Associate Fixed-Income Principal Trader

Ameriprise • Minneapolis, MN

8d • $81,700 - $112,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Fixed-Income Principal Trader is a licensed trader on a principal trading desk, initially assigned to municipal securities. The role commits firm capital, holds and positions inventory, and makes independent buying, selling, pricing, hedging, and risk-reward decisions within established capital and risk limits. The trader owns assigned inventory and desk deliverables with limited day-to-day direction, supports senior inventory books, and turns market, advisor, and dealer information into actions affecting profitability and risk. The role has narrower product authority, capital responsibility, and exception autonomy than a Junior Trader.

The position requires experienced fixed-income knowledge and developing municipal expertise to assess relative value, pricing, credit, structure, liquidity, maturity, market technicals, supply and demand, inventory aging, concentration, and DV01 exposure. It includes establishing or recommending Treasury hedges within delegated authority, applying principal-trading controls, and communicating with advisors, internal partners, and dealers. The role is based in the Minneapolis office, with employees working in the office at least four days per week and the flexibility to work from home one day per week; some roles may have different in-office expectations.

The estimated base salary is $81,700–$112,300 per year. Initial total compensation may vary based on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Many roles are also eligible for variable compensation such as bonuses, commissions, and/or long-term incentives. The company describes its benefits program as comprehensive and including vacation time, sick time, 401(k), and health, dental, and life insurance.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Accounting, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Active Series 7 and Series 63 licenses at hire.
• Experienced fixed-income knowledge and demonstrated ability to explain why bonds are priced relative to competitive alternatives.
• Strong pricing, relative-value, inventory, hedging, and risk judgment using supply and demand, aging, concentration, DV01, and market information.
• Ability to independently make routine buy/sell, inventory-positioning, and risk-reward decisions within delegated authority and escalate complex or higher-risk judgments.
• Ability to explain difficult concepts to advisors and build dealer relationships that support execution, future business, and desk profitability.
• Ability to apply principal-trading controls, including mark-ups/mark-downs, special coding, hedging, and regulatory reporting.
• Commercial mindset, professionalism, accountability, initiative, and composure under pressure.
• Full-time presence in the Minneapolis office; the company states that employees work in-office at least four days per week, with flexibility to work from home one day per week.
• Valid U.S. work authorization that does not now or in the future require visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Typically 5–7 years of transferable experience, including relevant financial-services, fixed-income, capital-markets, trading-support, operations, wealth-management, public-finance, investment, or related experience.
• Municipal-securities, principal-trading, inventory-management, or retail fixed-income distribution experience.
• Experience in comparable roles such as Associate Fixed Income Trader, Fixed Income Trader I, Municipal Trading Associate, or similar controlled-authority trading roles.
• Experience interpreting credit, pricing, yield, market technicals, advisor activity, inventory turnover, and market-data or trading-platform outputs.

Responsibilities

• Own execution and resolution of assigned principal fixed-income transactions within established authority, capital, and risk limits, including independent inventory buying and selling decisions.
• Execute trades in assigned and senior trader inventory books as needed, applying judgment to pricing and execution and escalating unusual or higher-risk matters.
• Own assigned inventory positioning, bid coverage, pricing analysis, and trade-review deliverables with limited day-to-day direction.
• Evaluate relative value, competitive offerings, supply and demand, market movements, inventory aging, concentration, and DV01 exposure to improve turnover, profitability, and disciplined capital use.
• Use fixed-income knowledge and developing municipal expertise to assess bond pricing relative to alternatives across credit, structure, call, liquidity, maturity, and market technicals.
• Translate economic, regulatory, dealer, and order-flow developments into actionable trading and inventory recommendations.
• Apply market, liquidity, credit, concentration, operational, and inventory-risk controls to positions for which the role commits firm capital.
• Establish or recommend U.S. Treasury hedge positions within delegated authority, including short Treasury positions for assigned activity or on behalf of senior traders.
• Monitor and support book-level DV01, aging, and concentration reporting; apply mark-up/mark-down, special trade coding, and regulatory-reporting requirements.
• Assess risk for assigned decisions across market, liquidity, credit, concentration, operational, and inventory exposures; evaluate risk-reward tradeoffs.
• Analyze advisor behavior, order flow, inventory turnover, and market trends, and translate insights into distribution and inventory actions.
• Explain complex concepts to advisors, gain cooperation from internal partners, and develop dealer relationships that support execution opportunities and desk profitability.
• Own assigned desk-development and operating-improvement deliverables, including transfer of knowledge from unusual market and risk scenarios.
• Demonstrate sustained independent judgment and results in consideration for broader trading authority; progression is earned and not guaranteed.

Benefits

• Vacation time
• Sick time
• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Variable pay may include bonuses, commissions, and/or long-term incentives, depending on the role.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level