Susquehanna International Group

Susquehanna International Group
Privately held company, Partnership
Industry Global Investment, Trading, Financial Services
Founded 1987
Founder Jeff Yass, Arthur Dantchik, Steve Bloom, Eric Brooks, Andrew Frost and Joel Greenberg
Headquarters Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, USA
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Market maker, Institutional Brokerage, Private Equity
Number of employees
 1,500+
Website www.sig.com

Susquehanna International Group (SIG) is a privately held global investment, trading and technology firm servicing securities markets worldwide. SIG comprises a number of affiliated entities specializing in trading and proprietary investments in equities, fixed income, energy, commodity, index and derivative products, private equity and venture capital, research, customer trading and institutional sales. Susquehanna is probably best known for expertise in derivatives pricing and trading, especially equity options.

SIG is a specialist or DPM (designated primary market maker) in approximately 600 equity options and 45 index options on the CBOE, AMEX, PHLX, and ISE, including big name equities such as Google, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, GE, PepsiCo, and Microsoft and indices such as Nasdaq and Russell 2000 options.[1]

SIG's headquarters office is in Bala Cynwyd, a western suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The firm employs more than 1,500 people in offices across North America (New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston), Australia (Sydney), Europe (Dublin), China (Shanghai, Beijing，Hong Kong). SIG is one of the largest employers in Lower Merion Township.[2]

The Company

SIG was founded in 1987 by Jeff Yass, Arthur Dantchik, Steve Bloom, Eric Brooks, Andrew Frost and Joel Greenberg. The six original partners remain principal owners of the business. Yass and Dantchik are actively involved in the firm's trading strategies on a daily basis. Frost supervises private equity investments.[3] SIG’s operations extend across North America, Europe, and Asia. They trade essentially all listed financial products and asset classes in markets around the world.[4] SIG's domestic and international market making, specialist and electronic trading operations are among the most sophisticated in the industry, ranking SIG among the leading liquidity providers thanks to its operations at exchanges including the Chicago Board Options Exchange.[5] SIG ranks 1st in the best financial services companies to work for by Forbes.[6]

Poker

Poker and other games are an important part of the SIG company culture. The founders and senior traders believe that poker teaches lessons on risk taking that are applicable to trading in financial markets. SIG hosts an internal poker tournament annually and has even used poker as a recruiting tool. The company employs Bill Chen, a World Series of Poker star, in its quantitative trading group.[7]

Assistant Trader Program

The Assistant Trader (AT) program develops traders for positions in the market making and trading businesses. An AT will be introduced to the financial markets through a combination of practical training on a trading desk that is supported with ongoing theoretical classroom instruction.

The AT will be assigned to a trading desk to support the daily activities for ongoing trading. He/She will work directly with a trader who is available to answer questions and provide feedback. Two senior traders teach the theoretical classroom education, which is the core of the program. Simulated trading sessions and classes that highlight the key elements of trading make up the program’s curriculum. Class topics include option theory, decision science, corporate finance, game theory, and market structure.

Upon completion of the AT program (which typically lasts anywhere from 9 to 18 months), all ATs will attend the formal ten-week SIG Market Maker Class, which is the final step before becoming a trader at SIG.[8]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cboe.com/publish/ScheduledTask/MktData/cboesymboldir2.csv
  2. ↑ "Principle Employers of Lower Merion, PA (2009)". Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ↑ http://www.sig-china.com/OurTeam.asp?Lang=en&id=6
  4. ↑ http://www.sig.com/products.aspx
  5. ↑ http://www.cboe.com/micro/commodity/introduction.aspx
  6. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/07/31/the-best-financial-services-companies-to-work-for/
  7. ↑ http://www.billchenpoker.com
  8. ↑ http://www.sig.com/Campus/AssistantTraderProgram.aspx
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