ICAP

What are they/what do they do exactly? ..I'd say anywhere's easier to break in to than analyst roles at investment banks right now in the present economic climate!

Ed,

They are inter-dealer brokers. They were one of the first IDBs to recruit graduates a couple years back. The website:

http://www.icap.com/

The recruiting seems similar to IBs, people with economics degrees from LSE etc. Might be an idea to compile some info on the IDBs for the wiki? Tullett Prebon are another big IDB.

Another major player is Collins Stewart Tullet, and Tradition. Their websites are:

http://www.collins-stewart.com

http://www.tradition.co.uk

I definitely think brokerage firms should be put up. I'll be applying to ICAP too, so I'll (hopefully) be able to describe the full selection process for future reference.

Cool. Ok lets get some profiles up for these.. do you guys think brokerage firms need a new sub-section? ..or slip them in with investment banking / list of investment banks?

It's wholly up to you guys, but in my opinion, I think it should be a seperate section. Some of the brokerage firms have application questions to try and elucidate whether or not the applicant understands the difference between being a broker and the role of a trader/investment banker. So, I guess it would help to reinforce the difference if they were in a seperate section of their own.

That's interesting. By the way, anything you guys can add to our page about Brokers would be really useful.

Do either of you know where I can find a list of brokerage firms?

The three mentioned above - to my knowledge - are the only companies to specialise properly in broking, with other OTC financial products on the side. The others, I think are the vice versa case, which will probably give you a headache about where to put them:

Evolution Markets (www.evomarkets.com) - I don't think they offer graduate schemes, or take on graduates for that matter. But they do have offices in London.

Numis (www.numiscorp.com) - No structured graduate scheme, but I think they take on graduates. I'll be contacting HR soon to see if they do.

Shore Capital (www.shorecap.co.uk) - Definitely no internship opportunities, and do specifically state they are looking for people with "a good track record". Again I can get back to you when I get round to contacting them.

Charles Stanley (www.charles-stanley.co.uk) - They don't offer investment banking services, although they do trade in CFD's. I don't even think they want to recruit anybody; a careers section doesn't even exist!

Those are the ones I know of, and really not very promising as far as graduates are concerned. If I find a list of (graduate friendly) brokerage firms, I'll definitely get back to you.

Thanks for that. I'll have a think about collating some information on these and how to best add them to the site. As always, any info or interview info you guys pick on regarding these firms is warmly recevied. Thanks. Ed.

Just wanted to say, great thread guys, keep it up!

hi guys! i'm filling up the ICAP application form .. can someone assist me how to approach the quesiton below ..

Describe a problem situation where you had to seek out information, identify the key issues and decide on the steps you needed to take to get the desired results. Please include details of the context, the actions you took, and the results that were achieved.

Many Thanks in Advance..

At ICAP, you will essentially broker between sofisticated market participants. There are other roles too, but mainly you will become a broker. If you are a strong "salesman", can think on your feet and especially know emerging markets language, then I would recommend to target the likes of ICAP, Tullet Prebon, GFI, etc. In a couple of years, you will earn top money.
Average broker earns more than average trader.

botirvoy
See my i-banking blog www.botirvoy.blogspot.com

HI Everybody!

Has anyone ever been before to an ICAP assessment centre and knows what kind of questions/activities to expect on the assessment day? (Tips are also welcome :) )

Thanks!

Hey i have my phone interview tomorrow -- any tips??

is it for grad or summer.. when did you apply?

What is Inter-Dealer Broker
Why ICAP?
Why Broking?
What exactly is ID broking and how does it differ to trading, what qualities/skills do you think make a successful broker?
How do you handle clients/what do you think this side of the role requires - specifically meeting them after work etc?
How is the market, and specifically how is ICAP and other IDB's doing?
What do you think the future holds/future challenges for IDB's?
Tell me about a time you've made money (can be for yourself or for a company - thought this was tough, I mentioned something I working last summer that saved money for the business I was with)
Something about a difficult situation or persuading someone
Where else have you applied?
Tell me of a time you have had to work in a team?
Tell me of a time when you had to achieve a challenging goal? (follow up probing questions).

it is very hard becominga voice broker at ICAP, you kind of have to grow into the role and the team.

thats the reason they have a graduate programm running.
they preffer a graduate that fitss the profile and is willing to start at the bottom and work his way up.

but dont forget that ICAp also has a electronic broking devision and a also a shipping derrivative service.

