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	Your Opportunity as a Quantitative Finance Associate in Sales & Trading

Morgan Stanley is one of the world's finest financial services firms. Our client base-ranging from some of the largest global institutional investors to hedge funds at the cutting edge of innovation in the industry-turns to Morgan Stanley's depth of talent, global product range, and leading market share for sales, trading, and market-making services in virtually every type of financial instrument. More than ever, we work across a broad range of asset classes to find new forms of investing that aim to generate superior returns.

Morgan Stanley Strats & Modeling (MSSM) division is integral to our sales, trading and banking businesses.  Our primary focus is revenue generating activities centered on analytics and technology. Our organization is comprised of embedded strat teams, who reside within the Banking, Commodities, Equity, and Fixed Income businesses, and eight focused Practice Area Groups.   Our strats work with salespeople and traders to create revenue positive trading opportunities, design innovative products and maintain analytic models and other trading tools to identify new market opportunities and value-added trading strategies.

We are looking for the world's top talent to join our team. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career-a place for people to learn, to achieve, and to grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives, and needs is an important part of our culture.

Your role could include: 

• Risk analysis of a trading desk's book of derivative trades 
• Development and testing of trading strategies
• Structuring of new products
• Development and implementation of models for valuation and hedging of derivatives traded by Morgan Stanley

The Morgan Stanley Strats & Modeling (MSSM) Quantitative Finance Associate Program

After training, you will be assigned to a team under the direct guidance of experienced professionals who are among the best in their fields. They will give you as much responsibility as you can handle in an environment that affords exciting participation in a fast-paced financial market place. You will have opportunities to work with a wide variety of clients in different industries as well as opportunities to work on trading desks in different product areas. Your role may range from helping clients make strategic decisions regarding capital raising, research, or investments to assisting traders using sophisticated models to find value-added trades and to manage the risk in books of complex derivatives.

Within the different business functions, MSSM Associates joining the program may take on one of the following roles:

Desk Strategists are key participants, together with traders and sales people, in the revenue-generating activities of our Sales & Trading Division. Desk strategists sit on the trading desk, are the primary modelers for new products, and team with the traders to deliver innovative ideas using models to analyze risks and opportunities in trading books for complex derivatives. Responsibilities include creating models and strategies the desk will use to drive trading decisions, analyzing and managing the risk of the positions currently on the books, creating pricing and marking models, and creating trader-efficiency tools.

Market Modelers enhance Morgan Stanley's ability to take and manage risk and generate profits through the development and utilization of mathematical finance to create effective valuation and hedging models and to the development and analysis of investment and trading strategies of interest to our traders and clients. A critical goal of Market Modeling is to quickly bring effective models, while ensuring the integrity and transparency of the modeling process, its utilization and valuations.

Core Analytics develops domain-specific languages, algorithms, analytic libraries, and tools to specify, value, trade, and process financial positions.

Core Strategies Pioneer Nucleus builds the Pioneer platform, a new applications platform, which enables us to develop, test, and deploy best-in-class technology solutions covering the entire range of ISG business activities.  Enterprise Application Infrastructure (EAI) is responsible for creating and maintaining toolkit libraries and middleware components for use in applications.  Morgan Stanley Development Environment (MSDE) supports an integrated suite of software development lifecycle tools, applications and services to enable application teams to develop, test and deploy high quality software products easily and safely.

Model Standards and Enforcement works with strats, market modelers, the Market Risk Department, and the Firm's Chief Risk Officer to set standards for the models used in valuation and risk and educate model users/builders about the standards.  The group also monitors trading activity to ensure adherence to these standards as it has the responsibility for enforcing compliance with the Firm's Model Control and Usage Policy within the Institutional Securities Group (ISG).

Launching Your Career

Training includes classroom-based, group, and one-on-one sessions to familiarize you with the firm's data resources and analytical tools.  You will also benefit from on-the-job coaching by virtue of working alongside our experienced professionals.

Training is ongoing throughout your career at Morgan Stanley. We are committed to providing you with the learning and development you will need to succeed in this constantly changing business. The training curriculum typically will cover: 

• Market-knowledge training
• Product and technical training
• Professional development

Throughout the program, you will be exposed continually to management through information sessions and other organized events. You will also benefit from networking opportunities with peers and colleagues.

To integrate you into Sales & Trading, you will be assigned a mentor who will help ease your transition to the corporate environment.  Your mentor provides career guidance, serves as a sounding board, and helps connect you to the broader Morgan Stanley network.

Developing Your Career
MSSM Associates work across a range of product and sector desks. You can expect to take on significant responsibility as soon as you start. You may work directly with clients at a senior level, applying your analytical skills and subject-matter expertise to help them make strategic decisions involving capital raising, research, or trading issues.

 Is the Quantitative Finance Program Right for You?

• You have an active interest in the financial markets and how they are influenced by external markets.
• Your analytical and quantitative skills enable you to rapidly assimilate and evaluate complex numerical information.
• You are insightful and creative in the way you test and interpret information.
• Your communication skills enable you to explain complex propositions in a simple and compelling manner.
• You are a team player who puts results ahead of individual recognition.
• You are able to create profitable trading opportunities for both Morgan Stanley and our clients.

Requirements

• Personal and professional integrity
• A PhD/MFE with expertise in Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Quantitative Finance, or Computer Science
• Strong mathematical academic training
• Strong programming skills
• A keen interest in the financial markets
• The drive and desire to work in an intense team-oriented environment

How to Apply

Please visit our website at: http://www.morganstanley.com/about/careers/recruiting/apply.html

Deadlines

We accept applications for the Quantitative Finance Associate program on an ongoing basis.