Discussion: Do HFT Traders Like Their Work?
In our blog, we write a lot about the development of trading robots and high-frequency trading, consider the related technological issues and discuss real life examples. However, until now we have not touched yet another, but extremely important question - how satisfied are HFT-traders themselves with their work? Quora users decided to discuss this topic, and we present to your attention the most complete and interesting answer to the discussion.
Its author is Nexie Hua (Nancy Hua), who is now working on her own Apptimize project, and previously she had been involved in HFT trading for about five years at GETCO, where she got involved after studying at MIT. The girl spoke about what she had to face in the workplace ( note: the following discussion deals with working for an HFT company, and not the impressions of an individual trader ).
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According to Hua, from the point of view of the application of intelligence, the work of the high-frequency trader is both good and difficult. A lot of mathematics, game theory, economics, technology, computer technology and engineering problems. High-frequency trading is “mixed up” on a huge amount of data with which you need to be able to work.
According to Nancy, the work in HFT is most similar to the work on the Google search engine - a trader needs to look for signals that can predict market movements in the same way as Google searches for signals that illustrate the interests of users. Both of these tasks are resource intensive and have a serious infrastructure. Hua is convinced that in comparison with work in technology start-ups, HFT is a much more complex and demanding activity.
In HFT, you need to be an entrepreneur: no one will tell the trader what to do, because there are many approaches to solving problems and many solutions that need to be analyzed. There is no need to constantly “keep face” or wear a suit, the whole thing is the result, which speaks for itself - it's money.
Trading, according to Hua, is humility and curiosity, the desire to test your own ideas. A person always wants to surround himself with like-minded people who value his ideas, but trading on a modern stock exchange is testing new opportunities and identifying theories that did not work in reality.
Competition and a low entry threshold give the best of ideas a chance for success - this is the most honest professional environment, writes Hua. If ideas work, they bring money. And if they do not work, then it does not matter how high the position of the employee is - the money will be lost. Only in the HFT, any undergraduate undergraduate has the same chance of becoming a leading trader, just like the people who have these connections.
HFT gives immediate feedback. Trading models are either profitable or not. This can be found out within a few weeks, while in many other industries it may take years to ascertain the effectiveness of one or another idea. And according to Nancy, the instant result is one of the most enjoyable sides of the HFT.
Trading is a constant struggle, because a rapidly changing market constantly creates interesting and complex problems that need to be addressed. Changes happen all the time, there is simply no time to be bored - for many people this is an important aspect.
On the other hand, HFT is an extremely competitive industry. As much as high-frequency traders like to distinguish themselves from other finance workers, they try to differentiate themselves from other types of traders and separate themselves into separate castes, because the whole industry is similar to gangs of gangsters, because it deals with huge amounts of money and is tied to secrecy and competition.
HFT has a bad media reputation, and this is not surprising, given that financial news misinforms, breeds controversy and provokes anger and outrage. Trading is difficult, most people do not know much about finance, but the financial system affects the lives of everyone, so news of this often appears in the media.
When such esteemed people as Mark Cuban (American American entrepreneur Mark Cuban) and such famous magazines as The Economist write about the dangers posed by high-frequency trading, what remains for the rest of the world? In some cases, such pressure from the public may, on the contrary, additionally motivate traders who truly understand the nature of things, but this is not always the case.
These same difficulties arise in relationships outside the team, for example, trying to explain to your mom what you are doing, or tell her how much you are doing. Some friends may be joking about trading, and we must try not to pay attention to it, says Hua. Otherwise, you need to become, for example, a pediatric oncologist, so that it is obvious that what you are doing benefits the world.
It is difficult for people to understand why such large-scale resources that are pumped into high-frequency trading are used to speed up transactions for the next couple of microseconds, Hua writes. And this is the main problem, however, in the opinion of the former HFT trader, future changes on the stock exchanges and in the microstructures of the market can make such an arms race meaningless.
Its author is Nexie Hua (Nancy Hua), who is now working on her own Apptimize project, and previously she had been involved in HFT trading for about five years at GETCO, where she got involved after studying at MIT. The girl spoke about what she had to face in the workplace ( note: the following discussion deals with working for an HFT company, and not the impressions of an individual trader ).
