Two ways to trade options
The Options arm has separate market-making and market-taking competitions, with three teams in each. Both trade the published options chains on SPY and AAPL, using live market data and exchange-provided marks and Greeks.
Market making
Market makers set bid and ask quotes, choose size and manage inventory across the obligated contracts. The challenge is to provide competitive prices while controlling exposure to the underlying, volatility and time. Teams must meet the published two-sided quoting requirements throughout eligible trading time.
Market taking
Options takers research volatility, relative value and pricing opportunities without a continuous quoting obligation. They select contracts and size trades to the available liquidity and risk capacity, then review results after execution, hedging and carrying costs.
Managing the whole position
Both groups manage gross exposure, delta, gamma and vega together. Stock trades are permitted only as qualifying hedges in the matching underlying: SPY for SPY options and AAPL for AAPL options. A stock hedge can reduce delta while leaving volatility and gamma risk in the portfolio.
Teams plan around daily strike windows and monthly contract changeovers. Contracts leaving the active window become reducing-only, and positions follow scheduled wind-down rules before expiry. The simulation does not use exercise or assignment.
Tools and performance
QTE provides option chains, pricing, Greeks, risk views and a strategy runtime. Teams develop their own models, signals, quoting and hedging algorithms.
Market-making scores combine risk-adjusted returns (35%), edge retention (25%), vega-weighted market share (25%) and risk discipline (15%). Taking scores combine risk-adjusted returns (70%) and net profit and loss (30%). The sub-arms are ranked separately; books reset each term and annual scores average the three terms.
Who this suits
Students interested in derivatives, probability, quantitative research and programming, who enjoy reasoning about several interacting risks.
Team structure
6 teams · 7 members per team · 42 members total
Options Market Making
3 teams · 21 members total
- Head of Desk — 1 per team
- Quantitative Trader/Researcher — 4 per team
- Quantitative Developer — 2 per team
Options Taking
3 teams · 21 members total
- Head of Desk — 1 per team
- Quantitative Trader/Researcher — 4 per team
- Quantitative Developer — 2 per team