Stock trader vs hedge fund trader

The differences between stock traders and hedge fund traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a hedge fund trader has an average salary of $117,549, which is higher than the $116,269 average annual salary of a stock trader.

The top three skills for a stock trader include financial statements, stock market and technical analysis. The most important skills for a hedge fund trader are hedge funds, macro, and derivative.

Stock trader vs hedge fund trader overview

	Stock Trader	Hedge Fund Trader
Yearly salary	$116,269	$117,549
Hourly rate	$55.90	$56.51
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	20,878	12,689
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 84%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Stock trader vs hedge fund trader salary

Stock traders and hedge fund traders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Stock Trader	Hedge Fund Trader
Average salary	$116,269	$117,549
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $198,000	Between $68,000 And $201,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between stock trader and hedge fund trader education

There are a few differences between a stock trader and a hedge fund trader in terms of educational background:

	Stock Trader	Hedge Fund Trader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 84%
Most common major	Business	Finance
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Stock trader vs hedge fund trader demographics

Here are the differences between stock traders' and hedge fund traders' demographics:

	Stock Trader	Hedge Fund Trader
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 84.5% Female, 15.5%	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 12.2% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.2% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between stock trader and hedge fund trader duties and responsibilities

Stock trader example responsibilities.

Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
Maintain complete knowledge of investment products including stocks, options, municipal bonds, treasuries, mutual funds and annuities.
Develop knowledge and actively trade equities, futures, options, and currencies.
Synchronize logistics of multiple cash and derivative trading desks.
Trade stocks daily during market hours on the NYSE and NASDAQ.
Work from home analyzing and trading stocks on the NYSE and NASDAX markets.

Hedge fund trader example responsibilities.

Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
Trade ETF baskets base on NYSE floor position (long/short).
Assist with the conversion of all securities to trade directly through the NSCC.
Perform critical maintenance of new & existing securities in multiple operational systems by using Bloomberg.
Cull derivative data to profit from emerging trends.
Backtest various volatility strategies in equities and ETFs.

Stock trader vs hedge fund trader skills

Common stock trader skills

Financial Statements, 16%
Stock Market, 10%
Technical Analysis, 10%
Market Trends, 9%
Fundamental Analysis, 9%
Equities, 7%

Common hedge fund trader skills

Hedge Funds, 15%
Macro, 14%
Derivative, 8%
Fixed Income, 7%
Bloomberg, 7%
Inbound Calls, 5%

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Stock Trader vs Hedge Fund Trader

Updated January 8, 2025

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