Hi I have succeded the phone interview.
Have anyone attended to the assessment center yet?
My phone ITW was exactly the same as the one you have just mentionned ( Unforthunately I read this thread after the interview).
I hope that you have the same kind of info on the AC :-)

Hi Giorgio

Was phone interview too streessful ?

is anyone applying for the finance/accouting stream at ICAP as opposed to broking? are the telephone interviews fairly similar?

yes it was
i am suposed to attend the AC in january.

Hi giorgio
Could you tell us what questions they asked you on the phone interview ?

I had a telephone interview the other day and the questions were:

Describe a situation when I had to build a working relationship
How I went about building relationships when I was put into a new group
Describe when I had been entrepreneurial and how much money I had made
Why I wanted to work for ICAP
What was the difference between a trader and an ib dealer
What I knew about icap

These arent the exact questions, but the general gist is the same

Hope this helps and good luck

Thank you very much Ianawood.It definitely helps to me. how long did it take ? 30 minutes ?
i hope you will get good result.

You are allotted half an hour, but your interviewer is likely to tell you it will only last around 20mins. I was only questioned for about 10-15 mins. I got an email confirming I had progressed within 24 hours, so should find out pretty quickly. All the best.

I had my telephone interview at lunchtime today and was emailed within 4 hours to tell me I'd got through! Was pretty similar to the ones described here, altho I am for the finance stream so there weren't really any 'tell me what you know about broking' style questions. anybody got any tips on the ac???

Has anyone had an interview for the Spring Programme with ICAP before? Can you confirm that the questions asked are the same as those above.

Thanks :)

Hi,
Has anyone ever been before to an ICAP assessment centre and knows what kind of questions/activities to expect on the assessment day?

Thanks!

Do Sudoku before you go to AC

Hi,
thanks for the help don_davito. is sudoku regarding the group exercise? Did you have a trading simulation as well?

Thanks for your help.

Hey,

Anyone have an assessment centre at ICAP on Fri 27th February? Anyone applied for the accounting 1 yr internship?

Hi, I have a telephone interview on Thursday for Accounting and Finance.

Could you guys tell me what was different in the Accounting and Finance telephone interview than what was in the Broking interview - assuming there was something different. Did they ask any technical questions about the division, or any specifics about ICAP?

Thanks alot! Thanks Abercrombie and everyone else who contributed to the forum as well.

Hey casino4me,

The accounting interns I spoke to didn't have a telephone interview. Are you applying for the graduate scheme?

Hi Nina,
Sorry for the late reply. Well yes, I am applying for the graduate scheme. The telephone interview was exactly as described above.
Thank you for the post! I have been selected for AC.
Can anyone tell me how the AC went? What to expect and how I can prepare for it?
Thanks!

Hey guys,

Great posts. I did the phone interview and A/C and had very similar questions to all those you guys mentioned. The toughest part (I thought) was the simulation, flashing news stories and ForEx rates and answering questions while converting currencies and under the stress of time.

Anyways, did anyone get the formal offer yet?

How long after the application did u lots have to wait for a response
btw...has anyone got any tips for the app..i am applying for a placement in risk
Cheers

Is there any way to prepare for the trading simulation beforehand?
Also is the interview at the AC quite tough? Is it more of a chat or is it strictly competency-based 'tell me of a time when....' etc?

hey..i have applied for a placement in RISK ....i have a telephne interview this week...can any1 help...thanx

yer same i got a telephone interview on friday...whens urs

Mine is on firday aswell...gudluck...can u help me wht kida q's thre gnna ask?? thanx

i dnt kno wat there gna ask

My telephone was canceled and is now going to be on tuesday..could u pls tell me sum of the questions they asked

I am still waiting for their call...i think mine is also canceles but still havent got anything from them...did they call you or maild you about the cancelation?

Mine is also canceld..tuesday same as yours...gudluk

Hi ppl, has anyone got any feedback from the RISK telephone interview interms of failure or success. they told me that they will get in touch wit me next week. i have read few posts on this forum that they normally give u feedback within a day or so.. any suggestions.

rajsiva what type of questions did u ask

rajsiva what type of questions did u get asked

rajsiva what type of questions did u get asked

I got replied to within a day. To be honest from what I saw when I went into the office, it put me off big time and I would hate to work there.

wat did u see when u went to the office?

hey dkotecha how was your interview?