Trading Strategy & Research Associate

Morgan Stanley • New York, NY

2d • $100,000 - $135,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Trading Strategy and Research Team partners closely with investment teams, trading, risk, capital markets, and senior management to enhance portfolio implementation, execution quality, and operating scalability across the Global Equity & Multi-Asset business. The team sits at the center of the trading organization, translating strategy, market intelligence, third-party research, and data into actionable insights, robust execution, oversight frameworks, and scalable infrastructure. The role will conduct quantitative research focused on market dynamics, technical market signals, liquidity, and other factors that inform portfolio implementation and execution. Applying rigorous quantitative and statistical methods, the role will translate the team’s hypotheses into empirical insights, decision frameworks, and analytical tools that help shape the trading organization’s strategic perspectives and initiatives. The role will have primary responsibility for the execution of this research, including sourcing and constructing datasets, developing appropriate methodologies, conducting statistical analysis, and validating findings. The resulting insights and frameworks will support the development of scalable approaches to portfolio implementation and execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Economics, Finance, or another quantitatively rigorous discipline.
• Strong foundation in statistics and quantitative analysis, including regression analysis, hypothesis testing, time-series analysis, and statistical inference.
• Proficiency in Python and experience working with large datasets; familiarity with SQL or similar data tools is beneficial.
• Ability to structure analytical problems, develop appropriate methodologies, and interpret quantitative results with a high degree of rigor.
• Strong interest in financial markets, trading, market structure, and portfolio implementation.
• Intellectual curiosity, strong analytical judgment, and attention to detail, with a willingness to challenge assumptions based on empirical evidence.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate quantitative analysis into clear and practical insights.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with financial market data, quantitative market analysis, and back-testing methodologies is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Conduct quantitative research on market behavior and trading dynamics to develop insights relevant to portfolio implementation and execution.
• Translate research findings into analytical frameworks and practical applications that support the team’s strategic perspectives and initiatives.
• Source, construct, and maintain datasets required to support research and analytical initiatives.
• Develop quantitative models, analytical tools, and scalable processes to support research, portfolio implementation, and execution analysis.
• Conduct bespoke analysis and prepare materials for portfolio managers, traders, senior management, committees, and other governance forums
• Maintain high standards of analytical rigor, including disciplined methodology, validation, and interpretation of results.

Benefits

• Comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry
• Ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

What This Job Offers

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