DRW vs. Optiver vs. Akuna vs. Virtu for summer trading internship

I have offers from the above firms for quantitative trading summer internships, and I have to make a decision this week. I have no experience in quantitative finance, so my main priority is finding the program that will teach me the most and set me up the best for getting jobs/internships in the future. Also, I am interested in the research/data science side of the industry, so a program that gives me substantial experience working on projects outside of making real-time trading decisions is a plus. I know Virtu's trading is fully automated, but am not too sure how I should factor that in to my decision. 

Does anyone have input into what I should be thinking about as I make this decision? Is there any difference in how these firms are perceived on a resume? Does anyone have any info/anecdotes about what it's like to be an intern at these places? Any help is much appreciated!

2 Comments
 
 

Quia consectetur officia qui. Veritatis repellat beatae exercitationem dolorum facilis et. Repellendus officia delectus corrupti aut. Animi magnam porro ullam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”