Day One Trader – A Life Story

Day One Trader is the exclusive story of John Sussex on his journey from son of a Basildon factory worker, leaving school at 16, to successful City financier and member of the Liffe board.

Providing a unique insight to this competitive and often brutal industry, readers will discover the tactics used by dealers to survive the jungle of the pits in a story that chronicles the floor banter and characters that made Liffe a global derivatives powerhouse.

Packed full of exclusive until now unreported stories, Day One Trader sheds new light on what motivated characters such as Nick Leeson, and provides insight to Liffe floors star traders.

Financial experts and novices alike will be gripped by Sussex s account of the highs and lows of a career that spanned almost three decades in the history of the financial markets.

"The catastrophic events of 2008 prove that the financial world has not learnt the lessons of my own tragic tale. But anyone who thinks that the world of derivatives is just about greedy bankers who put our pensions and savings at risk is wrong. Day One Trader is the gripping chronicle of the unknown working class heroes of the Liffe floor who shattered a glass ceiling of elitism in the City of London and helped build one of the few financial institutions that we can be proud of."
Nick Leeson

"John Sussex lived by the mantra of My Word is My Bond. This makes Day One Trader a must read for all traders. Every page brings back a lifetime of trading memories of days that will never be the same."
David Barnett, Global Head of Treasury, Royal Bank of Canada

John Sussex, London UK – John′s career spans the very start of the Liffe′s open outcry exchange right through to a screen based exchange and beyond.  John was there on the first day that the London International Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) opened, working with Clara Furse (now Chief Exec of the London Stock Exchange) and teaching David Kyte (now worth $120 million).  He traded on Black Monday in 1987, through the explosion of new derivatives products and  the boom years of the 90′s. 

Joe Morgan, London UK – Joe is a journalist currently on sabbatical from Risk Waters.  At Risk he interviews senior technologists at investment banks.  Prior to this he was a reporter for The Times working on investigative news based features.