Market Taking — Quantitative Trader/Researcher

Arm: Market Taking · Places: 4 per team · Team size: 7

About QTE

Queen's Tower Exchange is a financial-markets simulation for Imperial College London students. You will test decisions against live market data and other student teams using simulated capital.

Responsibilities

• Form research questions and gather evidence for possible trading opportunities.
• Define entry and exit conditions, holding periods, risks and likely costs.
• Test ideas using data or structured market research.
• Monitor positions and compare live outcomes with your original expectations.
• Recommend changes or closures when evidence weakens, and document what you learned.

What success looks like

Clear research, disciplined trading decisions and honest review of results. The whole desk is scored on risk-adjusted returns and net profit and loss after costs. A promising price difference only becomes a profitable trade if both entry and exit work.

• Comfort working with numbers and interpreting evidence.
• Basic statistics or experience carrying out structured research.
• Curiosity about markets and the ability to explain a view clearly.
• Willingness to challenge apparent patterns and admit when a hypothesis fails.

Previous trading experience is not required. Coding is helpful for systematic research but is not a prerequisite for every research approach.

Useful, but not required

Python, spreadsheets, economic research, financial news analysis or time-series projects.

Much of your learning will take place during a dedicated training week, held after teams are selected and before trading begins. Your Head of Arm will deliver lectures exclusively for the teams in your arm, giving you a strong grounding in the concepts and tools you will use in your role.

• How equity trading, order types and the QTE market work.
• How to test an idea without relying on hindsight or ignoring costs.
• Position sizing, exposure limits and how to manage a losing trade.
• How spreads, order delays, available liquidity and partial fills affect execution.
• How to register strategies and review their live performance.