Spencer Yong
Crude Oil
Singapore

I am currently on rotation on a different desk each week. As such, roles and responsibilities vary from desk to desk. I would spend a large part of the day figuring out the product and the market. Typically after getting up to speed, I would help out the desk by filling up tickets, and even quoting down the box to update the other offices with prices.

I chose interdealer broking because I wanted to be involved in the financial markets. Broking relies so much on your personality and how you interact with clients - it's essentially a people business.

The training we have received from ICAP has been very comprehensive and there has been great support. To begin with, we underwent a training course in the London office to get everyone up to speed on the various financial products being traded in the markets. In addition, our rotations on the various desks across the business allowed us to develop a better understanding of the markets and also, practical knowledge of how to deal with clients. A mentor was allocated to me and I also had the full support of the various team members on the desk to teach me about the product and the market.

During my first day of rotation on the crude oil desk, I was given the opportunity to attend a series of networking events held during Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference 2009 where I managed to network various players in the oil industry. Not too bad for my first day on the desk!

The most challenging part of my role has been learning about the technical aspects of the products and making sense of what is being quoted and traded, in a relatively short space of time. However, following the markets religiously gives me a better understanding of recent developments and allows me to connect various issues together to understand the markets.