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How the work is built
According to Hua, from the point of view of the application of intelligence, the work of the high-frequency trader is both good and difficult. A lot of mathematics, game theory, economics, technology, computer technology and engineering problems. High-frequency trading is “mixed up” on a huge amount of data with which you need to be able to work.
According to Nancy, the work in HFT is most similar to the work on the Google search engine - a trader needs to look for signals that can predict market movements in the same way as Google searches for signals that illustrate the interests of users. Both of these tasks are resource intensive and have a serious infrastructure. Hua is convinced that in comparison with work in technology start-ups, HFT is a much more complex and demanding activity.
Unlike working in banks or consulting, in high-frequency trading they do not create presentations and do not talk with clients.
In HFT, you need to be an entrepreneur: no one will tell the trader what to do, because there are many approaches to solving problems and many solutions that need to be analyzed. There is no need to constantly “keep face” or wear a suit, the whole thing is the result, which speaks for itself - it's money.
HFT is a permanent challenge.
Trading, according to Hua, is humility and curiosity, the desire to test your own ideas. A person always wants to surround himself with like-minded people who value his ideas, but trading on a modern stock exchange is testing new opportunities and identifying theories that did not work in reality.
Competition and a low entry threshold give the best of ideas a chance for success - this is the most honest professional environment, writes Hua. If ideas work, they bring money. And if they do not work, then it does not matter how high the position of the employee is - the money will be lost. Only in the HFT, any undergraduate undergraduate has the same chance of becoming a leading trader, just like the people who have these connections.
HFT gives immediate feedback. Trading models are either profitable or not. This can be found out within a few weeks, while in many other industries it may take years to ascertain the effectiveness of one or another idea. And according to Nancy, the instant result is one of the most enjoyable sides of the HFT.
Trading is a constant struggle, because a rapidly changing market constantly creates interesting and complex problems that need to be addressed. Changes happen all the time, there is simply no time to be bored - for many people this is an important aspect.
On the other hand, HFT is an extremely competitive industry. As much as high-frequency traders like to distinguish themselves from other finance workers, they try to differentiate themselves from other types of traders and separate themselves into separate castes, because the whole industry is similar to gangs of gangsters, because it deals with huge amounts of money and is tied to secrecy and competition.
Even the person in your company is a direct competitor.
The job is complicated by the bad reputation of the industry.
HFT has a bad media reputation, and this is not surprising, given that financial news misinforms, breeds controversy and provokes anger and outrage. Trading is difficult, most people do not know much about finance, but the financial system affects the lives of everyone, so news of this often appears in the media.
When such esteemed people as Mark Cuban (American American entrepreneur Mark Cuban) and such famous magazines as The Economist write about the dangers posed by high-frequency trading, what remains for the rest of the world? In some cases, such pressure from the public may, on the contrary, additionally motivate traders who truly understand the nature of things, but this is not always the case.
Communication difficulties
When even people with masters degrees do not fully understand how stock markets work, or how important they are for the global economy, it is not surprising that most of your friends do not know what automated markets do or how they help consumers. When people ask about your work, and you answer that you are an algorithmic trader, the interlocutor already has an erroneous opinion, often negative.
These same difficulties arise in relationships outside the team, for example, trying to explain to your mom what you are doing, or tell her how much you are doing. Some friends may be joking about trading, and we must try not to pay attention to it, says Hua. Otherwise, you need to become, for example, a pediatric oncologist, so that it is obvious that what you are doing benefits the world.
It is difficult for people to understand why such large-scale resources that are pumped into high-frequency trading are used to speed up transactions for the next couple of microseconds, Hua writes. And this is the main problem, however, in the opinion of the former HFT trader, future changes on the stock exchanges and in the microstructures of the market can make such an arms race meaningless.
In any case, HFT is just a business, and such aspects are just one of its characteristics. This is a young field, the best practices and regulatory documents for which are still being developed. So such things should not affect whether a person likes his work.
Other materials on the topic from ITinvest :
- IT-vacancies from ITinvest ( Matrix trading system administrator, QORT administrator , lead programmer );
- Online Trading: How to become a developer of systems for trading on the exchange
- What a programmer should be able to get a job in finance
- How to recognize a person's emotions in his face: A test for employees of financial companies
- The conditions under which the financiers work: A tour of the offices of Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/395879/
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