TRADER

Hello, I'm Dounia, a quantitative trader within Societe Generale. I joined the bank after studying applied maths and finance, at the Ecole Polytechnique and ENSAE, initially as an intern, and then as an algorithmic trader. Then I spent six years in London in another bank before returning to the Group in Paris, where I currently do market making on shares.

The market maker plays an essential role in modern financial markets. Its main objective is to provide liquidity on the various financial assets, whether shares, bonds or currencies, in order to facilitate exchanges. It involves the continuous production of buy and sell prices so that the other participants, whether they are investors, individuals or other banks, can always find a counterparty for their orders.

Unlike manual trading, where decisions are made by humans, in electronic market making, they are algorithms which automatically generate prices. So my role is to create these algorithms based on data analysis and programming techniques. It is an exciting job, both technical and rooted in the real economy.

To do my job, there are obviously technical skills that are essential, such as quantitative analysis, a mastery of a programming language such as Python or C++, and a good knowledge of financial markets.

The working atmosphere in the trading rooms is dynamic and stimulating. This is a good place for innovation, collaboration and excellence. In my team, each trader is specialized in one asset class and also has a special expertise such as machine learning, portfolio optimization, intraday trading or fundamental trading, which allows us to offer a global vision to juniors and trainees who join us and thus develop their autonomy and motivation.

When I arrived within Societe Generale, I discovered that the Group was committed in artistic sponsorship through a large collection of works of art. All staff of the bank are free to visit it, for example, here in La Defense headquarters. But we also organize visits for our customers and students.

This collection is enriched every year by the Societe Generale Foundation, which also works for education, culture and the environment and which allows us, as employees, to be able to commit to working with partner associations during our working hours. In this context, I did a school sponsorship mission and a second about helping refugees into professional integration.