Bond Trader

As a Bond Trader, you're making markets in fixed income securities for a dealer. When clients want to buy or sell bonds, you're providing prices, committing capital, and managing the resulting positions. This is different from brokering — you're actually taking risk by owning bonds in inventory, not just connecting buyers and sellers.

Your day is intense and market-driven. You're constantly quoting prices to sales teams and clients, deciding whether to take positions, hedging risk, and monitoring your book. A client might ask for a price on $10 million of a corporate bond — you need to decide instantly what price to bid, whether you want the risk, and how you'll manage it if you buy. Market moves while you hold positions create profit or loss.

The challenge is managing risk while staying competitive on pricing. You want to win business, which means showing good prices, but every trade creates risk that you need to understand and manage. You need deep market knowledge, quick mathematical thinking, and the emotional stability to handle P&L swings. Post-crisis regulations have also changed how dealer capital works.