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Old 26-10-2011, 01:35 PM
Dealer
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Originally Posted by Liverpool View Post
Top 100 Jobs In Singapore 2010 | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore

FX Dealer is the second highest in this list.

From what I read so far, FX Dealers are the market makers for FX. A bank (or company) may call the dealer and ask for a quote. If the quote is favourable, the bank will buy or sell a big amt of currencies from the dealer. If the dealer has a big sum on his hand, he may choose to hold or sell immediately depending on his view of the market, thereby making profits (or losses) because of his actions.

However my friend applied for an FX Dealer job, and all he did all day was to get clients (individuals) to sign up to set up forex trading accounts. He is fed up because this is just a sales job. Of course you need some basic FX knowledge to sell to clients but the above scenerio of making big profits from the market is not applicable to him. He is of course fed up because he thought he was going to do what I elaborated in the earlier para. To me, he seems like a broker than a dealer.

So is our perception of FX dealing wrong? Or have banks been trying to sugar coat the term broker and making it sound like you are a dealer?
Some facts here.

1. Your friend is NOT a FX Dealer. FX dealers don't open accounts. No matter which bank, brokerage, fund etc. Your friend is more like an account exec, (not even considered FX sales if he's not talking to clients about the markets n giving them quotes)

2. FX dealer = FX trader (in banks)
Some bank dealers are given mandate to take positions in the market. So they are known as traders as well. But some other bank dealers cannot take positions in market, but they are still dealers nevertheless. (It's not as simple as just putting in whatever trade your customer wants)

3. In FX lingo, brokers are NOT dealers.
FX brokers are typically money brokers (aka interdealer brokers). They are the guys from ICAP, Tullet, Tradition etc, who match trades btw interbank dealers. Typically for less transparent/liquid products. They entertain the dealers to get their business flow.

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