Trading and Card Tricks
Two Days on Wall Street
Sundar Shankar, MBA '06
Issue date: 11/5/04 Section: Careers
After a brief rest, the most exciting part of the day was just about to begin. Lehman Brothers had arranged a trading game to give us a taste of the day-to-day activities on the trading floor. We were split into seven groups and given a packet consisting of market reports, deal order, and trade blotter forms. There were four trading pits arranged for different products and each of us chose to be either traders or salespersons and we switched positions at the end of each round. Lehman Brothers' traders acted as specialists making markets in each of the pits or as clients giving orders to salespeople. The atmosphere was electric with the students shouting "buy!" and "sell!" like pros. Not only was the trading game fun but also truly educational because it taught students about the mechanics of taking a position, risk management, order flow, and more. We finished off the evening networking with the Lehman Brothers' traders and recruiters, and dining on pizza and beer provided by the hosts.
Tuesday consisted of a visit to the fixed income trading floor at Banc of America and lecture on repurchase agreements or repo trading, which is where a buyer and a seller agree that the seller will repurchase certain securities at a set price at a stated time. After the lecture we boarded the bus provided by the Johnson School learned some impressive card tricks, courtesy of Candace Davies, on the drive home.
Professor Biloski says that he noticed Signs that the banks were more enthusiastic about the Johnson School this year because the speakers and the bank reps were freer in handing out business cards and inviting the students to schedule informational interviews. He also says that the students told him that wide variety of activities was ideal because it gave them a chance to narrow down their career choice or to be exposed to options that they had not thought of before.
Finally, the students would like to thank Professor Biloski and the Johnson School for organizing the program, and the Wall Street firms and their representatives for taking the time to host the students and provide a unique educational experience.
Tuesday consisted of a visit to the fixed income trading floor at Banc of America and lecture on repurchase agreements or repo trading, which is where a buyer and a seller agree that the seller will repurchase certain securities at a set price at a stated time. After the lecture we boarded the bus provided by the Johnson School learned some impressive card tricks, courtesy of Candace Davies, on the drive home.
Professor Biloski says that he noticed Signs that the banks were more enthusiastic about the Johnson School this year because the speakers and the bank reps were freer in handing out business cards and inviting the students to schedule informational interviews. He also says that the students told him that wide variety of activities was ideal because it gave them a chance to narrow down their career choice or to be exposed to options that they had not thought of before.
Finally, the students would like to thank Professor Biloski and the Johnson School for organizing the program, and the Wall Street firms and their representatives for taking the time to host the students and provide a unique educational experience.