Prop Trading Pay at Different Firms?

Question

I don't mean a top tier place like JS/Optiver/Citadel, but a slightly less prestigious place (think Akuna/CTC/Group One). I know that base around 100-150k is common at the top places, with a bonus nearing 100% of base first year in, but what about other places?

How much should I expect to be making my first year in and how much of a difference in pay will there be between a tier 1 and tier 2 place a few years down the line (if any)? What are people out there making?

sellingputs · Accepted Answer

I worked for an options market maker and have some knowledge on this subject. Although I have no idea for firms like JSC/Jump/Virtu who don't trade options or are bad at it.
Firms tend to pay higher if you actually trade your first year. You'll find much higher first year pay at places like CitSec, Optiver, Akuna as opposed to SIG, DRW, CTC.

At a tier one place, bonuses normally aren't very transparent anywhere except for Optiver where your bonus is based off of the marble system. Each marble is around 1-1.5k and the marble tiers are 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500.

Fill-or-kill · Answer

y'all are trading the wrong way imo. mechanic trading is best done by robots, humans are not great at just buying/selling on signals. for you to have fun, you gotta jump into opportunistic plays where it is all about crafting the trade, pricing it, and setting it. this means working on 2-6 trades a day/week that have a high level of significance, and spending the rest of your time building out theses, collecting/analyzing data & trends, and preparing for market moves/outcomes.

BlinkTy · Answer

the intern pay at akuna is top tier (~$11k-13k/month two years ago) but they also do ask for other offers so the higher end likely only comes on a matching basis. as for full-time pay, standard offer is about 200k all-in for juniors (base + signing + expected 1st year bonus) but this is without negotiation.

the top tier that OP mentions is slightly misleading because there's some stratification there as well. citadel comprises citadel securities (the market maker) and the hedge fund.

sicilian · Answer

I can't talk about intern numbers but I can say for FT your numbers for citsec is accurate (but requires competing offers to get 400k 1st yr). I consider this top range. JS pays below this for 1st yr but this is misleading because JS is a much more stable seat and less stressful. Also, your 400k will be prorated for when you start. After the 1st year there are no guarantees on comp. The hedge fund side is accurate, very PM dependent.

Your numbers for Optiver are actually high, the marbles system means that your bonus is essentially capped.

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Prop Trading Pay at Different Firms?

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