Inside the high-frequency trading floor where grads are paid $250,000
This week, Optiver opens its new headquarters in Sydney. From Super Smash Bros to lamb shoulder for lunch, it is pulling out all the stops to attract staff.
The custom staircase built in the shape of Optiver’s delta logo at the company’s office in Sydney. Bloomberg
Stockbroking is tough, fund managers face intense competition from index-tracking robots. Still, there’s one corner of the market that’s living it up, if not quite Wolf of Wall Street-style – high-frequency traders, where finance meets technology. And at its centre is Optiver, the Amsterdam-headquartered market-making and trading firm.
Here, graduate salaries head north of $250,000. Then there’s the new office, five levels in the centre of Sydney CBD that opened this week and will act as the firm’s headquarters in Asia. Sure, Optiver has offices in Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. But the timezone in Sydney is ideal, and the lifestyle is attractive enough to lure the best traders.
Jemima WhyteSenior reporterJemima Whyte writes on business, specialising in companies, capital markets and innovation. Jemima has reported on business for The Australian Financial Review for more than 13 years. Email Jemima at jemima.whyte@afr.com
