David* trades the London markets from New York. He usually wakes at 1.15am and heads to the office to begin his day at 2am – 7am in London; 8am in continental Europe.

He sends out an email to the firm detailing current positions before starting trading. Working until around 1pm, his afternoon takes on the life of a normal mid-week evening, heading to the gym and running errands. From Monday to Thursday he usually goes to bed between 6pm and 7pm. He said: "In certain weeks, if there are things going on at night that are important or I'm trying to go for dinner with people, I go home at 1pm and sleep from about 3pm to 6pm and then get up and stay up. It can be hectic trying to see people and only getting three or four hours of sleep."