Employment Contract Questions

I'm a senior graduating in May from a (non-target) state school who recently got a trader position offer from a top 3 HFT prop shop. I'm a little concerned about the employment contract because it includes a 2 year non compete. Most of the graduate programs (mfe/quant finance) I'm looking at for the future are 1-1.5 years. Should I be worried about this?

5 Comments
 
bigblue3908

Depends on the language in the contract but most of those clauses are completely unenforcible at the junior level. Check it over with a lawyer if you're unsure, but I doubt it's anything to worry about

This is completely false. Not only is it enforceable in many jurisdictions, but any trader position is a senior position when a lot of capital is in play.

OP, I work in this space; feel free to PM me any specific questions.

 
Best Response
justin88 bigblue3908:

Depends on the language in the contract but most of those clauses are completely unenforcible at the junior level. Check it over with a lawyer if you're unsure, but I doubt it's anything to worry about

This is completely false. Not only is it enforceable in many jurisdictions, but any trader position is a senior position when a lot of capital is in play.

OP, I work in this space; feel free to PM me any specific questions.

I'll defer to you since I'm not a trader, but I've talked with multiple lawyers who say the opposite for junior level positions at least. But I can imagine it's more stringent in prop trading than it is for MC/IBD for obvious reasons
 

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