Susquehanna and the Option Gods: Hiding in Plain Sight

“The problems are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have known since long.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Who are the buy-side’s smartest and most powerful players today?

Alphacution is working towards a clear answer to this question. Not just a list, but a ranking of the top players in global markets today – starting with the buy-side.

Chances are high that the players that earn their way onto such a list – and, rise towards the top – are going to deploy a lot of technology to create a ton of automation (and, speed) to trade a big list of names across product classes, asset classes, regions and complementary strategies.

Skipping a more detailed description and justification for now about the qualifications for our “Buy-side Leaderboard,” one thing’s for sure: The smartest and most powerful players on the buy-side are skilled in derivatives trading. Trading options, in particular, vs. not trading options, is like the difference between 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional chess. Mathematically, it’s like the difference between curved lines and straight lines; or, motion vs. standing still.

Now, our current modeling focus is in the process of assembling the broader evidence, however, having just completed our Citadel / Citadel Securities case study – wherein a lot of the success and prowess comes as a result of options market making – we’ve come away with the impression that they are the team to beat. That in closest proximity to the sources of liquidity, Citadel’s dominance is tough to deny and tougher to compete with.

Which is why we are excited to dig into the data about Susquehanna…

Now, if you’re wondering who else we might have set in our sights, you could potentially identify some of the research targets in the cloud below…

Watch this space…

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Case Study: Citadel, LLC (~ Q1-2019) Case Study: All-Time Top 10 Hedge Fund Managers, Ranked by Profits (~ Q2-2019) Case Study: Top Proprietary Trading Firms (~ Q3-2019) Case Study: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (~ Q4-2019)

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Note: Business credit cards and bank accounts can be used via our PayPal payment portal.

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