Regulatory pressure intensified this year after SEBI accused Jane Street of manipulating expiry-day prices. Still, global and local players remain undeterred.
For aspiring traders, there’s rarely been a more rewarding moment to be in the game. High-frequency trading firms in India are offering record pay to new hires. According to a Bloomberg report, Amsterdam-based IMC Trading has offered interns stipends of up to Rs 12.5 lakh a month this year, nearly triple 2024 levels. Quadeye, another major recruiter, raised entry-level salaries by 50% to Rs 7.5 lakh. For comparison, average annual base pay for Indian finance professionals is about Rs 7 lakh, according to Glassdoor data.
The surge comes despite SEBI’s push to curb risks for retail investors, which has reduced derivatives trading volumes by 40% from last year’s peak. Still, India remains the world’s largest equity derivatives market by volume, with foreign funds and proprietary desks earning about $7 billion in gross profits in FY24, the report stated.
“The demand for profitable traders is as strong as ever,” Daniel Vaz, co-head of quant and trading technology recruiting at Aquis Search, told Bloomberg. “We’re getting inquiries to set up new desks almost every month, and there is intense competition to attract top-tier traders, quant researchers and trading system engineers in India,” Vaz said.
Regulatory pressure intensified this year after SEBI accused Jane Street of manipulating expiry-day prices. The firm, which denies the charges, was temporarily barred from Indian markets.
Global and local players remain undeterred
Still, the sector shows no signs of slowing. The Bloomberg report stated that Estee Advisors, iRage Broking Services, and Bengaluru-based Optimus Prime Securities are all scaling up operations.
The Bilakhia Group is preparing to enter the space via Minix Holdings, while billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities continues to expand its Gurugram office. Tower Research and Citadel are also taking minority stakes in the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd, according to Bloomberg.
Aggressive hiring from IITs
Much of the hiring spree is concentrated at premier engineering schools like the IITs. HFT firms lock in top talent before graduation. Recruiters say intern offers this year were rolled out even after the broader crackdown on options trading, Bloomberg reported.
As competition intensifies, trading strategies are turning over faster. iRage CEO Rajib Borah told Bloomberg that strategies that he could earlier run for six months or more profitably, now work for about two. “One needs to be much sharper now, firing all engines and adapting much faster,” Borah said.
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