If you’re looking to work in investment banking, one of the divisions you can choose is global markets. This division enables a bank’s clients to trade financial products, raise capital, and manage risk. This can include primary and secondary markets (rates, credit, foreign exchange, fixed-income, securitisation and treasury).
Within the global markets division, you will be required to understand the trade life cycle. It is the lifeblood of this division. Hence, in this article, we bring you two free simulations to help you take a peek into the life cycle of a trade.
What is the life cycle of a trade
A trade’s life cycle includes all the steps involved in a trade, right from the time an order is placed to its price fluctuations to its validation all the way to the settlement of the trade. This is the central activity for stock exchanges, capital markets, hedge funds, investment banks and other financial institutions. If you are planning to work in any of these domains, you must be well-versed in this life cycle.
These two trade simulations are particularly beneficial for anyone aspiring to build a career path in the global markets division. Whether you work in the front office, as a technologist, or in risk management, compliance and internal audit, these real-time simulations will sharpen your expertise. You will also be able to understand:
- how various teams in this division collaborate together
- which parties are involved in the trade life cycle, such as custodians, CSDs and exchanges
- the role of technology in executing trades on exchanges and OTC markets
- the various terminologies of the trade life cycle such as trade capture, clearing, settling, and trade enrichment
- the role of infrastructure divisions, such as technology, risk, and compliance in the trade life cycle
- post trade responsibilities that investment banks are responsible for, such as reporting, valuation, and accounting
Two free simulations on life cycle of a trade
Anatomy of a Trade: This free simulation will help you understand the life cycle of a trade in depth by introducing you to all the terms used in this process and their meanings. By engaging with this simulation, you will be able to learn all the terms involved in the life cycle of a trade in an interactive and easy manner. You wouldn’t need to read a ton of material to comprehend these concepts such as swift message, reporting, settlement, trade capture, among others.
Anatomy of a Trade 2: This is another free simulation to help you ace your knowledge of trade concepts. This will help you understand the order of various steps in the life cycle of a trade. Since this is also a fun and engaging way to learn some complex terms, you will be able to get a hang of these quintessential trade terms quickly through the simulation.
For example, in this simulation, you will be able to pair the terms central to the lifecycle of a trade with its meanings. This innovative way of practising and perfecting the terms increases their memorability and keeps the user interested. For example, you might be given a definition such as: standard settlement instructions added to transactions, and you would need to match it with the right term that it is describing. For example, in this case, it is trade enrichment. You would be required to keep going and practice as many times as you like till you know all the correct answers.
Conclusion
Once you are clear with your understanding of the life cycle of a trade, you can use it to further learn about the global markets division of investment banking. This course on Global Markets will help you learn about the different desks found in global markets, the products and services they provide to their clients, and the roles available for people looking to forge a career in this fast-moving industry. Happy learning!
60+ hours
9 courses
