Position Summary
A rapidly growing registered investment adviser (RIA) is seeking an experienced Head Trader to build, refine, and lead its trading and trade operations capabilities through its next phase of growth.
The firm serves a diverse client base, including affluent investors, high-net-worth families, multi-family offices, and institutional investment relationships. Its investment platform combines institutional investment management capabilities with the flexibility, entrepreneurial culture, and client focus of an independent advisory firm.
This is a hands-on leadership opportunity for an experienced institutional buy-side trader to develop a sophisticated, scalable trading platform within a growing investment management organization.
Reporting to and working closely with the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), the Head Trader will have primary responsibility for trade execution, trading workflows, and associated trade operations.
Initially, the role will focus on evaluating existing processes, identifying operational and execution inefficiencies, and implementing institutional best practices across a complex, multi-custodial environment. As the firm grows, the role will evolve to include greater direct trading responsibility, including the execution and management of larger and more complex orders.
The successful candidate will be equally comfortable evaluating trading technology, resolving complex custodial issues, and personally executing substantial institutional orders.
Key Responsibilities
Trading & Execution Management
- Assume primary responsibility for the full trade lifecycle, including pre-trade checks and validation, order staging, routing, execution, allocation, confirmation, settlement coordination, and exception management.
- Execute and oversee trading across multiple custodians, trading desks, and potentially prime brokerage relationships.
- Manage block trading and account-level allocations, including orders transmitted through FIX connectivity and orders entered directly through custodial trading platforms.
- Apply sophisticated execution methodologies, including algorithmic trading, appropriate order types, and institutional execution best practices.
- Determine when to work orders directly, use electronic execution algorithms, or engage custodian or broker-dealer trading desks.
- Develop and refine procedures for executing large, sensitive, or less liquid orders while managing execution costs, liquidity, and market impact.
- Establish appropriate pre-trade and post-trade controls, escalation procedures, and execution-quality monitoring.
- Identify, investigate, and resolve trading exceptions, custodial discrepancies, failed trades, and other operational issues.
- Own the day-to-day reliability, accuracy, and effectiveness of the firm's trading workflows.
Trading Infrastructure & Technology
- Conduct a comprehensive review of existing trading and trade operations infrastructure, workflows, controls, and technology.
- Identify opportunities to improve execution quality, scalability, automation, operational reliability, and efficiency.
- Evaluate existing and potential portfolio management systems (PMS), trading platforms, FIX connectivity, and related investment technology.
- Assess the need for a dedicated order management system (OMS), execution management system (EMS), or integrated OMS/EMS solution.
- Evaluate potential prime brokerage and other brokerage arrangements to support trade-away execution, clearing, settlement, and operational flexibility across custodians.
- Design scalable workflows that accommodate continued growth in assets, increased trading complexity, and a geographically distributed advisor network.
- Lead or materially participate in the selection, implementation, integration, and optimization of trading technology.
- Develop institutional-quality trading policies, procedures, controls, and documentation appropriate for the firm's business model and regulatory environment.
Custodian, Broker & Counterparty Management
- Serve as a primary trading and operational point of contact with custodians, executing brokers, trading desks, and other counterparties.
- Develop a detailed understanding of the capabilities, limitations, and operational nuances of each custodian and trading platform.
- Independently verify important information from external providers and pursue practical solutions to complex operational problems.
- Escalate issues appropriately, identify alternative approaches, and advocate for the firm and its clients.
- Help evaluate new custodial, brokerage, and execution relationships as the business expands.
- Build strong institutional relationships while maintaining independent judgment and a critical approach to external assurances.
Investment Management & CIO Support
- Maintain and implement portfolio models under the direction of the CIO, who retains ultimate responsibility for investment strategy, portfolio construction, and model decisions.
- Support model implementation, rebalancing activities, and the translation of portfolio decisions into executable orders.
- Apply broad financial product knowledge to projects involving equities, fixed income, ETFs, mutual funds, liquid alternatives, commodities, futures, options, and other derivatives.
- Assist the CIO in evaluating investment implementation approaches, trading constraints, and operational considerations associated with new products and strategies.
- Support the CIO and advisors in preparing client investment proposals using established portfolio frameworks, templates, and analytical tools.
- Participate in cross-functional initiatives where trading expertise, investment knowledge, and operational problem-solving can improve client outcomes.
Qualifications & Experience
Required or Strongly Preferred
- Meaningful professional experience in an institutional buy-side trading environment, such as an asset manager, hedge fund, institutional investment adviser, family office, outsourced CIO platform, or sophisticated multi-custodial RIA.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience executing trades and managing associated pre-trade and post-trade processes.
- Experience with block trading, trade allocation, order staging, and institutional trading workflows.
- Familiarity with FIX connectivity, electronic trading platforms, algorithmic execution, and broker or custodian trading desks.
- Understanding of the distinctions between portfolio management, order management, execution management, and post-trade operational systems.
- Experience working with multiple custodians, executing brokers, or prime brokers, including resolving complex operational issues.
- Strong understanding of execution quality, liquidity, market impact, order handling, and operational risk.
- Ability to independently evaluate trading technology and recommend practical infrastructure improvements.
- Broad familiarity with financial instruments and investment management practices.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
Particularly Valuable Experience
- Designing or upgrading institutional trading infrastructure.
- Implementing or integrating OMS, EMS, PMS, or FIX-based trading solutions.
- Managing trading across multiple separately managed accounts, custodians, and investment strategies.
- Working with high-net-worth clients, family offices, or outsourced investment management platforms.
- Establishing prime brokerage or trade-away workflows.
- Supporting derivatives trading or complex investment products.
- Helping scale a trading function through substantial increases in assets, accounts, or trading volume.
Candidates from traditional institutional buy-side environments are encouraged to apply, even if they have not previously worked at an RIA. Transferable institutional expertise, sound judgment, technical aptitude, and the ability to adapt to a growing advisory business are valued over experience with any particular advisory platform.
Compensation & Long-Term Opportunity
The firm offers competitive base compensation and a performance-oriented incentive package designed to align individual contributions with long-term business growth.
Depending on the candidate and final compensation structure, incentives may include:
- Individual performance-based compensation tied to trading execution, operational excellence, and infrastructure improvements.
- Incentives linked to the growth of assets under management or assets supported by the trading platform.
- Firm-level performance incentives and potential equity or equity-linked participation.
The goal is to create a long-term partnership in which an exceptional trading professional can make a meaningful contribution to the firm's development and participate financially in its success.
Why Consider This Opportunity?
This position offers the opportunity to combine institutional trading expertise with the autonomy, visibility, and entrepreneurial potential of a growing independent investment management firm.
The Head Trader will have substantial influence over how trading capabilities are developed, how infrastructure evolves, and how the firm scales to support a larger and more complex investment platform.
For the right professional, this is an opportunity not simply to operate a trading desk, but to help build one and contribute directly to the growth of the business it supports.
1. First 90 days: Map existing execution workflows, identify control gaps, assess custodial capabilities, and propose prioritized improvements.
2. Months 3–6: Evaluate OMS/EMS/PMS needs, FIX connectivity, trade-away arrangements, and execution policies. Begin implementing approved changes.
3. Months 6–12: Establish scalable trading workflows, measurable execution-quality reporting, and a repeatable operating structure capable of supporting increased AUM and trading volume.
