Union beckons for the three quant tribes

Studies may be deferred, but future for grads is bright, argues UBS’s Gordon Lee

Today’s quantitative finance students face the most challenging employment situation in a generation. See-sawing markets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic might mean some banks report bumper 2020 profits – but the looming spectre of a wave of defaults threatens their profitability, and means most firms are already being extremely cautious in their hiring plans.

Throw in the new industry-wide practice of hiring, onboarding and training recruits via videoconference, and it’s easy to