Sales Trader : a Trader’s indispensable partner
The work of a Sales Trader
The Sales Trader is the person in charge of commercial procedures when clients make investments in the market. A Sales Trader needn’t necessarily take a training course in market finance. A Sales Trader does not invest as the Trader does, and therefore has no direct action in the market; all transactions pass through the intermediary of their associate Traders in the market.
The Sales Trader doesn’t, however, know any less about finance than a Trader; a comprehensive understanding of the market is indispensible for a Sales Trader. Sales Traders are put in contact with a client wishing to invest in the market or sell shares. Sales Traders then inform, counsel and oversee transactions via the market makers (the Traders) with whom they work. The Sales Trader therefore has an entirely commercial function; what’s more, on top of supervising financial transactions, they also have a role in market researching, with the responsibility of evaluating the needs of clients, then offering financial products that may meet their requests.
Sales Traders are, similarly to their Trader associates, specialized in a niche of financial products: certain currencies, certain stocks… According to the structure within their workplaces, they may only work with well-defined clients, be they banks, individuals, or hedge funds. It is important to note that despite having permanent contact with a Trader partner, they do not necessarily work together in the same room, or even in the same country. Sales Traders working in New York City may work with American clients who only purchase financial products coming from the Hong Kong stock exchange, where their Trader partners would consequently work.
Sales Traders’ work conditions
The Sales Trader therefore has a much more commercial profile than the Trader. Sales Trader often begin their studies in a commerce school, before participating in a training course in finance, after which they complete their studies with an intensive internship to gain experience in the field.The CIT helps prospective Sales Traders save time by simultaneously providing a training course in finance and experience in the market. However, as the CIT offers a program with the principal goal of training Traders, the commercial aspect of being a Sales Trader is not the focus of the program. It is therefore wise for those wishing to become Sales Traders to take a training course in commerce or sales before entering into the trading school.
Sales Traders’ work conditions are less difficult than those of Traders’, as they don’t have the pressure of investment on their shoulders. However they are responsible for counsel and must manage dozens of client portfolios. Their task is therefore not easy, and payment is quite high: A junior in sales makes 30,000 €, not including primes. Having become senior Sales Traders, they can make anywhere between 70,000€ to 300,000€ annually, not including primes. Compensation depends on the structure in which they work (hedge funds pay their Sales Traders generously) and individual performance. As for bonuses, they can be raised, though they don’t reach the same amounts as a trader’s bonus. If the transaction isn’t ideal, Sales Traders cannot set a margin, under risk of losing their client’s money. These bonuses are therefore subject to variation.