Matthew Ferris
Swaps
Austrialia

My role involves supporting the desk throughout the day and backing up senior brokers and their clients. This includes assisting the calculation of prices and spreads, helping with trade confirmations, covering lines when required and, after market close, attempting to get as much value out of the business as possible and looking after all clients' needs. My role also includes trying to build and identify new business with relation to Australian swaps but also US swaps in our time zone.

One thing that appealed to me about working in this environment was that broking is and can be a very fast paced, loud and energetic environment. I enjoyed the idea of a noisy workplace with a crowded dealing room transacting many deals a day. I thought that the ICAP graduate programme gave me the chance to see a number of the desks and then decide what is best for my personality. ICAP is a market leader and I thought it would be a great company to begin a career with.

I think that brokers are as important as ever to dealers and that the role we play will continue to assist banks in gaining information to make well informed trading decisions. It is certainly a more competitive environment post Lehman Brothers collapse and it does make you aware of the importance of being on top of the market and supporting your clients. Also competition amongst other brokers on the desk is fiercer than ever.

The majority of my training has been on the desk, learning from the other senior brokers and also from my interactions with our clients. Another valuable learning experience was the initial London training course that we undertook and the one week dealing simulation with AFMA which was a great opportunity to meet bank dealers and other market participants.

In my two years at ICAP I have had many opportunities to talk to and meet both work colleagues and their clients, as well as up-and-coming young dealers in the market. We have also had some valuable team building evenings in which, the desk critiques areas of improvement, strength and weaknesses and opportunities that have arisen in the current market.

I think the most challenging part of starting at ICAP is being able to accept criticism, take it on board and do better the next time. Making mistakes is part of learning and you need to understand this when coming into this kind of environment. You also need to be proactive and ask other brokers if you can go along to meetings and events in order to get to know the client base.

I'm interested in financial markets whether they are debt, equity or credit markets. I think first and foremost if you have a general understanding of these areas, you will be passionate in your relationships with your clients. Being social is also important as there are many opportunities to meet and network with clients.