how much can one expect to earn after 1yr and 3 yrs trading bonds in London...

The honest answer is that no one knows.I certainly don't, wish I did. The most recent data point I saw at about the one year was 70+bonus expectation of 50% ish. But I've seen lowe and higher, and don't have any good reason to believe it was average, or indeed that it wasn't.Lots and lots of variables. The feeling I get is that straight bond trading is not currently the most lucrative activity in banks by a signifcan margin, and that often their profts have drifted down over the last couple of years.

you might find they don't pay you anything with spelling like that

Hi jamesnowak,You should be the most capable of answering this question as only you, and your previous employer, have experienced your P&L first hand. Many times I think traders have in mind a percentage of the P&L they can produce as their bonus figure. Since none of us know how much money you can produce given the risks you take (we can have some ideas given the description of your products, but who knows, you could be the John Arnold of bond trading), we cannot give you any solid advice. Since I have no first hand experience in the bond trading field, I do not even know where to start in terms of a percentage of book. Also, it depends on what kind of company at which you work. Hedge funds usually pay out more of your performance than investment banks. Also, heed DCFC's advice if you are thinking of getting into the field. If you've recently read Liar's Poker and are basing your career decisions on it, you should know that much of it is very irrelevant now.

QuoteOriginally posted by: mutleyyou might find they don't pay you anything with spelling like thatPerhaps he wants to be paid in celery