What does an energy derivatives trader do?
Energy derivatives trader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real energy derivatives trader resumes:
- Lead a team of four traders and two assistant traders in the CME silver options market.
- Manage broking and trading teams, expanding customer base and successfully trading IPE and NYMEX energy option contracts.
- Trade equity index futures and identify arbitrage opportunities in relate securities.
- Full time investor primarily in equities, futures and their derivatives.
- Make markets in various OTC trade options in combination with list options trade on the NYMEX.
- Price options on equities, indexes, and ADR's-both list and OTC- for customers as well as professionals.
- Gather data from various sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters and Factset to form market bias and build trading strategies.
- Execute consistent and reliable risk management through Pnl responsibility.
- Derive arbitrage trading strategies between options and futures to exploit market inefficiencies.
- Utilize new technology from Bloomberg indicating market changes and other relevant financial news.
- Utilize volatility, statistical, and merger analysis arbitrage to maximize profit potential.
- Complete a rigorous derivative trader trainee program consisting of classroom instruction in option theory and simulate trading exercises.
- Automate the trade allocation and reconciliation procedures using VBA programming which is leveraged to systematically detect any trade breaks or discrepancies.
- Work on generating daily weekly and quarterly derivatives report.
- Calculate theoretical values for proper PnL reporting.
Energy derivatives trader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Energy Derivatives Traders are proficient in Derivative, Futures Contracts, and Interest Rates. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Energy Derivatives Traders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Derivative, 22%
Worked on a team of 10 Derivatives Traders in a collaborative and exceptionally challenging environment.
- Futures Contracts, 7%
Traded fixed-income futures contracts electronically for firm's proprietary account
- Interest Rates, 5%
Rotated across multiple trading desks including S&P 500, interest rates, VIX, Brent Crude & Nat Gas
- P/L, 5%
Assisted in the analysis of the Eurodollar term structure, tracked traders' positions, and tabulated P/L.
- Fixed Income, 4%
Traded Exotic Options, Vanilla Derivatives Trading, Single Stock and Indies, Fixed Income Yield Curve Market Maker.
- VBA, 4%
Developed proficiency with Microsoft Excel and VBA to build trading prototypes and de-bugging trading applications.
Common skills that an energy derivatives trader uses to do their job include "derivative," "futures contracts," and "interest rates." You can find details on the most important energy derivatives trader responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an energy derivatives trader to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what energy derivatives traders do because "to judge the profitability of potential deals, securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must have strong analytical skills." Additionally, an energy derivatives trader resume shows how energy derivatives traders use analytical skills: "analyzed portfolio var of interest rate derivatives using parametric, historical and monte carlo simulation to measure market risk. "
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling energy derivatives trader duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must be persuasive and make clients feel comfortable with the agent’s recommendations." According to an energy derivatives trader resume, here's how energy derivatives traders can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "priced options on equities, indexes, and adr's-both listed and otc- for customers as well as professionals. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of energy derivatives traders is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday energy derivatives trader duties, as "investment bankers must pay close attention to the details of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions because small changes can have large consequences." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepare weekly price charts and generate detailed records of over 100 securities. "
Initiative. A big part of what energy derivatives traders do relies on "initiative." You can see how essential it is to energy derivatives trader responsibilities because "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must create their own client base by making “cold” sales calls to people to whom they have not been referred and to people not expecting the call." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical energy derivatives trader tasks: "structured products liaison in cross-selling initiative with the ms derivatives department. "
Math skills. A commonly-found skill in energy derivatives trader job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what energy derivatives traders do. Energy derivatives trader responsibilities rely on this skill because "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents need to be familiar with mathematical tools, including investment formulas." You can also see how energy derivatives trader duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "utilize quantitative and technical analysis to evaluate trades in us equities, etfs, and commodities. "
The three companies that hire the most energy derivatives traders are:
- BlackRock1 energy derivatives traders jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable energy derivatives trader resume templates
Build a professional energy derivatives trader resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your energy derivatives trader resume.
Compare different energy derivatives traders
Energy derivatives trader vs. Commodity broker
A Hedge Fund Trader specializes in developing investment strategies through market research and analysis. Although the extent of their duties depends on their company of employment, it typically includes managing and monitoring market portfolios, trading according to policies and regulations, reaching out to potential business partners through calls and correspondence, discussing terms, and keeping an eye on stock prices. A Hedge Fund Trader must maintain an active communication line with staff for an efficient and fruitful workflow.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an energy derivatives trader are more likely to require skills like "python," "interest rates," "p/l," and "fixed income." On the other hand, a job as a commodity broker requires skills like "market analysis," "risk management," "client accounts," and "nfa." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Commodity brokers tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $89,520. In contrast, energy derivatives traders make the biggest average salary, $116,251, in the agriculture industry.The education levels that commodity brokers earn slightly differ from energy derivatives traders. In particular, commodity brokers are 10.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an energy derivatives trader. Additionally, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Energy derivatives trader vs. Hedge fund trader
A trader is responsible for buying and selling financial instruments for a firm or an individual, monitoring stock movements, and analyzing price fluctuations. Traders focus on short-term and long-term trades, depending on their customers' demands and best interests. In some cases, traders also act as financial advisors to their clients, providing financial management support, and handling their account investments. A trader must have excellent knowledge of the financial industry and must be highly-analytical, dealing with consistent changes in the stock market and maintain smart decisions to achieve their clients' financial goals.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real energy derivatives trader resumes. While energy derivatives trader responsibilities can utilize skills like "futures contracts," "python," "p/l," and "derivative products," hedge fund traders use skills like "inbound calls," "asset management," "mutual funds," and "nyse."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Hedge fund traders tend to reach lower levels of education than energy derivatives traders. In fact, they're 10.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Energy derivatives trader vs. Trader
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from energy derivatives trader resumes include skills like "python," "macro," "derivative products," and "treasury," whereas a trader is more likely to list skills in "portfolio," "asset classes," "trade execution," and "bonds. "
Traders earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $108,107. Comparatively, energy derivatives traders have the highest earning potential in the agriculture industry, with an average salary of $116,251.When it comes to education, traders tend to earn lower degree levels compared to energy derivatives traders. In fact, they're 7.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Energy derivatives trader vs. Flow trader
Types of energy derivatives trader
Updated January 8, 2025
