Interview
#5 - Alex Gordon-Brown on how to donate millions in your 20s working in quantitative trading
- Income in quantitative trading is predicted to plateau within five to ten years, with the top 20 percent of staff earning at least seven figures and high performers potentially reaching tens of millions, allowing for annual donations of hundreds of thousands within the first two years and seven figures within five years.
- The industry culture is expected to remain open, pleasant, and puzzle-solving oriented with minimal overt wealth markers, though firms will maintain strict secrecy regarding strategies to outsiders while fostering internal sharing and quantifying of assumptions.
- Market operations involve fixed hours with Asian and Chinese markets closing quickly, US markets opening later to create continuous activity, and an emphasis on being fast enough to defend against sniping rather than engaging in a race for extreme speed, which is viewed as a shrinking, competitive fraction of the industry.
- Recruitment processes will vary by firm and favor problem-solving skills over competency questions, with pass rates estimated between 25 and 65 percent, requiring candidates to have strong math or CS/physics backgrounds, good team fit, and the ability to communicate ideas and admit mistakes quickly.
- Automated systems are anticipated to improve handling non-ideal world scenarios, and while top technical talent is prioritized, the industry acts as a selection effect filtering for rationality, with many mathematically skilled individuals finding they lack personal fit for roles in research or policy.
- Market makers are expected to remain vital for liquidity, particularly in less competitive markets, providing value at a marginally cheaper rate, though they will naturally avoid markets with extreme theoretical liquidity where no profit can be made.
- Employment exits are predicted to be driven primarily by personal dissatisfaction rather than firm dismissal, with leavers often moving to other finance firms, tech companies, or startups, while early retirements or nonprofit moves may be difficult to identify later.
- The effective altruism community is expected to provide social incentives for continued donating, and individuals are encouraged to view job applications as a low-risk investment with opportunities to revisit career decisions after a couple of years.