Updating Results

Optiver

4.5
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Andrew Dai

I learn something new every day and this fuels my motivation to continue being curious to develop entrepreneurial ideas and innovative solutions.

What first attracted you to the role?

Market Risk at Optiver is an exciting opportunity to be directly involved in financial markets by overseeing the fast-paced and dynamic trading environment at a leading market maker. I wanted to apply my quantitative background and analytical skills to work on challenging problems in the risk arena, which led to my interest in the role.

What does your role entail?

Daily monitoring of trading positions, ensuring they are within risk limits and scenario analysis of adverse market events for existing and new strategies which introduce emerging risks. It also includes updating risk frameworks to cover any new market, credit and/or liquidity related risks we are exposed to.

What are some of the projects you are working on (non-confidential)?

One major project is the incoming Investment Firms Regulation, which is a prudential regime that applies to all EU investment firms. This requires judiciously analysing which positions fall within the scope of the regulation, applying relevant risk factors to calculate a requirement for capital to hold against risks we face as an investment firm. The project was challenging as it involved understanding traders positions and strategies, communicating monitoring requirements to developers to build advanced tools whilst collaborating with my Optiver peers globally on the implementation and repercussions of the regulation.

How do you start your day at Optiver?

Check the overnight macro news and send out morning reports to stakeholders highlighting any positions of concern across the business.

What do you love about your work?

It’s a truly dynamic role, you get to interact with all parts of the business in the market risk function. Your day-to-day is driven by market conditions and analysing market impacts, but you also deep dive into a diverse range of products and strategies to help develop improved risk management tools.

What key skills are required?

Having a critical mindset, being able to think analytically with attention to detail and being able to communicate effectively are all relevant skills to ensure that we are appropriately challenging the opinions of traders whilst managing the risk-reward and risk appetite across the company.

What keeps you motivated?

Being supported by a collaborative team to solve problems that have an impact on the business and more broadly in the financial markets. I learn something new every day and this fuels my motivation to continue being curious to develop entrepreneurial ideas and innovative solutions.

Do you have interests outside of work that help you in your role?

I like learning languages, currently Mandarin, Korean and French, the first two of which are helpful for understanding the news in the Asian regions. It’s also beneficial for cultural and political understanding which has helped me better evaluate the risk scenarios which can affect our positions.