- Graviton Research Capital has increased its internship pay to ₹50 lakh for two months, up from around ₹16 lakh.
- IMC Trading has doubled its internship package to ₹50 lakh.
- Quadeye is offering ₹30 lakh per month, or ₹60 lakh for a two-month stint, which is a fourfold increase from a year earlier.
- Global firms like Optiver are offering packages of around ₹50–60 lakh.
- Recruiters have noted increasing aggression from global HFTs to hire straight from campus.
- The average daily turnover in equity futures and options fell 27.1% in July to ₹1.7 trillion, its lowest level since November 2023.
- Sebi's latest study has shown that almost all the profits made by proprietary and foreign investors came from algorithmic trading.
- Despite trading opportunities becoming harder, the competition for people who can find those opportunities is becoming stronger.
- High-frequency trading firms are now offering record sums to attract worthy interns amid tighter derivatives regulations and a shortage of AI-linked stocks.
- Local HFT companies are expanding into overseas markets and asset classes beyond equity derivatives.
Indian high-frequency trading (HFT) firms are offering unprecedented salaries to attract interns, with Quadeye and Graviton leading the charge. Quadeye offers ₹30 lakh per month, while Graviton provides ₹50 lakh for two months, reflecting a fierce competition for quantitative talent amid tightening derivatives regulations.39
The demand for skilled interns is driven by a 27.1% drop in average daily turnover in equity futures and options, reaching its lowest level since November 2023. As trading opportunities dwindle, firms are increasingly reliant on algorithmic trading to maintain profitability. A recent study by Sebi revealed that nearly all profits for proprietary and foreign investors stem from algorithmic strategies.68
“There is increasing aggression from global HFTs to hire straight from campus,” said Daniel Vaz, a partner at Aquis Search. He noted that firms prefer to train young engineers rather than hire laterally due to a lack of qualified candidates. This trend is further fueled by local HFT companies expanding into international markets and diversifying their asset classes.10
The lucrative pay packages are a stark contrast to traditional internships, with Quadeye's offer of ₹60 lakh for a two-month stint being a fourfold increase from last year. For context, the median annual salary for graduates from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was approximately ₹35 lakh last year, making these internships exceptionally lucrative.
As the market faces regulatory challenges and a decline in investor interest, the competition for top-tier quantitative talent is intensifying, making these record salaries a strategic move for HFT firms.
“The pay for a two-month stint at Quadeye is ₹60 lakh, a fourfold jump from a year earlier, and even out-earns the median annual salary of ₹35 lakh for IIM Ahmedabad post-graduates. Recruiters like Daniel Vaz of Aquis Search note global HFTs are increasingly hiring straight from campus due to a lack of depth in lateral hiring.”
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