Citadel Securities is a market-making firm, which means we constantly quote prices to the market on all the assets we trade. Our primary function is to provide liquidity in the market which allows participants easier access to the markets for when they want to trade.
I’m in the options team and we trade options on both stocks and the indices across different markets in the APAC region. As a trader, I spend most of my day on monitoring the trades we do and how the market performs in general. The main role of a trader is to manage your positions by adjusting pricing parameters based on various factors while also reacting quickly to market changes.
Outside market hours I am usually working on projects that can help improve our pricing model or build smaller tools that could assist us to make better decisions. For example, visualisations to look at while trading, scripts to automate certain actions or research pricing improvements. I also spend time researching the products I trade and keeping on top of any news that may affect the market in general.
I was born in India but moved to Australia early on and have been in Sydney pretty much my whole life. I graduated high school in 2017 and then studied math and computer science at UNSW from where I graduated in 2021. During university, I worked as a software engineer at a Sydney fintech company for about 2 years and I also did an exchange program at the University of Pennsylvania. I interned at a trading firm in Chicago where I learned more about the trading world.
I joined Citadel Securities as a trader when it just started its operations in Sydney, and really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a global training program for two months in New York where I met many new joiners from around the world before returning home. Meeting the other new joiners and learning from the American traders was an invaluable experience and the travelling was great too (all while escaping lockdown in Sydney)!
Definitely! Although most trading firms nowadays look for graduates with STEM backgrounds, the hard skills such as programming or statistical knowledge can be learnt on the job or by yourself. What’s more important is that you have strong problem-solving skills and can pick up concepts quickly. There are a wide range of areas you can focus on as a trader. For example, some traders are really strong at screen trading while others may be more focused on projects and scripting. It all depends on what you enjoy and are good at.
The best thing about trading is its fast-paced nature and the constant feedback it provides. I’m an impatient person in general and so the dynamic nature of trading really excites me. When the market is open, you are constantly looking for opportunities and ways to improve your trading. The market also provides instant feedback on any change you make in the form of good or bad trades and from then you’re in charge of utilizing the feedback to keep improving. Busy days can really be an adrenaline rush!
Given the fast-paced nature of the job, you’re often forced to make quick decisions with imperfect information on a constant basis. This can sometimes get stressful as things move so quickly and there are often so many unknowns that you have estimated. At the same time, these moments also provide the best learning experience as you encounter more and more market conditions and learn how to react. Dealing with uncertainty is part of the job, but it makes it a whole lot more exciting!