Proprietary Trader Wanted for Promising Career: Matthew Lynn

These are dark days if you work in proprietary trading. For the past five years, you have been the king of financial markets, raking in bonuses and enjoying the prestige that comes from making most of your bank’s profits.

Now you are about as employable as a Greek-bond salesman. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are two companies winding down their prop-trading units to comply with new regulations that limit the ability of financial firms to trade on their own account. Plenty more firms will follow suit.