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mix. This could mean anything from CME Eurodollar futures to the TSE JGB futures contract. So Chicago style can exist, but not always Chicago products. |
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Neal: Andy, some people would say you have the dream job. Do you agree? |
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Andy: No. I think most people in the financial markets who are reading this book consider sitting on their yachts trading their own accounts and not really having to worry about whether they have a losing or winning month to be the ultimate dream job. |
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My responsibility is handling client business. If you are looking for set hours and job security or you don't like fast-paced change and confrontation, it's not the place for you. Most of the time you are managing chaos. If the markets aren't going through volatile swings, then the exchanges are changing their software, someone just launched a new contract, your largest client wants to leave because he is unhappy with his fill, or you're worried about the staffing on the third shift. Basically, from Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. CST to Friday at 4:00 p.m. CST, you're on call, anytime, day or night. At the same time, the industry is still consolidating, and profit margins are continuing to decline. If you're talking about exchange-traded futures and options, this is the direction the business is heading, and I'd rather be on the leading edge than the lagging end. In the 1980s there was tremendous growth in the use of the international futures markets by traders. So far, in the 1990s electronic trading terminals have had a great impact on the way traders access the markets. Now, third-party software providers are on the leading edge, supplying traders with common, front-end user devices designed to interface with the open architecture data feeds from the exchanges that enable them to access multiple exchanges at the same time from one screen. Through all these developments, one thing hasn't changed. Whether it's Frankfurt-style, Tokyo-style, or Chicago-style, good traders are still hard to find. |
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