Senior Discretionary Trader / Sub‑Portfolio Manager

About the role

Our client, a private investment firm, is seeking a senior discretionary trader to run a directional long/short book in US equities and indices. The role focuses on idea generation, investment judgment and risk‑taking, with the use of options as the implementation layer. The position reports to the CIO and operates during core US market hours.

Key responsibilities

• Originate and evaluate investment ideas, form long and short views, and decide the appropriate holding period.
• Select the optimal instrument (equity, ETF or option) and define maximum loss at inception.
• Actively manage positions through their full lifecycle, adjusting size, scaling, and exiting when the thesis is invalidated.
• Use options (puts, calls, spreads) to express directional views with asymmetric risk.

Required profile

• 7–12 years of relevant market experience with a personal P&L track record.
• Held genuine risk‑taking authority (e.g., Sub‑PM, senior discretionary trader) in a hedge fund, family office, prop‑trading or buy‑side environment.
• Fundamentally discretionary style, able to incorporate earnings, valuation and catalysts when needed.
• Comfortable operating under a CIO‑led governance framework.

Required skills

• Options trading – long/short puts and calls, vertical spreads, strike and expiry selection.
• Greek and volatility analysis – implied vs realised volatility, skew, event volatility.
• US large‑cap equity and index trading, including ETFs and sector instruments.
• Risk management – defining max loss, position sizing, drawdown control.