Optiver Australia staff past and present reveal bullying culture and claims of payouts for problems

The Sydney office of global automated trading firm Optiver has faced claims of bullying and harassment from current and former staff spoken to by The Australian.

Optiver is one of the world's largest algorithmic trading firms Photo – Supplied.

One of Sydney’s largest proprietary trading houses, Optiver Australia, has been accused of having a toxic culture that allows bullying and sexual harassment.

Former female staff are unwilling to speak out for fear of breaching nondisclosure agreements.

However more than 10 former Optiver Australia staff spoken to by The Australian said they had left the trading business, either willingly or unwillingly, in a bid to escape the intense pressures of the high frequency trading firm, despite the massive pay packets it offers.

Several former Optiver Australia staff said the bullying and harassment had worsened in recent years, and that several longtime figures in the Sydney business left or were forced out.

Optiver sources said many staff accused of bullying or sexual harassment were still employed at the company despite some being the subject of multiple complaints.

But an Optiver spokesman said the firm had a “positive, respectful and collaborative work culture”.

“This is evidenced by our annual, anonymous workplace engagement survey which, in 2022, showed an aggregated staff engagement score of 84 per cent – 5 per cent higher than the rest of the financial services industry,” he said.

“As an example, 89 per cent of staff agreed that our leaders role-modelled inclusive behaviours and 95 per cent agreed that we treat each other with respect.”

Optiver Australia chief executive Wouter Stinis was not available for comment.

Several former Optiver Australia sources said the behavioural issues at the firm were linked to the trading business’ play hard/work hard culture, which has resulted in issues spilling out into the workplace and at after-work events.

The Australian has been told by a current member of staff that a female colleague recently exited Optiver Australia after being subjected to unwanted sexual attention. Former Optiver head of human resources business partnering and operations Yan Kruger said he had been “contacted by many traumatised current and ex-employees asking for help”.

“Optiver management unfortunately has a track record of silencing those with serious allegations using a combination of coercion, fear and NDAs,” he said.

“That fear stops many coming forth publicly – especially worried it could impact their careers in the insular industry of market making. My concern is nothing will change unless senior management is held to account.”

Optiver is one of the world's largest algorithmic trading firms.

Optiver’s Amsterdam business was hit by sexual harassment claims in 2021 and the company had to pay a €422,500 ($705,000) settlement to a British female member of staff.

The Court of Amsterdam noted Optiver lacked a clear complaints system for its staff, of which about 15 per cent were women, noting that almost all the female traders at the business had “left prematurely” and that the firm had not “commissioned a broader investigation into a misogynistic corporate culture”.

Several Optiver staff spoken to by The Australian directed attention to an advert produced by Optiver in Sydney in the 2000s, which spruiks the business, by showing an elderly man getting an erection from a woman in small pink shorts walking past him.

“These behaviours aren’t fit for the 1950s, let alone 2023,” Mr Kruger said.

“I understand Optiver continues to employ a number of known and documented perpetrators – which flies in the face of living their values and duty of care.”

An Optiver spokesman said the firm’s staff were encouraged to raise their concerns through several channels.

“If a workplace issue does arise, we have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with concerns from employees and in addition we conduct ongoing education and training,” he said.

“Anything raised through these channels is investigated thoroughly and may involve an independent third-party investigation if considered appropriate.”

The Australian has been unable to publicly reveal individual stories of many staff at Optiver Australia, due to concern over potential legal action for breaching nondisclosure agreements. An Optiver spokesman said the company did not seek to ask staff to sign nondisclosure agreements “to restrain them from discussing claims relating to harassment or bullying”.

“In some cases when employees depart, we enter into agreements addressing a range of matters, including protection of IP and ongoing obligations of confidentiality,” he said.

“This is common business practice.”

Former Optiver Australia IT staffer Michael Fowlie said the stress of the job at the company was “insane”. “If something went wrong and I didn’t fix it quickly, millions of dollars would be at stake,” he said.

“There was no documentation, virtually no training, and I was heavily discouraged and told off from seeking help if I didn’t know what to do.”

Mr Fowlie said he had spoken with several other members of staff who “agree with me on the poor culture”.

“I left Optiver for a job paying about half as much and am happy with the switch,” he said.

One former member of staff said he had encouraged a colleague to speak out about the unwanted sexual messages she had received from a senior member of staff, but she chose not to out of fear it could affect her job.

He said he personally witnessed at least two alleged sexual harassment matters, but noted he was aware of one colleague who had been sacked in a separate matter after a complaint against him.

In a recent email, Optiver head of people and culture Natalie Nicholson told staff the company had an “expectation (it) is for everyone to take a step up in their leadership”.

“We, as a business and as leaders will dedicate resources, time, focus and investment towards leadership development,” she said.

Several former Optiver figures spoken to by The Australian said the current culture of the firm sits at odds with the firm’s roots in the early 2000s under Rob Keldoulis in the back rooms of the Benevolent Society on Sydney’s Oxford St.

Mr Keldoulis, who did not respond to attempts to reach him, ran the local operation for years before moving on to VivCourt, a similar algorithmic trading operation run out of Optiver Australia’s original office space in Paddington.

Optiver’s former managing director, Rob Keldoulis. Picture: Stephen Cooper

From a start of almost 10 staff, Optiver Australia has grown to at least 334 – according to its most recent set of accounts – working from its headquarters at 39 Hunter St in Sydney’s city centre.

The latest set of accounts showed the Australian business posted a $254m profit in 2021,

But this was down on 2020 when Optiver Australia posted a $589m profit on the back of market volatility.

Key management personnel were handed $19.6m in short-term bonuses in the period, plus a further $28.5m in other benefits in the year,

The focus on profitability has buoyed growth plans, but some Optiver sources said it also fed a culture in a company that has prioritised money making above all else.

Optiver has been ferocious in picking up young graduates straight out of university, and its pay offers have made it among the top destinations for finance and tech graduates.

But some Optiver sources told The Australian this has led the firm to be increasingly dominated by lifers who had little experience of the professional landscape outside the company’s 39 Hunter St offices in the heart of Sydney.

“It’s the golden handcuff, they pay graduates really well,” a source told The Australian.

The same focus has resulted in management rewarding the performers, and Optiver sources say this has led to overlooking, belittling or demeaning that would result in staff being sacked from other companies.

“The culture is quite aggressive,” a source told The Australian.

This source said Optiver Australia used its bonus ranking system to punish those who stepped out of line.

Optiver Australia ranks its staff on a 1-5 system, which can result in staff being handed double their wage or nothing at all based on management metrics.

One source said when he tried to raise compliance issues his bonus was slashed, and not long after that he was presented with a redundancy offer.

“You get the pay cheque, you sign a resignation letter and you walk out the door with three months,” he said.

“If you refuse you won’t get three months, you’ll get the absolute bare minimum.”

One former Optiver source said the cultural issues were not present across the trading firm’s market rivals in Sydney, which includes VivCourt, IMC, and Citadel.

Originally published as Optiver Australia staff past and present reveal bullying culture and claims of payouts for problems