Prop firms trading options in London..?

Hi

I'm currently a masters student at ICMA and I'm thinkg about trading once i finish the course, specifically trading options as my part two modules focus on derivatives trading and volatility ... I got a 2:2 in maths at uni so going for the bigger banks is gonna be a tough road so thought about some of the prop outfits around LDN...

Does anyone know of any that specialise or at least trade in options? As most i've heard about so far (although I'm only a couple of days into my search) trade in futures - intraday mostly, pay the usual - no basic apart from the few hundred pounds p.m for when your training then charge the 2-3 grand desk fee Is there any firm that trades options or has a bit more mathematical approach - maybe some that specialise in pure arbitrage or something...

Or is this kinda stuff more the teritory of hedge gunds and algo/quant houses ...?

I just need an experienced trader that knows the firms out there to lend some advice..

cheers

nick

You're right about the banks - Goldman Sachs are the only one I'm aware of that will consider people with 2:2s, and they're the hardest to get into.

As far as prop firms go, have a look at Mako, Optiver, and Saxon - I don't really know much about any of them, but that might be a good place to start until someone with more experience can suggest something.

Thanks ... I'll check them out

GS consider 2:2's? interesting, because if your into banking its the PLACE to be, thought it would be strictly money makers or grads from Harvard plus a good surname only!

black-star said:

GS consider 2:2's? interesting, because if your into banking its the PLACE to be, thought it would be strictly money makers or grads from Harvard plus a good surname only!

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Yeah, I met a GS trader who was a couple years above me at uni, and he knew of at least one person trading there with a 2:2. Basically, if they want you enough, they'll overlook academics - unlike the other banks. Pretty good policy in my opinion, but won't change the fact that they've got 100s of perfect CVs for every place - you need to be pretty special to get in with a 1st, so imagine how special you need to be to get in with a 2:2!