Pros
I read couple of reviews here and decide to share my views of Gelber. To be brief, I think Gelber is: A respectful company who invests a lot on new hires; a growing company where everyone is dedicated to their job; a fair company who provides better than average PNL cut; a collaborative company where everyone is open to help. Here are some details. 1. Market exposures: Gelber has market connectivity to all major exchanges in U.S. and EUROPE. Assets classes cover fix income, equity, commodity, and currencies. Especially a big player in Treasury and FX. Best thing I like is I have the freedom to choose the asset and market to trade. If connectivity to other exchange is needed, I believe Gelber will help me build it as long as it is proved to be a good strategy. 2. Training Program: For all new hires( discretional and algo traders), there is a well designed training program lasts about 3-month. Two senior traders help us understand markets, products and common strategies and setups that are used here. Brian Gelber, the CEO, gives weekly talks, discloses his view on the market, and makes comments on the way we trade. There are also weekly talks given by team leaders introducing their groups and the way they trade. This helps me to choose the desk that fits me best. Besides all above, we got opportunities to trade most of products & markets in simulation & live during this period. 3. Groups: are formed based on the products and time frames. Major groups are fix income, equity, equity option, fx, macro, & algo. There are some other desks run their own strategies and algo. You will have the opportunity to choose a team to join in/after the training program. 4. CEO and partners: they love their work and they work hard. If you find out they come here 6am everyday, you’d better have a good reason to come late. It is pretty often you receive email from them at midnight or weekends. They are easy going and they care about our growth. They are the banner of Gelber. 5. Team leader: My manager is a machine (in a good way). He is fair and doesn’t bring emotional bias in his decision. He is knowledgable and knows every detail of algo trading, markets and company operation. He will guide you to the right direction when you are lost. But don’t expect to get a specific project from him. It’s just not his way. It’s not fair for me to comment on other managers. 6. Colleagues: They are talents. Top tier school graduates, super-start athletes, professional poker players, and chess champions, you name it. They are dedicate to their works and know every detail of it. They are humble and willing to help. From back office to front desk, everyone is willing to provide supports as you need. Some reviews said there is little of idea sharing. Well, a senior trader’s primary task is to trade not to coach. You have to be patient and artistic to convince them to spend time on you. I learnt a lot from other traders / developers, IT team, and back office in terms of market infrastructure, order types, data base, programming, and clearing. I never expect someone tells me his strategy / setup in detail. That will take away the fun of trading. But other than that, there are always people you can ask for help. 7. PNL cut: I am not supposed to disclose it. I believe you will find it out during interviews. Based on my knowledge, Gelber provides a better than average cut (if not the best). 8. Besides work: Free gym pass to new traders. Poker tournaments, tickets to ball games, football / soccer / basketball league, quarterly gathering / dinner. (Unlike other “good” companies, we don’t provide free lunch other than Wednesday. But remember we have better cut than them. ) Overall, if I wouldn't be a successful trader in Gelber, I don’t see myself be successful at any other trading firms.
Cons
I'll post if I find any.