Trader - Equity Derivatives - US Hedge Fund

Background:

A US based hedge fund is setting up its India business. The US fund is a purely quantitative trading fund and its Indian subsidiary will also do quant trading through an FPI and later through an AIF-Cat III. In either case, the trades will be routed through 2-3 leading Indian brokerage houses. The India business is looking to hire a derivatives trader to oversee the execution of trades through the brokers and to help manage risk.

Responsibilities:

Oversee execution of trades generated by the - black box- by interacting with sell-side brokers to carry out a smooth execution of the trades

Oversee the process of roll-over of futures contracts in each expiry

Watch out for and stay within risk limits applicable across instruments, sectors, market etc

Keep an eye on exchange announcements, company specific triggers and other such qualitative factors and incorporate them into the trading plan - in discussion with the India business head and the US investment advisors

Help US based back-office in engaging with the brokers in getting daily trade reports and related data

Provide inputs to and help the India accounts and liquidity management personnel in marked to market settlements on a daily basis

Provide inputs to the black-box strategy design team (the portfolio managers) based on the observations of market behavior and peculiarities in price trends of various securities.

Scope of trading:

Universe: Single stock futures of 150 stocks, index futures and options

Fund size: starting with Rs. 300 Cr of capital (leveraged 4 times) and scaling up over a year to Rs. 1200 Cr of capital

Turnover: ~1-2 times a month plus roll-over

Expected skill-set:

Deep understanding of trading in derivatives in Indian markets (single stock futures, index futures and option, if possible currency and commodities futures as well.)

Attention to detail

Good knowledge of futures spread movement over the month - especially for roll-over

Sufficient mathematical knowledge to deal with risk management constraints

Quick reaction time for managing trading in response to events

Curious mind to understand the patterns in prices of various securities - with an eye to convert them into a trading signal.

Educational background and experience:

1. MBA (finance) preferred

2. Certification in algo/quant trading a definite plus though not necessary

3. CFA a definite plus though not necessary

4. Relevant trading experience of over 2 years in Indian capital markets