High frequency trading firm hikes pay to £473k per head

In theory, life has got tougher for high frequency trading (HFT) firms. Since the HFT heyday a few years ago, costs and competition have risen and profits have shrunk. That may be so, but high frequency firms still pay pretty well.

The London operation of U.S HFT Hudson River Trading just filed its accounts for 2015. They suggest that employees at the company earn an average of £473k per head ($696k) per head, up 42% on one year earlier.

With investment banks typically trimming the amount they pay people, Hudson River looks refreshingly generous, all the more so given that profits at the company fell 25% to £2.4m last year.

Getting into Hudson River is a lot harder than getting into an investment bank though. - The firm only employs 11 people in London, and headcount rose by a single person in 2015.

Hudson River is, however, hiring. Right now, it wants a head of European business Development, a trade support engineer, and a handful of developers in London. The company appears keen to promote itself as more exciting than the average investment bank, pointing out that there's, "no red tape or politics exist to impede the generation or implementation of new ideas," when you work there.

Photo credit: Aksonov