Associate, Quantitative Strategies Group
What made you decide to join QSG as an intern/analyst/experienced hire?
The fast-paced and collaborative atmosphere; diversity of academic backgrounds; continuous flow of new ideas for improvement and innovation; and the opportunity to work with and learn from similarly driven people were reasons that led me to join QRG as an intern and return as a full-time analyst.
What kind of learning opportunities have you had at RBC?
I have not stopped learning since I joined the desk! From on-the-desk case studies with my manager and new-hire education to learning new programming languages, every day is an opportunity to learn more.
What does it take to excel in your position?
The environment in which we work is a fast-paced and ever-changing one, and I often find myself working on a few tasks at once—some that are longer-term, and some that pop up over the course of the day. Consequentially, I’d say constant innovation, attention to detail, quick decision-making, mental acuity, time-management, and multitasking are pivotal to excelling in this position.
Director, Quantitative Strategies Group
Briefly describe your role in the group:
Developing, maintaining, and providing production support of low-latency automated trading strategies, fair value engines, market data feeds, and other auxiliary scripts/processes that aid in the day-to-day trading operations of domestic and international equities and derivatives. Additional tasks include configuration, monitoring, optimization of trading environments, trader interaction in requirement gathering for new development, troubleshooting live trading, data collection, and analysis.
How does what you studied in college apply to your day-to-day work?
A majority of my day is spent doing various development tasks which require in-depth understanding of programming constructs, computer architecture, and intimate knowledge of market microstructure and exchanges.
Most of my learning at RBC comes from interacting with team members and traders and having a constant variety and frequency of development tasks to tackle.
What does it take to excel in your role?
Attention to detail, goal-oriented problem solving mentality, sense of ownership and responsibility.
Analyst, Quantitative Strategies Group
Early in my experience with QSG, it was apparent that my colleagues at all levels within the firm were willing to invest the time necessary to make sure I reach my potential and actively contribute. The group’s dedication to advancement, inclusion and ongoing learning while maintaining a positive and engaging culture motivated me to join QSG full-time.
To excel in this position, one needs the drive to ask the right questions and take initiative, a passion for markets, and an innate intellectual curiosity for solving complex financial problems through collaboration as well as individual efforts.
How does what you studied in college apply to your day to day work?
Besides having a deeper understanding of finance and programming, the most applicable piece of my college education has been the ability to look at new problems and utilize an innovative mindset to solve them. Each day will present new data to analyze and leverage, so having the experience of using data creatively to inform decisions has been extremely useful.
I had a great internship experience where I was able to work on meaningful research projects that taught me a lot about trading and financial markets. I also really enjoyed the education events provided by the internship, especially the weekly poker sessions.
Being a fast learner, having both a creative and analytical mindset, the ability to solve problems ‘out-of-the-box’, communication skills (especially being able to explain your work to others), and a passion/interest in financial markets.
I use statistical and mathematical models to construct trading signals that can describe the behavior of securities across various markets to aid my team’s market-making business.
I enjoyed working with the people at RBC. The environment is collaborative and encourages learning at a fast pace. After my internship I decided to return full time to get more experience in the financial markets.
Strong quantitative and programming skills are necessary. Trading also requires quick thinking and knowledge of the market.
I am responsible for monitoring and improving the trading strategies to remain competitive in the rapidly changing markets. I also develop automated scripts to generate reports and parameters for our strategies.
