information session --slideshare
TRANSCRIPT
TOPICS
• History of IMC
• Who is IMC Chicago
• Technology
• Facts
• Culture
• Charity
• L & D
• Openings
TIMELINE OF IMC1989 IMC is established in Amsterdam as an options market making firm by Rob Defares and Rene
Schelvis. Today we also trade futures, ETFs, equities, FX and fixed income.
2000 Chicago office opens
2002 Sydney office opens
2004 Zug office opens
2006 Hong Kong office opens
2008 Wiet Pot joins from Goldman Sachs and Rene Schelvis exits the business to devote his time to
charity. Wiet is now co-CEO with Rob Defares.
* Rob speaks on behalf of the history of high frequency trading in a recent Economist article:
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21576423-home-worlds-first-stock-exchange-now-
high-frequency-heartland-dutch
WHO IS IMC CHICAGO?
• Started in 2000
• Employees: 150
• Initially traded equity options on
CBOE trading floor in open outcry and
electronically via handhelds.
• 2005: Moved off the floor and traded 100%
electronically once remote market making
became allowed.
• Occupy the 43rd floor at the Willis Tower
WHAT DO WE DO
• Proprietary trading firm and key market maker in various products listed on
exchanges throughout the world
• Short-term, high frequency strategies broadly categorized into:
• Market making or liquidity providing
• Statistical arbitrage
• Pure arbitrage
• How do we do this?
• State of the art technology in both hardware and software. E.g. exchange
colocations, low latency connections, proprietary software etc.
• Automated algorithms to identify opportunities, assess risk, execute trades
and support analysis
OUR TECHNOLOGY
• Development Environment
• Primarily Java and C++ but will utilize the best technology for the job
• Agile development --- continuous improvement and rapid feedback toward
adding value to the business
• Developers and Engineers work very closely with
traders
• Direct impact on bottom line
• Results can be seen immediately in our trading results
• Global teams
• Continuously communicating with developers and engineers from global
offices
• Software and systems are the core of our business
• Being a proprietary organization, this is critical to our success!
SOME FACTS ABOUT OUR TRADING
Options
• Top 5 market maker in the world
• Trade a very large percentage of options volume
• Invest heavily in technology---we are the fastest
Other Products
• We have access to all equity exchanges and have access to dark pools
• Top 5 market makers on NYSE Arca
• Of all the products out there, we have the most ETFs
• One of the largest futures traders on the CME
• Make markets in all types of products—financial to oil to currencies
OUR CULTURE
• “Flat Structure”
• Idea matters - not title or position
• Global
• Expat employee of the year
• Celebrating in and out of the
office• Annual company trip
• Friday happy hours
• Frequent team building events
• Always learning• We cannot grow if we cannot learn
• Performance driven• Challenging problems, but solving is
rewarding
• Teamwork• Sharing ideas and working together
HOW DO WE HAVE FUN?
Tickets to concerts:
• Rihanna
• Pearl Jam
• Swedish House Mafia
• Jon Bon Jovi
Tickets to professional sporting events:
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Chicago Cubs
• Chicago White Sox
• Chicago Bulls
• Chicago Fire
IMC sponsored athletic activities:
• Chase Corporate Challenge 5k
• March to College 5k
• Beach volleyball, basketball, soccer and
running clubs
Company trip locations:
• Miami
• Las Vegas
• Phoenix
• Austin
• New Orleans
Company outings:
• BBQ’s
• Arlington Racetrack
• Boat cruise
Individual team outings:
• Medieval Times
• Jetski on Lake Michigan
• Paintballing
• Whirly ball
IMC CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
• Focus on improving educational achievement, life skills and aspirations for
disadvantaged youth in the communities in which IMC works
• All IMC employees volunteer time & donate percentage of variable
remuneration
• Examples: IMC Weekend School, the partnership of the Chicago office with
several elementary schools, Sky High educational project in Sydney
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Day #1: Career begins with a Global Training Program in Amsterdam• Trading and Development school (classroom based)
• Global training follow up for continued learning
• Background in finance not required
• Learn from the best
• Group work and technical coaching
• Learn our systems and strategy
On-Going development• Mentor program
• On the desk training
• Tuition reimbursement
• In-house tech talks with accredited
professors and authors
OUR OPEN POSITIONS• Traders
• Software Developers
• Engineers
Application Process
• Submit resume via our website
• Aptitude testing
• Series of interviews
CONTACT INFO
IMC Financial Markets
233 S. Wacker Drive
Suite 4300
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 244-3324
Apply here: http://www.imc-chicago.com/Financial-
markets/Offices/Chicago/Career-opportunities/