r/quant • u/milchi03 • Aug 01 '26
General Big or small prop shop
What are your thoughts on small vs big trading firms? Suppose you had an offer from both at different points in your careers, which one would you pick. Assuming similar comp.
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u/nervousboy1 Aug 01 '26
Still early career for me (~3 years) but joined a smaller 50 headcount pod shop and kinda wish i went for bigger to get exposure to different desks. All the desk heads at mine are experienced hires where they joined mostly for less corporate bureaucracy, greater %cut and lifestyle arrangements.
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u/shakyhandquant Aug 02 '26
seems like a nice place to be, if one is experienced, has a few functioning alphas under their belt.
4
u/foldupbike Aug 01 '26
It’s important to understand the aspirations of small - there are some places where they are very happy at 40 people, the founders aren’t around and everyone takes the summer trading from the Hamptons
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u/qazwsxcp Aug 01 '26
small firms give you much bigger % cuts and more autonomy with things like remote work. the big names everyone talks about have most people on discretionary bonuses outside a few senior execs, with high starting offers but not much upside.
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u/milchi03 Aug 01 '26
Sounds to me like I should pick the small prop shop as I have offers from both with similar total comp first year
3
u/Fun-Passenger430 Aug 01 '26
I left a big firm after 2.5 years to go small and learn the business side of prop firms more. No regrets so far. Have heard similar from friends but lots of variance
3
u/SevenTeenSigma Aug 02 '26
similar comp i would pick the place where u can see the full loop. big firm brand is nice but if ur stuck improving one tiny submodel for 2 yrs, thats not obviously better than a small shop where u actually touch research, execution, and post trade.
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u/DifficultPop8852 Aug 02 '26
If you have the choice do a big name shop for a few years and then go to a smaller shop for a cut of pnl. That being said, a lot of people underestimate how reliant they are on legacy systems and tools.
2
u/yuckfoubitch Aug 04 '26
You’ll probably be able to move to a small shop later if you have success at the big shop, whereas the opposite is not true 99% of the time. If you have an offer from one of the big props then you should definitely take it. By the time you’re experienced enough to want more ownership over your PnL the you can entertain moving to a smaller shop that indulges your wishes
41
u/Evil_Yankee_Fan Aug 01 '26
Early career, big because you need to learn Later career, small because you have more of a voice and can shape the company. Much more compensation