Trading firms use sophisticated investing strategies and algorithms to buy and sell stocks, commodities, foreign currencies and other financial instruments.
Some trading firms, like hedge funds, trade on behalf of their clients, while proprietary trading firms, or prop trading firms, trade using their own capital. Because these firms deal in large volumes, they often become a “market maker” that buys and sells assets to other traders. By facilitating these deals, market makers provide liquidity that’s vital to the health and efficiency of financial markets.
Top Trading Firms
- Virtu Financial
- DRW
- Optiver
- Hudson River Trading
- Two Sigma
- Jump Trading
- IMC Trading
- Jane Street
In the list below, we introduce you to 20 prominent trading firms in the financial sector.
20 Trading Firms to Know
Virtu Financial is a market maker that buys and sells more than 25,000 securities in more than 235 venues. It provides liquidity to clients in global equities, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and fixed income markets, among others. The firm, which was founded in 2008, also provides technology, analytics and execution services to clients.
DRW is one of the largest trading and market making firms, executing 1 million trades per day. With a team of roughly 2,000 employees, DRW uses modeling, proprietary trading software and quantitative research to provide liquidity across a variety of markets, like ETFs, options, futures and commodities. The firm, which was founded in 1992, has also launched subsidiaries in the cryptocurrency, venture capital and real estate markets.
Optiver, founded in Amsterdam in 1986, is one of the oldest and largest market making firms in the financial sector. The company, which has nearly 2,000 employees in 11 offices, provides liquidity to institutional investors across the options, derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign exchange markets.
Hudson River Trading is a quantitative trading firm that develops automated trading algorithms using advanced mathematical techniques. Founded in 2002, the company employs more than 800 mathematicians, computer scientists, statisticians and engineers in 10 offices worldwide. The company trades in multiple asset classes on more than 200 markets.
Two Sigma is a hedge fund and market maker with more than $60 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2001, the New York company uses data science, artificial intelligence and distributed computing to develop market insights and execute trades. Two Sigma has more than 2,000 employees in seven offices around the world.
Jump Trading is a proprietary trading firm that leverages AI, machine learning and high-performance computing in their research to develop predictive trading models. Founded in Chicago in 1999, the firm has roughly 1,500 employees across 12 global offices. In 2021, it launched Jump Crypto, a cryptocurrency trading business.
IMC Trading, which was founded in Amsterdam in 1989, is a market maker that buys and sells more than 200,000 securities in more than 100 venues around the world. With 1,500 employees across nine global offices, IMC uses software and trading algorithms to buy and sell securities at more competitive rates, particularly in the ETF and options markets.
Proprietary trading firm Jane Street is known as a lead market maker in the ETF space, but it has also become a major player in the equities, bond and options markets across more than 200 electronic exchanges. Established in 2000, the New York-based firm has a team of more than 2,600 employees across five offices.
Founded in 1987, Susquehanna International Group has a team of more than 3,000 employees, making it one of the largest proprietary trading firms in the world. Specializing in derivatives, the firm trades across nearly every asset class, including options, equities, commodities, energy and cryptocurrency.
XR Trading is a proprietary market-making firm that leverages technology, quantitative research and automated trading. The Chicago-based firm started in 2002 in the fixed income space and is now a leader in the derivatives marketplace. The firm also provides liquidity across the global futures, equities, commodities, options and cryptocurrency markets.
Tower Research Capital is a proprietary trading firm that develops automated trading platforms. Founded in 1998, the company has more than 1,000 employees across 11 global offices. The high-frequency trading company trades across a wide range of asset classes using automated and quantitative strategies.
Flow Traders is a proprietary trading firm that serves as market maker on stock exchanges while also providing liquidity to more than 2,000 institutional counterparties off-exchange. Specializing in exchange traded products (ETPs), the Amsterdam-based firm trades across a variety of markets, including equities, commodities, foreign currencies and digital assets. Flow Traders has more than 600 employees across 10 worldwide offices.
Millennium Management is a hedge fund and alternative investments firm with $67.7 billion in assets under management. The firm averages more than 10 million trades per day using quantitative strategies in the equities, commodities and fixed income markets. Founded in 1989, Millennium has more than 5,600 employees across 18 primary offices.
Wolverine Trading is a proprietary trading firm that acts as a market maker across a variety of securities and derivatives, including equities, futures, ETFs and cash bonds. Founded in 1994, the Chicago-based company has branch offices in New York, San Francisco and London. The firm’s parent company, Wolverine, operates businesses that specialize in asset management, order execution services and technology solutions.
Belvedere Trading is a proprietary trading firm and market maker specializing in equity index and commodity derivatives. Founded in 2002, the firm sets itself apart with its proprietary modeling and pricing technology. The company employs nearly 300 people across its offices in Chicago, Boulder, New York and Singapore.
Akuna Capital is a proprietary trading firm that acts as an options market maker, buying and selling options for indices, commodities, currencies and treasuries. The firm opened its first office in Chicago in 2011 and has since expanded to Sydney, Shanghai and London. Akuna employs more than 400 people specializing in quantitative research, development, trading and IT infrastructure.
Chicago Trading Company is a proprietary trading firm that employs a team of more than 350 traders, quants and technologists. The derivatives firm trades across a variety of assets, including equities, interest rates and commodities. The firm was founded in Chicago in 1995 and has since expanded its operations with offices in London, Boulder and New York.
3Red Partners is a proprietary trading firm that uses technology and quantitative research to trade a variety of assets from equity futures to commodities. The company, which is headquartered in Chicago, employs professionals with backgrounds in computer science, data science, mathematics, statistics and physics.
DV Trading is a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm that uses its proprietary trading software to trade futures, equities, options, securities and cryptocurrency. The company was founded in 2006 as part of a brokerage firm, and it spun out as its own entity in 2016. DV Trading is part of the DV Group, which employs more than 450 people across businesses specializing in cryptocurrency, investment management and more.
Founded in 1998, Quantlab was an early leader in using high-performance computing to develop sophisticated trading algorithms. The proprietary firm specializes in automated, high-frequency trading in the equities and futures markets. Quantlab is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, Austin and Singapore.
