Deals desk

At the heart of any commercial organisation is the need to know exactly what, why, where, when and how it is exposed to the market, and the impact these elements have on the profitability of the company.

The deals desk in Trafigura is a front office team providing market and risk analysis globally on a real time basis. Our primary responsibilities revolve around monitoring all elements of the risk and exposure related to our commercial activity and report it directly to the board on a daily basis. Being seated in the middle of a trade floor, we serve in a support role for traders spanning across virtually every market. Commercially, we add value by providing traders with risk assessments and analysis which highlight their exposure, optionality and PnL. These reports are essential to help them make the right commercial decisions and optimize the opportunities their portfolios generate, all the while providing deals desk employees with an unprecedented front office learning experience in the world of trading.

To fully master the role takes years of training as it requires an in-depth knowledge of every element of physical and derivative trading, as well as being able to interpret the impact of operational, financial and political changes on the underlying position and profit. Whilst all responsibilities and accountabilities of the role remain based upon the core principles of risk management, the factors that drive them change on an hour by hour, day by day basis as the company discovers new and innovative ways to generate a wide and truly diversified portfolio.