Dean Cassar

7.00 AM

I wake up and can’t help but check my phone to see if there’s any big news overnight. Thanks to the casual dress code, it’s not long before I head off and mentally prepare for the day ahead on the train ride to Martin Place.

8.00 AM

As life would be unbearable without it, I head to the kitchen for my first coffee along with a Granola fruit salad to take with me to the desk. I first assess the overnight market news and how they may affect the desk’s positions. I’ll then focus on my basket of stocks, where in anticipation of the likely flow, I’ll adjust parameters in alignment with how I want to trade them today. Just how quickly trainees are given their own positions to manage, as well as complete responsibility of its performance and execution of all trades, is one of the biggest perks here at Eclipse.

9.00 AM 

Wouldn’t be right without a second coffee, but this time it’ll be a floor wide coffee run giving me the chance to let some steam off before trading begins. Once back in the office, we hold the morning meeting as we discuss potential impacts of overnight market moves and news followed by a run through of our strategy as a desk. I’ll then get in some quick final preparations before the market open at 10.

10.00 AM  

This is where the adrenaline kicks in as opportunities begin to arise and the intensity of the desk picks up. Quick decisions need to be made on the fly as the markets are competitive and opportunities don’t last long. Whilst trading can be challenging it is extremely satisfying when I execute a series of trades to plan. As every piece of information out there has potential to directly impact our Profit & Loss (“PnL”), time does seem to pass very quickly.

1.00 PM

By now the markets have quietened down and I’ll grab some lunch. Whilst scanning the screen for opportunities, I’ll spend some time assessing the impact of parameter changes based on the trades I’ve made and reviewing model inputs for each stock. These quieter periods also present more opportunities to discuss trades and parameter changes made earlier in the day with some traders, the feedback is always plentiful.

4.00 PM 

I put on my final trades and stock hedges for the day as we approach the market close. I’ll then move on to various day end tasks, then review my performance and the finer details of trades I put on earlier. Again, this is often where I get time to pick the brains of the experienced traders around me, whether it be about learning a new trading automation tool, features of our models or how I could have executed trades better.

6.00 PM 

It’s been an intense day. I head off for a gym session and mentally freshen up for whatever the markets will bring tomorrow. If it’s a Friday we’ll often play a game of pool and go for a couple beers at a nearby bar. The weekend will almost always entail some kind of sport. I'm currently working on breaking into Eclipse’s category of handy tennis players.