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so it was a really good grounding ,” she explained . “ Lehman was heavily investing in their technology product at the time , and leading the way in terms of pushing out electronic algos to become a top five player in that space , so it was a great time to join – just on the crest of that technology wave .”
Covering a mix of hedge funds and institutional clients , O ’ Connor quickly learned that relationships were crucial , even as trading was becoming more automated . “ I always made sure I had good crossproduct relationships across the floor , and I became one of those relationship sales traders – you always want to ensure that a client has a good experience . That really helped me form a bond with my clients .”
Timing is everything But , as we know , all was not well with Lehman Brothers – and in 2007 , the cracks started to show , cracks that would eventually precipitate not only the decline of the bank itself , but the collapse of the whole house of cards in the form of the 2008 financial crisis . O ’ Connor , however , once again demonstrated her eye for the chance . “ There were a lot of rumblings around the end of 2007 on the looming credit crisis in the sub-prime mortgage market , and we ’ d already seen the fall of Bear Sterns . As it happened , one of my main hedge fund clients had an opening in early 2008 , which I interviewed for . I literally left the Lehman building for my new role , and the firm collapsed two weeks later !”
As a trader with GLG Partners , where she spent the next five years , O ’ Connor learned what it was like on the other side of the street . Trading European and Asian equities for the long-short and long-only funds , she found that life on the buy-side was a very different experience . “ The GLG family was quite unique , and traders were situated very centrally to the heads of the firm ,” she explained . “ Communication was absolutely key , and there was a lot of really genuine collaboration between traders , fund managers , risk managers – which I think is crucial for a successful business .”
In 2014 she moved to BlueCrest Capital Management – another hedge fund , but a rather different ( and perhaps slightly more fast-paced ) kettle of fish , to help launch its equity product , before joining Fidelity International as a senior equities trader in 2018 .
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“ I literally left the Lehman building for my new role , and the firm collapsed two weeks later !”
“ I saw the opening and thought – OK , I ’ ve done sell-side , I ’ ve done hedge funds , it would be quite nice to trade for longer term fundamental investors ” she said .
Life on the buy-side versus the sell-side brings its own unique challenges . At Fidelity : “ We often receive huge orders relative to market volumes , with the