8p selby jennings quant research & trading usa

APRIL 2014 M A R K E T U P DAT E QUANT RESEA RC H & TRAD IN G - USA

INTRODUCTION As part of our commitment to provide our clients with regular, up to date, industry specific market intelligence, we are delighted to present Selby Jennings’ April Market Update for Quant Research and Trading within the US.

SIGNIFIC ANT RECRUITMENT DEVELOPMENTS Electronic Market making across equities, futures and options has seen a significant increase regarding recruitment. Investment banks are taking large steps to remain competitive in providing these services.The demand for candidates is primarily coming from competitors at other investment banks, although due to the lack of ‘active’ candidates in the market, there has been an increase in interest for buy-side algorithmic traders.

There has also been a greater interest in hiring for locations outside of New York; Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin and Chicago being the main focus geographically. Dodd Frank continues to trouble groups, but has created significant opportunity for growth with Chicago trading clients, and futures experience is more in demand now than was previously seen in 2013.

HIGH GROWTH HIRING AREAS ACROSS MARKETS/ PRODUCTS Electronic trading, equities and algorithmic trading groups in investment banks have been the largest hiring area in Q1 2014.

Equity Options saw particularly high levels of hiring in Q1; a number of banks saw this trend and planned accordingly, with many major hedge fund clients pushing into the space more aggressively.

GEOGRAPHIC AL HIRING TRENDS New York continues to hold the number one spot in hiring from a geographic perspective; San Francisco saw a sharper rise than Chicago. Many clients were outsourcing more work to remote locations; Charlotte, Austin, New Jersey, Boston.

HIGH DEMAND SKILL SETS/ EXPERIENCE The electronic trading groups in Investment Banks have been limiting their search more exclusively to competitor groups. This is a result of the difference in salary and technical sophistication of the platforms.

ROLES IN HIGH DEMAND Electronic trader roles, Options traders, Quantitative Strategists and algorithmic trading were the highest in demand in Q1 2014.

SENIORITY LEVELS IN HIGH DEMAND With regards to level of seniority, VP - ED, 4-5 years minimum and up to 8-10 years with hedge funds were in the highest demand in Q1. With investment banks, 2-5 years is the most in demand level of hire, top heavy groups and a lack of raw talent coming through is leading to large gaps between associates and management.

HIRING FOREC AST FOR THE MARKET IN Q2 2014 For Q2, Electronic trading with investment banks will continue to grow; this along with quantitative trading in US equities is going to be the biggest area of growth for 2014.

JOB SEEKER ADVICE Candidates should consider limiting the amount of recruiters they work with and keep a solid list of where they have interviewed in a 12 month period.

Beyond that, if they are hoping to expand their career in quantitative research and trading, the most important aspect is having in-depth programming ability both to model, back test and implement trading strategies. It is important for candidates to have as much hands-on experience with implementation and to demonstrate their ability to impact from a business, quantitative and development perspective.

HIRING ADVICE For electronic market making, clients should consider candidates from different backgrounds outside the standard investment bank competitors. The skill-set required is often found cheaper and more accessible from trading firms, asset managers.

By using recruitment firms clients will gain access to an extensive candidate network across quantitative research and trading, from pure modelling and analytics, through to high frequency pnl traders, in addition to networks of exclusive candidates and a proven track record of placing even the most niche jobs in the space.

NOTEWORTHY MARKET TRENDS There is an increase in demand for intraday quantitative traders who have track records in US equities. Electronic market making is the biggest area of growth as 2014 continues.

It has been noted that the majority of the market leading banks are expanding in Equities, Equity Options, Interest rates and FX automated trading on flow desks. The hiring for those is coming through competitors, primarily as the salary and technical demands differ greatly to trading firms / hedge funds.

ABOUT SELBY JENNINGS

Operating as part of Phaidon International, Selby Jennings is a multi-award winning global recruitment organisation focused on servicing the financial industry.

By breaking down financial markets into individual niches and micro-specialisms, Selby Jennings powers a knowledge-led model, delivering global solutions into local markets.

Every consultant is an expert in their field. Structuring our teams to mirror the demands of our clients and candidates, we identify, qualify and present the highest calibre candidates, as well as identifying the best market opportunities for leading finance professionals. From our offices in London, Singapore, New York and Zurich we recruit beyond international boundaries, proactively sourcing the best talent in the industry across both contract and permanent hires.

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