Situation:- Well known MFE program in London, yet to graduate- UG in statistics- No previous investment banking experience, but quant-developer intern in a prop trading firm- Highly Interested in algo-trading, but not planning to do a PhD- Offered with London CLO fund of 10 people as "quant analyst" but seems doing VBA most of the timeQuestion:- How long can the momentum of CLO sustain ? I have been reading the news saying the sales of CLO soar to record high in 2014, but increasing regulations suppress the development, therefore i am not sure with the prospect of the fund and industry.- £70K in 2 years, double of the starting salary, is it possible ?- I am very interested in algo trading, but i know it is difficult to be good at it; should i take this less riskier path?

Take it

Hi Gamal, do you have a specific reason for that ? or, How do you view the CLO market ?

It's difficult to predict anything, esspecially the future.CLOs have at least some economic justification while HFT is pure charlatanism.

@Gamal: i see your point. How about the salary progress that he claimed, is it bluff ?

Your original post left a couple of issues kind of open-ended. First, is this a CLO manager, or a fund investing (only?) in CLO tranches? Second, do you have an offer for a starting salary of £35K? Not knowing the London market that well these days, this seems awfully low for a graduate of a "well known MFE program". I know we pay more than that for undergrad analysts in the NYC area. On that basis, a doubling in 2 years doesn't sound crazy. Is there, perhaps, a bonus involved at some stage? And I agree with Gamal that the CLO market, while subject to unpleasant upcoming regulatory changes, does serve a real economic function. It also held up better than most structured credit markets through the crisis, so it has been "stress tested".

bear, it is a fund investing in CLO (mainly most junior tranche). And yes, just 35K, which makes me quite miserable after hearing your "awfully low". I see your point in that CLO has been stressed tested and i agree with that.

Experience values more

it sure does. but given that every next salary is (usually) a function of the previous one, 35K does not look particularly promising...

QuoteOriginally posted by: ThinkDifferentit sure does. but given that every next salary is (usually) a function of the previous one, 35K does not look particularly promising......in a bank. I know mamy gifted and qualified people sticked for years to packages around 40K. But in a company of ten they will soon know your value. So either you get decent money or walk away without money but with experience which values more.

I would suggest taking it too. But more from a 'bird in hand' kind of perspective. Your CLO job can then fund your algo job search!! Frankly I think two years in CLO world is not what I would call a "less riskier path", but then my personal bearishness colors my opinion here.