Optiver reviews

The company has changed over the last 12 months. Lots of amazing talent (both technical and leadership) has left over the last two thirds of 2017. Slow to pick up modern development practices and technologies. Below market rate base salary ('compensated' by a discretionary profit sharing scheme that can be taken away at any time). Upper management is opaque, and decision making by middle management often appears to be motivated by what's best for their careers rather than what's best for the company or their team. The level of ego among many of the technical specialists can be extreme at times. They're the best of the best - and they're not humble about it. Personal performance appraisal is directly linked to compensation. Which sounds great in theory, but the performance appraisal process is opaque. It appears to be heavily based on how much your direct manager is willing to 'champion' your cause when individuals are ranked among all teams.

In the past few years, Human Resources has done a particularly good job at marketing the Optiver brand, with Optiver typically attending career fairs of the top universities and sponsoring the most recognised trading and data science contests. A closer look shows that many of Optiver's claims stretch the truth and some are outright falsehoods. For instance, Optiver calls itself a "Great Place to Work", no doubt referring to its performance in the Best Places to Work in Australia survey, in which it achieved 2nd place in 2014. What Optiver neglects to mention is its paltry performance in recent years within the same survey, with placements of 3rd and 6th in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, in fact, Optiver failed to make the list entirely (25 total spots). It is concerning that an organisation that supposedly champions truth and merit invests so heavily in building its image. I suggest looking to third-party sources for verification -- Glassdoor's own Rating Trends is a good place to start. The truth is that Optiver Australia, which trades the Asian markets, has not been doing well. Following the exchange upgrades in Japan, which have made the exchange more deterministic (think winner takes all), Optiver has no longer been able to get as many trades as it shoots for. Mind you, Nikkei and Topix were once significant income streams. Add to the picture changes in Hong Kong regulations pertaining to Stamp Duty (think trading fees) that has forced Optiver to close its corresponding basket versus ETF desk, also a big money maker in the past. Take my advice, if you are choosing between Optiver and a competitor, go with the latter. Following bonus season, I am doing the same.