Michael

Certified Tutor

I have been an institutional trader my whole career starting from the commodities trading pits on the floor to moving upstairs running execution trading desks at inter dealer brokers. What I can help you with obtain a better understanding are the following subjects; equities types, options, futures, swaps, energy trading both paper and physical, OTC (over the counter) derivative products, technical analysis, order types and usage, terms such as MOC,MOO, not held, held, stop, best effort etc. and PFOF it's effect on trading and it's use by companies like Robinhood, dark pools, equity and options trading OMS (Order management systems) algorithms types and usage, options trading strategies, futures trading strategies, portfolio strategies, quantitative portfolio theory and strategies, hedging strategies in equities, options, compliance questions, proper order handling, Multi asset class trading strategies, futures and OTC swaps types and usage. It is most important to understand what your goal is and what best strategy can be used to accomplish it, knowing the risks associated with each strategy and best option to hedge it, understanding a traders mentality which is partially based on behavioral science, experience to draw upon and a deep understanding of the interconnections between economic number both domestically and abroad, government statistics, drivers of the market and the connection all asset classes have on each other. I have the following licenses; 3,4,7,55,63 and SIE. Having run 4 trading desks, I can also help with compliance questions regarding order handling, proper investment fit, confidentiality rules. Equally as important is the able to see what is coming and to be flexible in your career choice, I have had to switch my focus, client base, trading style, learn new techniques and strategies due to technological advancements, change on Wall Street is a constant as they are always on the look out for the fastest, least expensive way to operate this usually applies to head count reductions. So, with a better of understanding of where we are now and where we had come from you maybe able to guess where it is we are going and where the jobs will be.
If you care to read on exactly how I gained this knowledge you can read my bio below I just wanted to be clear above of exactly what I can help with, below is where and how I gained my knowledge. All of what I know has been actually gained doing various jobs while I may of started with book knowledge practical applications are different in terms of how things work to some degree.
I started my career on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa exchange's trading floor at a young age, then moved upstairs to run Bear Stearns's energy futures desk using my options knowledge and learning the energy complex. So wearing the sales/trader/strategist hat I built a team to assist oil companies hedge using futures and options. We designing customized hedging strategies for the largest oil refiners, oil transportation and exploration, airlines and trucking companies. These strategies used futures, options and OTC swaps. During my time at two firms was involved in building electronic trading platforms over 20 years ago. While marketing an equity derivative trading platform I was offered a position on an equity derivatives brokerage desk as a sales/trader for an inter-dealer broker. Here I acted like an extension of my clients trading desks executing delta neutral trades, risk reversals and many other strategies either on a held or not held basis. Held means I am given the price by the client to fill and not held means the order is at my discretion to pick the price. Here we traded large institutional size orders of every strategy for the banks client who are sophisticated hedge funds, asset managers and clients were desks in a bank who used me instead of their in-house trading desks. I have been involved in quantitative portfolio management recently designing customized passive investment strategies for state pension funds using quantitative data to help them generate alpha with little tracking error risk. I have a Masters degree from Baruch in Finance. What I could help a Varsity Tutors client understand is futures, equities and options, commodities especially energy both paper and physical usage, pricing and use in a strategy either for profit or hedging. Also, technical and quantitative analysis such as understanding graphing and more advanced tools such as moving averages, stochastic and market profile. Also, I can impart a trader's mentality outlook, having been a trader in several asset classes. My areas of expertise are the energy complex, crude and heating oil, RBOB gasoline, natural gas in both physical and futures and options. My energy knowledge includes OTC natural gas basis swaps and futures crack, heat and spark spreads. Equities and equity options pricing and quantitative portfolio overlay strategies theory and construction.