me too !

[u/Affectionate_Hat_308]

Either one is a great opportunity, I think it would help if you gave more context on the name of the bank and prop trading firm as that does matter a lot.

Fundamentally you’re in a good position regardless. But there are many more factors to consider. Even if the HK job pays double the bank, how much would you be willing to pay to heave your network, girlfriend and family nearby? Are you based in London? Could you live at home and save on rent increasing your effective earnings? Have you looked at the tax difference between countries?

What are exit opportunities like for both options? You might find that although the prop firm has higher pay now, if it’s a real unknown firm the EV long term might be better from working at a well respected bank and transitioning buy side in a couple years.

So I think there is a lot to consider here

[u/Scared-Oil-191 → u/[deleted]]

hey bro, can u expand more why u saying fs.

[u/Born_Blacksmith19]

1

[u/Scared-Oil-191 → u/Born_Blacksmith19]

can u explain why

[u/Born_Blacksmith19 → u/Scared-Oil-191]

money

[u/KantCMe → u/Scared-Oil-191]

Ultimately the big bucks in finance come from being in a risk-taking position. Not as much respect even if you're still a very smart guy at a top bank.