Graduate Trader Programme 2020

Graduate Trader Programme 2020

Mako has always placed a high level of importance one the development of junior traders, most of whom continue the journey onto senior trading within The Mako Group and beyond. The direct access to senior traders and their expertise, alongside a learning and mentorship focused culture, has proved terrifically successful for over 20 years.

This organic growth has served us well but as the complexities of the markets evolve and external expertise becomes more important, the need for new skillsets, such as programming and strong mathematical ability, along with a continuously fresh approach, are key to the evolution of trading at Mako.

We are delighted to relaunch our Graduate Trader programme for 2020 and glad to welcome our 8 new graduates who begin their journeys at Mako today. Due to social distancing guidelines this year’s programme will be partly office based and partly virtual.

The diversity of our trading strategies requires a combination of different skillsets and personalities; we are excited to welcome our new graduates bringing just that across a wide variety of geographical locations.

Due to Covid-19, this year’s hiring process has been extremely challenging with over 1000 applications, 70 first round and 20 second round interviews. All of which were conducted over a four month period. This has however given us the opportunity to recruit from a truly global talent pool which reflects the growing ambitions of Mako and the markets we trade in.

Our training programme is designed to equip entrant traders with the tools needed to develop their skills in problem solving, decision making and self-discipline. We take pride in the collaborative culture at Mako and look forward to their contribution in improving what we do every day.

Highlights of the Programme:

Global: All graduates from around the various offices will come together for a 2 week introduction and classroom based training plan. Due to Covid, this year’s graduates will complete this portion from their local offices. This will involve an introduction to Mako and its various departments, completion of compliance online tests and presentations by senior traders on their business areas. Graduates will also take classes on building performance, leadership and a one week intensive options theory class.

Local: The graduates will then return to their country based offices to embark on a 10 week mixed classroom/desk based training with various projects set and overseen by the relevant desks. They will have the unique opportunity to experience each trading unit, sitting beside experienced traders on a 1 week rotation over 8 trading desks. There will be additional classroom learning, mock trading and game theory classes every week.

          -     This period will include several fun events to help our graduates get to know each other and their local colleagues better

Desk: On successful completion of the 12 week period, the graduates will be allocated onto a trading desk where they will start an intense learning period (mostly desk based) for 15 to 18 months. This will involve day to day trade booking and allocations,reconciliations and trade reporting. Weekly mock trading, trader taught lectures and constant evaluations will continue for the entire period.

Mako is looking for people with great promise, we are serious about investing in a long term vision for them as future leaders and specialists within the Mako group.

We start our search for the 2021 graduate intake in October.

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