Recruiter | Trading Technology & HFT | London | £60k+
Strong response on this one. If you're placing into buy-side tech, HFT or electronic trading and you know the market, don't let the numbers put you off.
15-year-old specialist search firm, top 2-3 globally in every market they operate in. 28 people, all finance and investment adjacent. Bootstrapped, no outside money, quality over volume. Average biller sits at £600-900k NFI. Average fee £104k, with deals regularly clearing £150k and some pushing £300k+.
One consultant has crossed £2m twice.
The trading tech desk is by every metric understaffed. The team has a clear market leader billing $1m+ in US SWE alone. The gap is execution capacity, specifically into the US buy-side tech market. HFT, electronic market making, quant development, infrastructure. Tier 1 hedge funds, prop shops and trading houses.
This is a candidate-led market. You need to know who the people are, not just who the clients are.
What you’re walking into:
- Live desk with existing flow, not a standing start
- US buy-side tech as the primary focus - biggest gap in the team
- Commission: 15% from £50k, scaling to 40% above £400k billed
- 3 days Bank
Who fits:
1-5 years placing into buy-side technology. SWE, quant development, infrastructure or electronic trading.
Strong understanding of what separates a £70k candidate and one that is going to be taking home £300k+
