career I had planned for me, I have no
regrets.
I have loved this job since the first day
I started and I still do it with the same
passion.”
Having had exposure to Equities,
Fixed Income and FX, are there any
processes / cultural methodologies
you prefer in one particular asset
class that you would like to see
adapted to other asset classes?
“After so many years in trading and
having traded nearly all asset classes,
I still consider myself a credit trader.
The reality is that, besides extreme
scenarios, the stock market can close
up or down for a few days or weeks
and it does not really matter all that
much. The primary function of the
equity market in fact is not to finance
company operations, but rather to
price their assets. Companies go public
only once and typically to finance
long-term projects or acquisitions.
Credit markets are different. They
are the source of liquidity to fund
the economy. They are the vehicles
through which capital can be
efficiently allocated in a fair and
transparent way to projects that are
economically and socially useful to
the benefit of the entire society. If
credit markets do not work efficiently,
the economy suffers. If credit markets
crash, economies default. That is
why I feel that trading fixed income,
and credit in particular, requires a
more comprehensive set of skills that
go beyond technical knowledge. It
requires the ability to process large
quantities of data from diverse
sources, sieve the relevant from the
unworthy and then synthesize it in
order to make sense.”
What is the greatest challenge you
have had to overcome in your career
so far?
“Financial markets are no different
from any other business. They go
Spring 2018
through cycles, positive and negative.
When things are good, it is always easy
to manage people and spread positive
messages. However, when things get
tough, having to accept that this is a
business that kicks you out the door
in minutes is something difficult. The
financial crisis in 2008 has been a
massive challenge and lesson for me
both as a man and as a manager, in
the effort to minimise the impact on
people.”
What are the top 3 qualities you feel
are important in a buy-side trader?
Time? It is true that time is limited but
often it is us that feeds this vicious
circle of not having the time to do
anything else than reading emails
or talking on the phone, sometimes
because being busy matches our
stereotypical idea of being important
and sometimes because we just fear
to stop and be alone with ourselves.
Carl Jung used to say that “who looks
outside, dreams; who looks inside,
awakes”. The reality is that life is a
matter of priorities. You will always find
the time for the things you love, if you
really love them.”
“Integrity, discipline, humility.”
Do you have any hobbies or interests
outside of work and do you get time
to fulfil these interests?
“I write poetry. In 2015, I published
my first collection of poems, titled
Maschere, which was published by a
small Italian editor.
Now I am working on a new bigger
project, which is nearly ready. It is
a new collection of poems which
has already been approved by an
important editor (which I cannot
name at this stage) and that will be
published in the next few months.
I also love practising yoga and
meditation.
www.buysideintel.com
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