Sector: Equities

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: If you are bullish on the UK economy should you trade the FTSE 100?

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This question has allegedly been asked in interviews for cash equities positions at HSBC. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 12 August 2011 • 5 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: In equity derivatives, can your gamma and theta both be positive? If so, can this be achieved in a single option?

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This question has allegedly been asked in equity derivatives trading interviews at HSBC. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the answer, [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 5 August 2011 • 7 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Why might a stock trade below its book value?

Here’s the latest in our series of killer equities interview questions sent in by members of the giant eFinancialCareers community. This was allegedly asked for an equity research role at Deutsche. THE QUESTION: Why might a stock trade below its book value and should we always buy those stocks? Can you think of any examples [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 29 July 2011 • 6 comments

Yannick Mallegol, the professional Ferrari-racing head of derivatives sales at Barclays Capital, has left the bank

If you were trying to conceive an ideal job in financial services, you would struggle to come up with something more appealing than that recently occupied by Yannick Mallegol. Mallegol was the former head of equity derivatives flow sales at Barclays Capital and and raced Ferraris. These are the cars Mallegol races. He recently came [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 28 July 2011 • 3 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: What is the price of a one year call option on a stock, with share price = $100, known interest rates of 5%, volatility of zero and no dividends?

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This question has allegedly been asked in equity derivatives trading interviews. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the answer, or have [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 22 July 2011 • 7 comments

POSITIVE NEWS: The UK government is providing an enormous boost to some broking jobs

You could be forgiven for noticing it given the other events of the moment, but last week stockbroker WH Ireland announced its first interim profit for four years, along with a 30% increase in its revenues. WH Ireland is not a big bank. Even after the increase, its revenues were still only 11m. But it [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 19 July 2011 • 3 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Are sovereign CDS spreads a leading or lagging indicator of equity volatility?

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This question has allegedly been asked in equity derivatives trading interviews at Morgan Stanley. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 15 July 2011 • 7 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: You walk into the casino and head for the roulette table…

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This question is asked in trading interviews. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the answer, or have any brilliant alternative responses, [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 8 July 2011 • 12 comments

GUEST COMMENT: If you want an aggressive bonus, join a brokerage house

Given the low levels of activity in the equities market this year, top tier investment banks aren’t increasing headcount in equity sales and trading – if anything they’re reducing it. This doesn’t mean, however, that there are no opportunities on offer in the market. While the big banks may not be hiring, the smaller European [...]

By Nader Bawany, 6 July 2011 • 6 comments

YOUR KILLER EQUITIES INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Pitch me an equity trading idea that is purely based on macroeconomics

Here’s the latest question sent in by site visitors who have attended equities interviews at investment banks. This was allegedly asked in an equity sales interview at Deutsche. The answer has been suggested by the person who submitted the question (and is not being advocated by us). If you disagree with the answer, or have [...]

By Sarah Butcher, 1 July 2011 • 4 comments