The responsibilities of a Trading Support Specialist fall in the realm of trade and event supporting in the middle tier of a trading company. Thus, a Trading Support Specialist contributes in strengthening and smoothing the procedures and efficiencies involved in a trading business, so as to offer optimum support to the front end of the business line. Thus, this position will sanction the individual with the power to be in charge of evaluating and processing all types of trades (buy and sell or lending and borrowing) in relation to the specific products, which can include Funds, Stocks, Futures, and so on.
- Leading and managing the process of insertion of trades and trade events
- Solving all types of trading issues ensuring smooth operations
- Ensuring that booking is correct running P&L and Risk Analysis after booking complex trades
- Providing assistance to traders on various key aspects like dividends, short positions, etc.
- Reviewing processes related to deal management with the aim of automating them
- Performing all types of trade and order support activities
- Handling order status inquires, monitor trading application status
- Helping in application upgrade roll-outs and enhancing the processes and capabilities of the firm
Apart from this, it will always be an additional advantage to undertake a Master's program in order to acquire specialized skills and abilities in a particular subject. This would greatly help in today's competitive system of trading jobs.
There are certain basic skills that the individual should possess in order to perform the duties that come with the post of a Trading Support Specialist in the most proficient way.
Firstly, the individual must be equipped with good interpersonal skills so as to successfully communicate with the different tiers in the trading company. Also, since several ad hoc requests can spring up during the course of work, he must be able to aptly handle situations.
The individual must be able to initiate discussions and solutions with members, and should preferably be pro-active. Meticulousness and detail-orientation are also important requirements in this job in the trading field. Since the work is usually deadline-focussed, a dynamic and a reactive attitude is a must in the individual. Since the job of a Trading Support Specialist revolves primarily around promoting solutions and co-ordinating efforts in the company, the individual should be a natural ‘team-player', and must also be a fast learner to handle the pressure and work-load optimally.
Technical Skills: A bonus would be to have established management skills as well as a supervisory experience. Certain computer skills are also essential for this post, particularly an advanced level of programming in VBA expertise of equity derivative products.
Training for this post can be undertaken in the form of internships and apprenticeship in the trading sector so as to gain knowledge of real-life scenarios prior to taking up the job. The individual can choose to work in any departments in a trading company, since any trade-related experience and knowledge will prove to be beneficial in the future course of the job.
When an individual takes up the post of a Trading Support Specialist, there will be a great demand on his financial and analytical skills throughout. Thus, it will be beneficial to hone these skills through prior work experience, either in a business related field, the banking sector, or in the trading sector itself. In fact, work experience ranging from 1 to 3 years in trading support which deals with equity derivatives has become a virtual requirement with most corporations.
The career prospects for a Trading Support Specialist are highly credible globally because of the core responsibilities attached to the job. A Trading Support Specialist deals with vital trade issues, including evaluation of trade events, co-ordination of inter-party operations, critical assistance to traders, understanding of corporate actions related to trade, consistent reviewing of trade processes, and so on. Thus, this post assumes vital importance in the organizational structure of any trading company, which makes it a globally-sought after job profile.
The average salary of a Trading Support Specialist may vary from $78,000 to $80,000. The pay structure for the post of a Trading Support Specialist may vary across trading corporations and across geographic zones. Generally, the salary package is highly lucrative and agreeable.
Here is a list of relevant designations and related salaries:
- Trading floor support $82,000
- Quality management specialist $88,000
- Field support specialist $46,000
- Portfolio accounting analyst $50,000
- Technical specialist $69,000
- Production support specialist $45,000
- Equity trading support specialist $109,000
- Market data specialist $97,000
- Application support specialist $53,000
- Foreign exchange specialist $53,000
