Welcome to the arena.

There are several variations of pseudo-traders who have little to no face to face with the investing public.  Two examples:

The Do-What-The-Boss-Tells-You-To-Do “Trader”: This is the institutional or mutual fund version of the cash-register-clerk “trader”.  The only difference is the customers queuing up to buy or sell are institutional brokers.  In this scenario, the folks barking orders on the other end of the phone aren’t interested in your advice.

The Do-What-The-Portfolio-Manager-Tells-You-to-Do “Trader” : This guy has been lucky enough to land a gig with a bona fide Investment Manager.  This individual therefore interacts primarily with the Portfolio Manager.  The day may be spent chasing down research for the fund manager, making buys or sells according to the fund manager’s instructions, or–getting coffee (particularly following a mistake).

More experienced and more capable do-what-the-portfolio-manager-tells-you-to-do “traders” are given more freedom to integrate their trading ideas into the portfolio management mix.  If this lucky individual plays his or her cards right, a fund manager gig may be on the horizon.

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E. M. M.

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“Your average broker couldn’t be a trader in a million years.” Michael Marcus

E. M. Murray--Managed Accounts featuring Fixed Downside Risk