Life of an Equity Trader

By Clint Dixon
Equity traders have been glamorized by the media. Most people think of movies like “Wall Street” when they think of stocks and, while that may have been a part of it in the 80s, most equity traders are simply brokers that sit in an office anywhere from New York to San Diego and do more business on the phone than on the floor of a stock exchange. No whistles, no bells, just hard work and communication.


Equity trades, simply put, are just stocks in regular companies that represent a share of ownership in the business. No fancy derivatives or options trading, just a basic slice of a company. An equity trader must know and understand these companies to make educated choices and usually tends to specialize in a few different sectors (like banking, pharmaceuticals or technology) in order to diversify their clients. It’s best to know a little bit about a whole lot of different areas, but that takes wisdom and experience to achieve. It doesn’t just happen overnight for an equity trader.

The life of an equity trader can be an early bird business depending on where they live. All life for equities begins when the NYSE opens at 9:30 a.m. EST. For the west coasters, that means in the office with the computer on before 6:30 a.m. The rest of the day is divided between researching financials and industry news from analysts and meeting with clients or potential clients to understand their financial planning needs. It’s not all fun and games to pick stocks like some of the TV pundits might bring you to believe. It takes a team of research to make informed choices.

While it may seem like it’s all lunches in fancy restaurants or golf outings in the afternoon, a lot of business happens before the sun even comes up for an equity trader. And, research is the key to success.