Hi Monkeys,
I'm looking to few firms to send application in Switzerland, thus wanted to know from you monkeys which firms should I look at, other than the common Mercuria Glencore Vitol etc.
Interested in physical or paper commodities trading. (focus on gas but also crude does work)
I'm actually doing the CASS'MSc in Energy Trade and Finance
Cheers
Any reason you’re limiting to Switzerland? For gas there’s a lot of opps across continental Europe. Danske was looking for gas traders recently in Denmark, London has the majors with gas businesses, you also have gazprom m&t, equinor, total (french), engie (paris and london), RWE S&T (Swindon and London). I’ve had interviews and offers from a few of the abovementionned and they’re not too competitive w the exception of the majors
You are right mate and I'm considering these options. But tbh Brexit causes uncertainty and I have to hedge this situation by finding alternative places. Switzerland offers a beautiful commodities scenario and good compensations, compared to other EU cities
Yeah it's also super expensive to live there, which I assume you know already
Trading's post is good: any of those desks would give you good exposure
I interviewed at Trafigura in Geneva. Admittedly, it was for their metals and minerals division, so unsure whether you have an interest there, however would also give them a try. There's also Castleton, Gunvor, Gerald (again, mainly metals), Bunge (ags), Louis Dreyfus...
I actually ended up living in Geneva for c. 10mos while I traded for a subsidiary of Glencore. Overall, I'm pretty offered on the place. Like you, I went from living in London, and was surprised by the culture shock I experienced. While there's the upside of skiing every weekend during the winter months, it is hugely expensive. Geneva, also, is tiny. Within a month or so I felt as though I'd done all there was to do and eaten at all the worthwhile restaurants.
Well this is another good point. I didn’t consider it before, but I think that for me couldn’t be that bad tbh. I’m from a small city in Italy and sometimes London is way too oppressive Living expenses need to be considered though
Geneva is not a bad city, quality of life is possibly higher than London based on the fact that is not as packed and commuting times are shorter, also cool if you are an outdoor type of person, just a few examples. It can be expensive, but it's based on your lifestyle primarily (i.e. you eat out often?).
In terms of job opps, there is not that many for entry level positions IMO. You can try at Litasco, check their LinkedIn openings or the usual suspects. Glencore has a grad programme for oil in London, while, for metals, they hire ad-hoc in Switzerland (in Baar). Maybe consider AGs too: Cargill has some openings for their freight division. ADM and Bunge don't hire much. LDC has a grad programme.
Hope this helps
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Having looked into Switzerland not too long ago, I also get the feeling that hiring in Switzerland is ad-hoc. Although I wasn't looking for an entry level position, I did get the impression that these are much harder to come by than in London.
Best proof of this is that we just hired a brilliant Swiss grad from a top school. He moved from Switzerland to UK for the role.
True that, totally agree!
Louis Dreyfus is hiring for their grad programme right now.
Thanks a lot, will take a look!
Why is Switzerland such a popular place for commodity trading firms?
google is your friend
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