Oriane Cochard: The future is versatile

The TRADE sits down with equity trader at T. Rowe Price, Oriane Cochard, to explore the versatility of new talent reaching the trading desk and how the hiring process has changed to accommodate this. 

How is the skillset of what’s required of a trader changing?

Traders are becoming more versatile – they need to adapt to a very rapidly changing industry on multiple fronts. Whether it comes to market structure, risk management, sourcing liquidity or keeping up to speed with current regulatory and technological changes, traders are required to evolve. As such, the skillset that we see on the street and at T. Rowe Price is broadening. While the core qualities of a good trader – effective communication, relationship building, and sharp market insight – remain crucial, there is a growing emphasis on acquiring data-centric skills. Traders are now enhancing their skillsets with coding abilities to automate tasks and improve efficiencies, allowing them to devote more time to value-adding activities.

How are data and technology developments shaping the type of person you see on the trading desk?

Data and technology advancements haven’t necessarily altered the type of individuals we have on our trading desk, but they have led us to adopt a more “quantamental” approach to trading. As discussed above, the skillset required to trade efficiently has now broadened but the basics haven’t changed. Traders still need to be adaptable, strong communicators, pay attention to details and risk manage. However, the challenge is now about how we leverage data to better inform our decision-making process and how to put new technologies to the service of our trading desk to improve efficiency. We need to continuously educate ourselves and keep up to speed with recent developments to use this at our advantage. On our desk, some of the team have coding skills and we are developing new tools to help better manipulate, consume, and visualise data. One of the trends we are observing, is also increased collaboration with our tech and TCA [transaction cost analysis] teams as we leverage more data and technological advances to make swift and informed decisions.

In what way has the hiring/talent acquisition process changed to accommodate this?

We are looking for people that have multifaceted skillsets, with a growth mindset, that are highly adaptable and keen to learn. They need to be very good communicators, detail oriented, interested in markets but also have some quantitative edge, or at least have a willingness to learn new technological and data-oriented skills, to drive innovation and increase efficiency on the desk. At T. Rowe Price, we focus on the people and their mindsets rather than functional skillsets as we believe that skills can be taught. Coding skills are definitely a plus, but it’s also about having a keen interest in data and data driven processes. When it comes to talent acquisition, we are looking for people that have a fundamental understanding of markets but that are also able to think outside the box to drive innovation.

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