Ben Stahl

University:
Connecticut College

Degree Subject:
Economics

Desk:
Treasuries, Mexican Interest Rate Swaps, Commodities

I spent most of my days during my internship shadowing brokers, and giving them a hand with calculations, formatting spreadsheets, and inputting data. However, I also had a quite unique and unexpected experience compared to most of my fellow interns. After spending a week observing the Mexican Interest Rate Swaps desk, I was moved to commodities in accordance with the regular desk rotations of the program. But after a few days, I was actually asked back to the Mexican IRS desk to train for a few more days with them, and then fill in for one of the brokers while he was on vacation for a week. During that week I wrote the tickets for the brokers, while running a desk blotter of all the trades executed. This turned out to be quite a daunting task. My first day was a lot harder than I thought it would be. While training, I thought it would be easy, take down the trades in the blotter as the brokers work, input some numbers and pass out the printed tickets. Turns out things are a lot different when 5 different trades are going on simultaneously, every minute, piling on top of each other. I made a lot of mistakes the first few days, but the brokers are great guys, they stuck with me and by the end of the week were questioning if the broker I was filling in for even needed to come back to work. So, I definitely was given a sink or swim situation and may have barely floated but I learned so much about the business, got some hands on insight on the broker world and had a blast at the same time.

I chose interdealer broking because it seemed like the perfect fit for me. I knew I wanted a job in finance, with some sort of client relations aspect. I chose ICAP specifically for two reasons. I found that most people at ICAP are just plain good people. Being an intern, sitting beside someone while they're working could have been a lot less fun if the brokers didn't actually enjoy having me alongside. I found the brokers were enthusiastic that I was there to learn and happy to help. Secondly, if I'm choosing a career, why not go with the best in the business?

My most challenging experience was definitely when I was writing tickets for the Mexican Interest Rate Swaps desk. It took me a while to learn the jargon they used in order to follow the trades they were executing. And even when they would tell me the trades, I didn't realize the value of double-checking my work until I was neck deep in mistakes. Taking the time to write a correct ticket is far more efficient then speeding through tickets full of mistakes that will need to be fixed.

The best advice I can give someone considering a career in interdealer broking is to talk to anyone at ICAP. You can learn a lot from the website, but it pales in comparison to talking to someone in the business. That is how I chose ICAP for my internship.

I think sports have prepared me the most for my internship. When I was writing tickets for the Mexican IRS desk it was just like I was in a lacrosse game. I had to listen to what trades each of the 7 brokers were working on while running the blotter and writing the tickets for the trades they executed. In a game, I play defence so I need to pay attention to where the ball is, while keeping a close watch on my guarding assignment, while knowing where my teammates are in case someone gets beat and I have to slide to the attacker. Multi-tasking under pressure is something I think my interest and activities has prepared me the most for during this internship.

It's hard to pick just one aspect that I have enjoyed about my internship, but I think the antics that goes on between brokers has to be one of my favorite things. They spend a lot of time together, working as a team, and get to know each other pretty well. So, when things may be a little slow around the desk, a great sense of humour is required.

To be a good broker you definitely need to know the value of hard work. Whether you're a recent hire trying to make a name for yourself and impress the more senior people, or a seasoned broker trying to please your clients, hard work is a must. You have to be able to go the extra mile, even if it is at 4:50pm and you've been at the office since sunrise. Another must is undoubtedly a knack for being sociable. Entertaining clients is a large part of the interdealer broker business and if you can't kick back and socialise, you're going to struggle to maintain trust, and overall strong client relationships.