Your edge sits with your people. We hire them in private.
Senior trading, quantitative research, engineering and risk hires for market makers and proprietary trading firms across TradFi and digital assets.
The best traders and researchers do not take recruiter calls. They take ours.
Movement in this market runs on trust, timing and the non-compete calendar. We track all three. Candidates speak to us because we have never exposed a conversation.
Every shortlist is built from direct conversations. We verify P&L attribution, strategy ownership and restrictive covenants before a name reaches you.
Senior mandates across Market Makers & Prop Trading.
Trading
Quant & Engineering
Risk & Operations
Three things decide whether a hire here works.
Proven, attributable P&L
Track records that hold up under questioning, with a clear line between the individual and the desk.
Covenant-aware planning
Non-competes, notice periods and garden leave mapped early, so the offer lands when the candidate is free.
Engineering depth
Engineers who have built trading systems where microseconds matter, and can prove it in the code review.
We are not incentivised to place. We are incentivised to be right.
Relationship depth. No noise.
We work from relationships built over years in these markets. Our shortlists come from people we know personally.
Private signal. No public data.
Market intelligence drawn from confidential conversations with the people doing the work.
Senior-led. No delegation.
The person who takes your brief runs your search, makes every approach and sits in every key conversation.
The search firm that says no.
If the role is mis-scoped, the compensation is off or the candidate is wrong for you, we say so. This costs us fees. It is also why people call us back.
What clients and candidates say about working with us.
“Spearpoint has been a trusted partner on some of our most critical leadership searches. Their market knowledge, professionalism and access to hard-to-reach talent have consistently delivered exceptional results.”
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Sam is one of the most connected people in the market. Every candidate he brought us was exactly who he said they would be.”
“Sam and the team were instrumental in facilitating a board appointment I was a part of. Throughout the process they demonstrated professionalism, discretion, and a strong network across both the public and private sectors.”
Three ways we work with Market Makers & Prop Trading firms.
Leadership Search
Retained search for the hires that set direction. Board, C-suite and senior leadership.
Specialist Search
Staff and principal engineers, senior researchers and principal product leaders.
Market Intelligence
Compensation benchmarks, talent maps and competitor insight from confidential conversations.
Questions clients ask about trading and quant hiring.
What roles do you hire for at market makers and prop trading firms?
Heads of Market Making and Trading, senior traders, Heads of Quantitative Research, quant researchers, staff and principal quant engineers, low-latency engineers, Chief Risk Officers and trading operations leadership.
How do you handle non-competes and garden leave?
We map restrictive covenants, notice periods and garden leave at the start of the search, so the offer lands when the candidate is free to join.
How do you verify a trader's track record?
We check P&L attribution, strategy ownership and restrictive covenants before a name reaches you, and separate individual contribution from desk performance.
Do you hire for crypto market makers?
Yes. We hire across TradFi and digital assets, including execution talent moving between traditional and crypto venues.
Can you benchmark compensation for trading and quant roles?
Yes. Market makers are covered in our compensation guide at spearpointsearch.com/resources/salary-guide, and we provide role-specific benchmarks as part of each search.
What is retained executive search?
A retained search is an exclusive mandate. We work only on your role, map the whole market, approach candidates directly and stay on the search until the hire starts. A contingent recruiter is paid only on placement, which rewards speed over fit.
How long does a search take?
Our standard timeline is 8 working weeks from signature to offer. Approaches go live in week 1, you receive a written shortlist in week 4, and your interviews run in weeks 5 to 7. Notice periods then set the start date.
How are your fees structured?
The fee is a percentage of first-year total compensation, paid in two parts. A retainer is due on signature and covers the market map and shortlist. The balance is due when the candidate starts. If we miss the agreed shortlist date, the retainer is refunded in full.
What happens if a hire does not work out?
If no shortlisted candidate reaches second interview, we restart the search once at no further fee. If the hire leaves within the guarantee period agreed in the mandate, we replace them at no fee.
Where do you run searches?
We work from offices in London and Dubai and run searches globally. Every approach is made in confidence, by the person running your search.
The most important hires in electronic markets happen in private. We handle those.
Or call +44 (0)20 3873 9433
London · Dubai