The Trading Desk / Desk Guide
Your desk runbook

Desk Guide

The complete companion guide to working AI on the floor — six sections, the 24 desks, your ranks, and a cheat sheet. No coding, no jargon. If you can send a text message, you can do this.

Download the PDF → Reference Desk (prompts & Power Card)
AI isn’t here to replace you — it’s here to make you the analyst who gets it.

Two tools, one method, real deal work. By your second cup of coffee you’ll have a win you can take to the desk. Start with one task; build from there.

01

Start Here

What this is & the two tools you’ll use

This is your Trading Desk runbook — a short, no-jargon guide to using AI for the work your desk actually does: market scans, watchlists, peer comps, filings review, trade notes, client comms, and trade screening. No coding. No theory. Just moves you’ll repeat every day.

Tool 1 · The On-Ramp

Microsoft Copilot

Lives inside Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams & PowerPoint. Start here: summarize a thread, clean a sheet, draft a memo. Familiar surface, fast win.

Tool 2 · The Edge

Claude

Your reasoning analyst. Connects to your own data — your watchlists, your models, your research notes — so every answer is precise and right the first time. This is where the hours disappear.

02

Your First 5 Minutes

One task, one win, right now

Don’t try to learn everything. Pick one task you do weekly and hand it over. Here’s the fastest first win — tap to copy it:

▸ The 5-Minute Win — Pipeline TriageTap to copy
“Pull my active pipeline and give me the 10 deals worth a call today, ranked by close probability. One line each: who, stage, dollar size, and the reason it’s hot.”

Paste it. Read the list. That’s a real result before your coffee’s cold — and you just learned the loop: ask plainly → get a usable answer → refine.

03

The GCES Method

How to get it right the first time

Weak prompts get weak answers. GCES is the 4-part formula that makes the AI land precise every time — the same method across every academy.

G — Goal · what you want
“Build a one-page deal screen.”
C — Context · the situation
“Mid-cap semiconductor name, earnings Thursday; the book targets 12% on the position.”
E — Expectations · format
“Table: metric, our deal, market range, pass/flag. Keep it to one page.”
S — Source · the data
“Use the checklist in this sheet and the attached peer comps, nothing made up.”
✗ Weak
“Look at this deal.”
→ vague summary you can’t use
✓ GCES
“Screen this earnings setup against the attached checklist; table format, flag anything off-thesis.”
→ a desk-ready screen
04

The 24 Desks & Scenarios

Every workflow on the floor has a desk

Your floor is organized into 24 desks. Each is a real job AI can speed up. Find your desk, grab the move.

Market ScanThe morning read, fast
WatchlistTriage & rank live names
Research PullQuery filings & notes
Position SizingRisk math in Excel
Peer CompsMultiples vs. the sector
Trade ScreenPass / flag a setup fast
Macro CalendarFed days & data prints
ScreenersBuild watch universes
Trade NotesOne-page trade theses
DecksIC & client presentations
Client OutreachWarm, on-book outreach
Research MemosWrite-ups & summaries
ModelsSensitivities & scenarios
Market ReadSector & rate context
Filing Review10-K red flags, fast
Client CommsUpdates & replies
Trade JournalLog it, review it, learn
Meeting PrepAgendas & talking points
Action ItemsPull owners & deadlines
ReportingDesk & book rollups
Data CleanupFix messy exports
Fact CheckPressure-test claims
Exec SummaryOne paragraph for the PM
Tone ShiftReframe for the reader
Scenario · Peer Comps DeskTap to copy
“Compare this name to its five closest peers — P/E, EV/EBITDA, growth — and tell me where it sits vs. the group: rich, cheap, or in line.”
Scenario · Trade Notes DeskTap to copy
“Turn my position notes into a one-page trade thesis: setup, entry, target, stop, and the 3 reasons the trade works. No fluff.”
05

Your Personal Tools

What every analyst gets on the platform
The Deal Book

Your saved-prompts bag. Tap a Power Card and a battle-tested prompt is ready to run — built for the moves you make most.

The Money Manager

Your in-app helper bot. Ask it anything in plain English; it coaches you through the next move, no jargon.

⌘
Quick Search (Ctrl/Cmd + K)

Jump to any desk, Power Card, or scenario instantly. Don’t hunt — search.

Progress & Ranks

Track your climb and print a certificate when you hit the floor. Fresh prompts daily, agent drops weekly.

Analyst
First wins on the desk
→
Associate
Running workflows solo
→
VP
Connecting steps end-to-end
→
Managing Director
The one who gets it
★

Desk Cheat Sheet

Five prompts to keep within reach · tap to copy
▸ Triage Rank my pipeline; 10 deals to call today, why each is hot.
▸ Screen Screen this setup vs. my checklist using the attached notes; flag anything off.
▸ Comps Peer comps vs. the 5 closest names; rich, cheap, or in line?
▸ Thesis Notes → one-page thesis: setup, entry, target, stop, 3 reasons.
▸ Exec One-paragraph summary for the MD: the ask, why, decision needed.
06

FAQ

The questions every analyst asks
Is my deal data safe?
The site itself stores nothing about your positions — prompts run inside your own Claude or Copilot workspace, under your firm’s data policy. When in doubt, ask your compliance desk which tool is approved for sensitive data. The Money Manager can walk you through exactly how, right on the site.
Copilot or Claude — which do I use?
Both. Copilot for quick work inside Office (email, Excel, decks). Claude for reasoning over your own data — screening, comps, sourcing. Start in Copilot, graduate to Claude for the heavy lifting.
Will this replace analysts?
No. It removes the manual grind — the exports, the cleanup, the first drafts — so you spend your time on judgment, relationships, and deals. You become the analyst who moves faster than the desk.
What if the answer is wrong?
Always tell it the Source (the “S” in GCES) and say “nothing made up.” Then spot-check the numbers — you’re the analyst, it’s the assistant. Refine the prompt and it sharpens fast.
I’m not technical. Can I really do this?
If you can send a text message, you can do this. Every move in this guide is plain English. Start with the 5-Minute Win and build from there.
How do I get better?
Run one real task a day from your Deal Book, climb the ranks, and grab the fresh daily prompts. Proficiency comes in a couple of hours — mastery comes from reps.

Ready to set this up for your desk?

The Trading Desk can be customized and securely connected to your team’s own data. Book a free call to see it tuned to your pipeline.

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