sultanoflondon

Hi all,

I was wondering to what extent there is a (securities) trading industry in Canada? For example, are Sales & Trading departments in Investment Banks still existent? Are there prop trading firms in Canada? What about asset management firms, hedge funds, and the like? Which financial and trading hubs are there? I have heard that Toronto is one, is Montreal one too? What is the common language of Finance within Canada: English or French? I understand that French is the primary language of Montreal. And, how does the Canadian scene compare with London?

Finally, as a Canadian passport holder, how easy is it to get a job in the United States in the securities trading industry and how valued are Canadian degrees in comparison to British degrees in this industry?

Thank you very much!

JonboyE

I can get you started but others will be along with more personal knowledge.

Toronto is the financial centre of Canada. The main stock exchange is there and the headquarters of the big banks are there (with the exception of HSBC Canada). It is obviously significantly smaller than London or New York but the same sort of activities happen. There is a smaller exchange in Vancouver that specializes in junior resource extraction. Montreal, I believe, trades in derivatives.

English is the language of finance. That said, being reasonably competent in French will be an advantage in Montreal.

Souvy

You can forget the mining juniors. They are almost all pretty much clinically dead. The only thing they ever extracted, or were likely to, was investors' money. I didn't coin the term "financial miner" but I like it and use it quite often.

I talk with bankers regularly. I am amazed at just how clueless some of them are. Take their spreadsheets away and they're f***ed. I find that disturbing. There are hundreds of millions of dollars in play (not the bankers' own money, naturally).

sultanoflondon

Thank you both for your replies!

From Jonboys' reply, I think that my beliefs are true in that Toronto is the main place to be when it comes to finance in Canada.

I am wondering whether it would be advisable to leave a London job to go to Toronto though? Especially if you have a desire to move to North America (the US finally)?

I have heard that commodities, especially mining, is hot in banking in Canada. This has been bolstered by the rise of energy and mining companies in Canada?

Souvy

A few years ago you would have been correct. The Toronto exchanges are now littered with zombies. Projects are not raising enough finance for a cup of coffee, let alone a mine. These days, it's the Chinese and deep-pocketed PE firms picking up bargains and waiting for the uptick in commodity prices.

Pulaski

Have you been hiding under a rock for the past two years?

sultanoflondon

Thank you for your reply.

So what exactly does banking in Canada deal with, if it isn't for mining?

Well I'm not based in Canada and that is all I have heard so I may not have perfect information.

Pulaski

I'm not in Canada either, nor am I "in" commodities, but the rise, and fall, of the global commodity markets has been headline news over the past ten years.

Souvy

Retail, property, manufacturing, tech, service industries....

The usual for a major developed economy. The mining sector is not as important as one might be led to believe.

Oh, and banks in Canada make a lot of their money by screwing their customers.

Simon Legree

Which is why bankers in Canada are collectively known as "a wunch" as in a wunch of bankers !

Souvy

I'll probably try to avoid making that statement at the wunch-fest I'm going to in Toronto later this week

Might not be good for business............