The Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG) is a privately held global investment, trading and technology firm servicing securities

Security (finance)

A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...

 markets worldwide. SIG comprises a number of affiliated entities specializing in trading and proprietary investments in equities

Equity (finance)

In accounting and finance, equity is the residual claim or interest of the most junior class of investors in assets, after all liabilities are paid. If liability exceeds assets, negative equity exists...

, fixed income, energy, commodity, index and derivative products

Derivative (finance)

A derivative instrument is a contract between two parties that specifies conditions—in particular, dates and the resulting values of the underlying variables—under which payments, or payoffs, are to be made between the parties.Under U.S...

, private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 and venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

, research, customer trading and institutional sales. Susquehanna is probably best known for expertise in derivatives pricing and trading, especially equity options.

SIG is a specialist or DPM (designated primary market maker) in approximately 600 equity options and 45 index options on the CBOE, AMEX

AMEX

AMEX, AmEx or Amex may refer to:*American Stock Exchange*American Express, a global financial services corporation*American Express Community Stadium, association football stadium in Brighton, England, currently sponsored by American Express...

, PHLX, and ISE

ISE

ISE may refer to:Organizations:* Information Sharing Environment, established by the U.S. Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004* Institute for Social Ecology...

, including big name equities such as Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

, Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

, JP Morgan, GE

Gê

Gê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....

, Pepsi

Pepsi

Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...

, and Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 and indices such as Nasdaq

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

 and Russell 2000

Russell 2000

The Russell 2000 Index is a small-cap stock market index of the bottom 2,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index.The Russell 2000 is by far the most common benchmarkfor mutual funds that identify themselves as "small-cap",...

 options.

SIG's headquarters office is in Bala Cynwyd, a western suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The firm employs more than 1,500 people in offices across North America (New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

), Australia (Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

), Europe (Dublin), China (Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

) and Hong Kong (Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

). SIG is one of the largest employers in Lower Merion township.

The Company

SIG was founded in 1987 by Jeff Yass

Jeff Yass

Jeffrey S. Yass is an options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna International Group. In 2001 he was named one of 76 Revolutionary Minds by Philadelphia magazine and joined the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute.- Philanthropy :Yass...

, Arthur Dantchik, Steve Bloom, Eric Brooks, Andrew Frost and Joel Greenberg. The six original partners remain principal owners of the business. Yass and Dantchik are actively involved in the firm's trading strategies on a daily basis. Frost supervises private equity investments.

Poker

Poker

Poker

Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

 pervades the culture of SIG. The founders and senior traders believe that poker teaches lessons on risk taking that are applicable to trading in financial markets. SIG hosts an internal poker tournament annually and has even used poker as a recruiting tool. The company employs Bill Chen, a World Series of Poker

World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...

 star, in its quantitative trading group.

Assistant Trader Program

The AT program develops traders for positions in the market making and trading businesses. An AT will be introduced to the financial markets through a combination of practical training on a trading desk that is supported with ongoing theoretical classroom instruction.

The AT will be assigned to a trading desk to support the daily activities for ongoing trading. He/She will work directly with a trader who is available to answer questions and provide feedback. Two senior traders teach the theoretical classroom education, which is the core of the program. Simulated trading sessions and classes that highlight the key elements of trading make up the program’s curriculum. Class topics include option theory, decision science, corporate finance

Corporate finance

Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with monetary decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value while managing the firm's financial risks...

, game theory

Game theory

Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...

, and market structure.

Upon completion of the AT program (which typically lasts anywhere from 9 to 18 months), all ATs will attend the formal ten-week SIG Market Maker Class, which is the final step before becoming a trader at SIG.

External links

• Susquehanna International Group (company website)
• SIG China Venture Capital (company website)