THEIR penchant for spotting ‘diamonds in the rough’ — code for companies with the ability to do well — is just one of the many talents that allow these professionals to help you grow your wealth.

They are equity traders — individuals whose job it is to buy and sell company stocks.

To provide insight into their work, Career & Education talks this week to Donette Johnson, a senior equity trader at Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) and a player in the field going on two decades.

“My first job was in a clerical capacity — handling the settlement of transactions, the deposits of share certificates and reconciliation of accounts — in their registration department. Having spent a few months in the registration department, I moved on to the accounts department where I was largely responsible for payables. I was catapulted into the world of trading after about a year and a half at that company,” she recalled.

“I was both intrigued and fascinated by the traders who would return from what they referred to as their daily ‘hustling’ downtown at the Stock Exchange; their recount of verbal exchanges in executing trades and the movement in share prices via the “open outcry” trading sessions; their daily post-mortem of trading activity,” Johnson added.

She was captivated.

“To an outsider, like I was, trading was hypnotic and contagious. There was a certain gravitational pull and I would hang around the traders wanting to learn more of their world on a daily basis,” she said.

And then her opportunity came. She took a position as a junior trader/research analyst in 1993/94.

“This was at the height of the Bull Run when share prices, it seemed, had no ceiling and clients wanted to know more about the stock market. As a rookie in the trading arena, you can imagine how awestruck I was and how frantic and daunting the activities seemed. But I had arrived in the exciting world of equity trading, which included a daily ‘pilgrimage’ to the then Mecca of equity trading — the Stock Exchange — where I couldn’t wait to ‘dive’ into the trading activities of the day,” Johnson said.

“The stock market at that time was exciting and throbbing with activities, which resulted from the traders’ participation in the Jamaica Stock Exchange Open Outcry Auction System which facilitated the execution — buying and selling — of equity orders from clients of the various brokerage houses. As you can imagine, this now pales in comparison to today’s trading activity, which has been occurring electronically since 2000,” Johnson added.

As her prowess as a trader grew, she said she was soon “lured away by other brokerage firms” and was in 2004 a part of the winning team that won the “Today’s Money Masters Competition”.

“This was an annual competition, sponsored by Today’s Money Limited, that pitted industry practitioners against each other to see who would generate the highest investment return from an initial investment,” she said.

Johnson did not fail to impress.

“My team emerged with bragging rights over all other teams, with more than 50 per cent returns over our initial investments of $100,000,” she said.

It is little wonder then that she was invited back for the 2009/2010 competition, which she said had by then taken on a Caribbean focus.

“I was again the winner, having attained a portfolio growth of over 1,000 per cent. This increased my notoriety and fame within the local and international investment community,” she said.

At JMMB, where she has worked for the last six years, Johnson — the married mother of four children — has responsibility for the equity business line. But in her time served with JMMB, she noted that her responsibilities have developed beyond that of a “typical senior equity trader who sees to the daily execution of trades”.

“In a client-driven organisation such as ours, my responsibility goes beyond providing investment advice, negotiating trades on the local and regional markets and keeping our clients and the branch network abreast of market developments in a dynamic macro-economic environment,” she said.

“It looks strategically at where we want to be as a subsidiary and the impact we would like to have on changing the lives of our clients by providing more win-win profitable opportunities for success,” added Johnson, who holds a first degree in management studies and a master’s in business administration, specialising in international business — both from the University of the West Indies.

She has also sat the Jamaican securities course and has, over the years, done other short developmental courses in areas such as finance and operations management, which she pursued with the Canadian Securities Institute.

It is this woman who provides us with the details of what it takes to become an equity trader and the benefits to be derived from working in the field.

Who is a senior equity trader?

A senior equity trader is one who has developed mastery and a wealth of experience in trading equities and has in-depth knowledge and expertise in the markets being traded.

What is the value of the work that you do?

In my role as a senior equity trader, I am entrusted with trading equities on behalf of our clients on the local and regional markets and in so doing, create wealth, provide investment advice and optimise returns. At JMMB, we pride ourselves on trade executions, maintaining the number one spot for 2011. Employing proactive trading strategies — knowing when to make the right moves — allows me to skilfully and efficiently execute trades to make the desired returns. Though as a region we are susceptible to similar economic shocks, each territory is unique in its investment psyche. An in-depth knowledge of the markets goes a far way in developing your own trading pattern (and) sharing market depth and knowledge with our internal and external clients.

What are the educational requirements for entry into the field?

Typically, the educational requirements for entrance into the field are: a first degree in finance or related discipline, and completion of the Jamaican Securities Course. In addition, all prospective entrants must satisfy the Financial Service Commission licensing requirement and must be an approved representative as prescribed by the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

What other skills or competencies are required for entry into the field?

In addition to having a sound educational background, one has to be very analytical, decisive, meticulous and perceptive in order to be of value to your clientele and employer. A broad knowledge of investment research is also key. One should possess excellent interpersonal skills, be self-motivated, customer-focused and passionate about the job as making money in the stock market is very cyclical and success demands patience. Other key competencies include understanding the macro-economic climate and its impact on the financial sector; learned and intuitive ability to spot business opportunities/threats across markets; ethical standards of investing and of trading; problem-solving and decision-making skills; working knowledge of financial sector laws, regulations, and professional jargon; and very good oral and written communication skills.

Trained as an equities trader, what sort of employment options are open to you?

As an equities trader, one can move into varying portfolio and investment management positions as well as other finance and managerial positions.

How much can one earn as an equities trader/senior equities trader annually?

The salary package of a senior equity trader varies from institution to institution and comes with different incentive packages. (However, one can make) upwards of $2.5 million.

Why would you encourage anyone to get into this field?

I would encourage persons to enter the field once they have a penchant for trading, a love for equity trading, customer-centric, passionate about the field of finance, open-minded and stick-to-itiveness. Entering the field of equity trading is a good training ground in understanding the mechanics of the stock market and the world of finance. Persons who have entered the field have moved on to more senior positions within organisations both within the industry and at other top companies in the country.