Think of almost any Hollywood movie that features the trading floor, and you’ll probably recall images of loud, sweaty men running around and shouting ‘Buy!’ or ‘Sell!’ into their phones. In reality, the trading floor isn’t nearly as noisy or sweaty – nor is it the sole domain of men.
Trading floors, like other workplaces, are finding that having diverse points of view and ideas helps the business deliver better outcomes for customers, shareholders, staff and communities.
Dilara Barca, Director, FX Options Trading at CommBank, manages risk in foreign exchange options. However, her path to this role wasn’t traditional. She’d studied engineering rather than business, but after working in the sector quickly realised it wasn’t for her.
“I wanted to transition into an industry where I could leverage my existing skillset,” Barca explains. “I was made aware of the fact that there are different programs to help you gain entry after you are a graduate.”
Barca began her banking career in 2015 at UBS in Switzerland in a multi asset team. She found the move from engineering almost seamless, largely because the heavy mathematics component of engineering applied to trading, too.
“Even though I didn't study finance or commerce, I was able to use [my knowledge of mathematics] as a framework to understand how financial markets operated,” she says.
A day in the life of a trader
Barca has been in CBA’s foreign exchange options trading team for over 6 years and is attracted to the amount of unstructured learning involved, as well as the resilience and mental stamina required.
““Everything is learned on the job and you can’t really learn how to trade by reading books,” she says. “At the end of the day, you have to go and sit in that chair, see the ups and downs of the market and ride that wave.”
A typical day for a trader can vary greatly depending on the product traded. She notes that the FX market operates 24 hours per day, and the market is constantly moving – even while she’s asleep. So each morning when she comes into work, the risk has changed.
“A large part of our day is spent updating our pricing curves, trading the different dynamics across the books, pricing client requests and participating in the broker market ,” she says. “I have to always be on the lookout when things are trading.”
But that doesn’t mean it’s always fast-paced. There can be hours where not much happens when markets are quiet – but traders can’t afford to switch off because a client could come to them with a pricing request at any time.
“On quiet days, I try to focus on long-term projects because as a market maker you need to find the balance between looking after the risk, but at the same time exploring opportunities to move the business forward,” Barca says.
Confidence and curiosity help a trader
Jessica Tedja is a Senior Associate, Markets Investment Management, Institutional Banking & Markets at CommBank. Like Barca, Tedja didn’t start her working life on the trading floor. She had been a consultant at KPMG focusing on market and credit risk. She got the chance to move into trading when she joined CommBank’s inaugural Career Transition program in 2022.
After completing the 12-month program, she joined the markets investment management team on the trading floor. There, she trades corporate bonds, residential mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities.
While Tedja is early in her career, she has a clear idea of what makes a good trader.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it takes a lot of confidence and being able to back yourself on an opinion that you might form with regards to the markets,” she says. “It’s about being curious about the economy, and how different cogs and mechanics of the economy move one another.”
A supportive environment
Rebecca Lidden, an Executive Director, Fixed Income Trading and Analytics at CommBank, started her finance career in the settlements department at Société Générale. She found herself drawn to the trading room, and asked her former employer what she should study to have a career as a trader. They told her to focus on maths.
“So I started doing a maths degree at night while I was still working there,” says Lidden. “I worked with 12 men who traded fixed income products and I brought it all together and managed the position for them.”
Lidden style of trading predominantly focused on applying relative value strategies. That specialisation in relative value was an advantage when, later in her career, she applied for a role in CommBank’s trading desk.
She says her new workplace was incredibly supportive, unlike the cut-throat environment portrayed in movies.
“Having male leaders who sponsored me, answered my questions and were really respectful of me was key for my development and allowed me to grow my network and progress my career,” she says.
Embracing diversity
CommBank was also willing to take Lidden on in a part-time capacity when she started in 2010, which suited her as she was about to have her first child.
“I couldn't see any trading jobs like that around the markets. I still don't think there's many of them today,” says Lidden. “And I think it's a real credit to the way CommBank has embraced diversity and the way that it's moving forward to create a role like that.”
Tedja agrees that CommBank is moving toward a trading floor that benefits from diversity of gender, thought, experience, background and field of study. The Career Transition program that she was part of deliberately seeks out candidates from diverse backgrounds, and has included two ex-lawyers, an ex-auditor and a consultant.
Along with the Career Transition program, CommBank also has a pathway for a direct global markets trading internship as part of the Global Markets Summer Analyst program.
“These programs are a really good platform for people with different backgrounds and degrees to get a foot in the door,” says Tedja.
Things you should know
This article is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. It does not have regard to the financial situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as financial product advice. You should consider seeking independent financial advice before making any decision based on this information. The information in this article and any opinions, conclusions or recommendations are reasonably held or made, based on the information available at the time of its publication but no representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is made or provided as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of any statement made in this article. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124. AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234945.
