Optiver

Luca

Hi, let me introduce myself: my name is Luca and - like many other guys in the company - I'm not Dutch. I come from Italy, where I studied at Politecnico di Milano, ending with a MSc in Management & Financial Engineering.

I started working for Optiver in September 2007 in the Trading department as a Wholesale Trader. After the first training period, in which I studied the basics of option trading and discussed them with senior traders, I moved onto the trading floor under the supervision (and really valuable advice) of a senior colleague.

My day starts by checking the news and discussing it with all the colleagues in order to be prepared when the European markets open. At that point, the action starts: I start to talk with counterparties from all around Europe trying to find opportunities to trade. When a trade happens, I am responsible for the execution and the post-trade administration. My day finishes basically when the European markets close. I spend less than 20 minutes on my administration and then I am ready to go home.

I chose Optiver because it was an opportunity to work in an international, young, smart-thinking and challenging environment in the financial sector, a field that I have been interested in since university.

I really like working in this dynamic environment, because there is a strong team spirit. Everyone does his best and shares his experiences for the benefit of the company. I was given responsibility from the beginning, and I have the opportunity to challenge myself every day in the market: there’s never a boring day!

The biggest challenge for me so far has been the development of the Italian market. I managed to find more counterparties to trade with and - with the help of my colleagues - I am trying to provide better service to the market. We’ve already improved a lot, but I think we have a lot more of potential, so we’ll keep on working on it!

I think that in a couple of years, I will gain enough experience to develop new markets and relationships with new counterparties. I think I will have the opportunity to assume a senior role on my team and help new trainees in their learning processes.