Trading Career Paths: 5 Jobs in the Trading and Fund Management Industry
Last updated: 3 July 2026 · By Spencer Li, CFTe
There are five main career paths in the trading and fund management industry, and each one rewards a different skill set: sales and trading at an investment bank, proprietary (prop) trading at a private fund, fund management, research analysis, and brokerage or dealing. Sales and trading and prop trading are for people who want to take and manage positions. Research analysis suits strong writers and thinkers who would rather not pull the trigger themselves. Brokerage and dealing is execution-led and sales-driven. Fund management sits at the top and usually needs experience and a track record before anyone hands you capital. Pay is structured differently in each: a salary, a commission, profit-sharing, or some blend. If you are deciding which one to aim for, the honest first question is not “which pays most”, it is “which job do I actually want to do all day”, because the day-to-day work is very different across these five.
Here is what each role is, who it suits, and how you get paid.
What are the main career paths in trading?
Most jobs in the industry fall into one of five buckets. They sit on a spectrum: at one end you are executing other people’s orders, at the other you are running your own book or someone else’s capital. The further along that spectrum you go, the more the pay shifts from a stable salary toward performance-based profit-sharing, and the more the risk shifts onto you.
| Role | What you do | Who it suits | How you get paid | Barrier to entry |
|---|
| Sales and Trading (S&T) | Make markets and take client orders at an investment bank | Top academics, bank-track candidates | Salary plus bonus | Very high (degree, stellar grades, often prior bank experience) |
| Proprietary trading | Trade the firm’s own money, usually at a private prop fund | Risk-tolerant traders who thrive under pressure | Small allowance plus profit-share (often 30 to 80 percent) | High selection, high turnover |
| Fund management | Run a larger, often longer-horizon book against a benchmark | Experienced traders with a track record | Base (management fee) plus profit-share | Highest (needs a proven record) |
| Research analyst | Analyse securities and write buy/sell/hold opinions | Strong analysts and writers who dislike position stress | Salary, paid well at banks | Moderate (analytical and writing skills) |
| Brokerage and dealing | Execute orders for clients as a dealer or remisier | People who are sales-led and client-facing | Base salary plus sales commission | Lower (less analysis required) |
The rest of this guide walks through each role in turn.
Sales and Trading (S&T)
Sales and trading is one of the core functions of an investment bank. It covers the buying and selling of securities and other financial instruments, both for the bank itself and on behalf of its clients.
It splits into two halves. Traders make markets: they buy and sell products mainly to facilitate clients’ activity, aiming to earn a small incremental amount on each trade. The sales side is the bank’s sales force, whose job is to call on institutional and high-net-worth investors, suggest trading ideas, and take orders. The sales desk passes those orders to the appropriate trading desk, which prices and executes them, or structures a new product to fit a specific need.
These roles are highly paid and highly coveted, which is exactly why they are hard to come by, especially when banks freeze headcount for front-office roles. The basic requirements are usually a degree plus stellar academic achievements, and previous experience working in a bank improves your chances.
Proprietary trading
Proprietary trading (often shortened to “prop trading”) is when a firm trades stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, their derivatives, or other instruments with the firm’s own money, rather than its clients’ money, to make a profit for itself. Prop desks use a range of strategies (index arbitrage, statistical arbitrage, merger arbitrage, fundamental analysis, volatility arbitrage, global macro) much like a hedge fund.
Banks used to run this function in-house, but that number has been declining. Most of the hiring now comes from private prop funds. These funds tend to hire experienced traders to trade the firm’s capital, though many run training programs to groom new traders.
Do note that the selection is stringent and the turnover rate is high; it is not an easy environment to thrive in. Remuneration is usually profit-sharing (commonly 30 to 80 percent) with only a small allowance, so you should have at least a year of savings to live on during the learning phase. Strategies vary, but many involve shorter-timeframe trading with high-leverage products such as futures and options.
Fund management
Fund management typically requires more experience and a track record, and you are expected to have advanced knowledge of trading before anyone hands you the capital. Products vary widely, and strategies are usually flexible, depending on the discretion the fund gives you. Because the capital base is larger, strategies often lean toward longer holding periods. There is usually a benchmark and drawdown limits to work within, and pay is a combination of a base salary (the management fee) plus profit-sharing.
