Tom,
Operations Analyst
7.30am
When in the office, I’d usually try and grab something to eat from the kitchen and have a coffee before starting at my desk. The selection at home isn’t as good but the coffee is still a prerequisite.
7:45am
I usually log on before 7.50am in order to answer any urgent trader queries prior to the market open and perform checks that prevent any impact on trading PnL or positions. A key part of our role is to ensure any errors or issues from the prior day are resolved or explained as soon as possible. These issues can involve errors on the broker’s part, technological/system issues or amendments to prior day trades.
We can also receive manual trade bookings that need to be booked before the open. The majority of our communication with the portfolio managers and traders is conducted over online chat but when we are in the office, it’s sometimes easier to speak directly. I enjoy working with the Front Office closely.
In busy periods it can be very fulfilling prioritising issues and helping different desks at the same time. It’s satisfying to solve problems under what can be a high degree of pressure. We receive a variety of queries that can be very time sensitive. We speak to our team in Hong Kong and discuss any issues that may need to be handed over.
10am
Another coffee. Issues that have arisen earlier in the day may carry on until mid-morning, but if not, there’s usually a lull in urgent tasks where I can take time to go through the group inbox and identify any important issues. Due to the variety of different trading strategies Maven employs, as a team, we have exposure to a wide array of asset classes and products. There are always opportunities to encounter new processes and learn about new markets & products. We get to see the life cycle of a trade from start to finish.
11am
A big positive of working in Security Operations is the chance to work and interact with lots of other teams in the company. We receive ad-hoc queries from the Finance, Business Development, IT Development, Legal and Risk teams. Requests here can be related to system improvements, PnL issues, margin and money movements or account set ups.
11.30am
We have a team catch up on Zoom. Any serious issues will be escalated and we’ll share the happenings of the morning, then give an outlook on what we have planned for the rest of the day. In the office the catch up is usually less formal and we’ll speak to each other as we work – the daily Zoom catch up has been a useful substitution.
12pm
I’ll have lunch and go out for some fresh air, I’m lucky that there’s a nice park near my flat, when in the office I’ll often go out for a walk in the City. Both Maven offices are in good locations.
1pm
More responding to ad-hoc queries. We also have several reports to send to the wider company which need to be as accurate as possible. I’ll try and make a start on any on-going projects I have, again, we have a wide variety of work here.
2pm
The US team start their day and we respond to any queries they may have prior to the US open. The European open, US open and European close are probably are busiest parts of the day. The US side of the business has been rapidly expanding and it’s rewarding to help with day-to-day issues.
3pm
Resume project work – there can be a mixture of long lasting projects or tasks which take a few days to finish. These can include developmental work or new joiner related tasks. As Maven is constantly exploring opportunities in new areas, this is another learning point. I’ve learned SQL since I’ve worked at Maven and this is incorporated in most projects and has helped in my role. I’m hoping to start learning Python soon.
4pm
We’ll start to receive requests related to the day’s trading as we head into the European close. Traders will want to make sure that their daily wrap PnL is correct and there is nothing outstanding that could cause problems in the future. We have a variety of daily processes that we need to check, so our brokers and prime brokers receive correct trade related information.
5.30pm
I’ll have another check of the communication channels and handover anything important to Hong Kong for them to pick up in a few hours. Commute from desk to sofa.