The classic example is a hedge fund: an investment fund that can undertake a wider range of activities than other funds, but is generally only open to certain investor types specified by regulators (institutions like pension funds, university endowments and foundations, or high-net-worth individuals). Hedge funds invest across a diverse range of assets, most commonly liquid securities on public markets, and use techniques such as short selling and leverage.
Research analyst
A research analyst (also called a financial analyst, securities analyst, equity analyst, or investment analyst) performs financial analysis for external or internal clients as the core of the job. These roles are offered by banks, brokerage firms, and some independent research houses.
They suit people with good analytical and writing skills who enjoy research and analysis but do not like the stress of executing trades and holding positions. Writing reports and notes expressing opinions is always part of a “sell-side” (brokerage) analyst’s job, and is often not required of “buy-side” (investment firm) analysts. Analysts traditionally lean on fundamental analysis, though technical chart analysis and tactical reads of the market are also routine. At the end of an assessment, an analyst usually issues a rating recommending an action: buy, sell, or hold. Depending on experience, these jobs pay quite well at banks and financial institutions.
Brokerage and dealing
Brokerage and dealing roles come in several forms: an in-house dealer for a retail brokerage, a dealer for an institutional brokerage, or an independent remisier (a self-employed broker who trades on clients’ behalf under a brokerage’s licence).
A brokerage firm is a financial institution that facilitates the buying and selling of securities between buyer and seller, serving a clientele of investors who trade public stocks and other securities through the firm’s agents. A full-service brokerage does more than carry out trades; its staff research the markets to provide recommendations.
These roles require less analysis and trading skill than the others, because you are mainly executing orders for clients, though clients may lean on your input for their decisions. Remuneration is typically a base salary plus a sales commission if you hit certain targets.
So which path should you pick?
Personally, I would not start from the salary. Start from the work. A research analyst and a prop trader can earn similar money over a career, but their days look nothing alike: one reads and writes all day with no open positions, the other is sitting in front of live risk. Pick the day you can do for ten years, not the title that sounds best at a dinner party.
One more thing worth saying plainly. A role at a fund or a bank is not the only way to trade for a living, and it is not even the most accessible one. Many people now build a trading track record on their own capital first, then use that record as the thing that opens these doors, instead of waiting for a door to open. A firm can hand you a desk and a risk limit; it cannot hand you the judgment, the discipline, or the emotional control to use them well. That part you build yourself, and it is the same part whether you trade your own account or someone else’s. That is the human edge, and no employer and no algorithm supplies it for you.
FAQ
What are the highest-paying jobs in trading?
Sales and trading at an investment bank and successful proprietary trading or fund management tend to pay the most, because pay there is tied to performance through bonuses and profit-sharing. The trade-off is that these roles also carry the highest barrier to entry and, in prop trading and fund management, the most income risk.
Do you need a degree to become a trader?
For sales and trading at an investment bank, yes, usually a degree with strong academic results, and often prior bank experience. Proprietary trading and brokerage roles can be more open to candidates who can demonstrate skill or a track record, though selection is still tough and turnover is high.
What is the difference between proprietary trading and fund management?
Prop trading means trading the firm’s own money, often on shorter timeframes with leverage, paid mostly through profit-sharing. Fund management means running a larger, often longer-horizon book of investors’ capital against a benchmark and drawdown limits, paid through a base (management fee) plus profit-sharing.
What does a research analyst do?
A research analyst studies securities and the market, writes reports expressing an opinion, and issues a rating to buy, sell, or hold. It suits strong analysts and writers who prefer analysis to the stress of taking and holding positions.
What is a remisier?
A remisier is an independent, self-employed broker who introduces clients and executes their trades under a brokerage’s licence, earning commission on the business they bring in rather than a full salary.
Whichever path you are aiming for, the foundation is the same: a method you can actually execute, and the discipline to stick to it. If you want the full picture of how I think about trading as a skill rather than a job title, read the pillar: The Beginner’s Guide to Trading.
Want a method you can run on your own capital first? Grab the free 15-Minute Swing Trading Starter Kit. It is the exact routine I use to scan once a day and trade any market in 15 minutes, the kind of track record that opens the doors above.
About the author. Spencer Li is the founder of Synapse Trading and a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15 years of trading across stocks, forex, crypto, commodities, and bonds. His trade log is public, 404 trades, losses left in. He teaches low-risk swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.
Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results.
Related
The Beginner’s Guide to Trading (pillar) · How to become a profitable trader · Technical analysis vs fundamental analysis · How much money do you need to start trading
