Hello All,I have been lurking on wilmott.com for a while but this is my first post. Any assistance/advice that you can provide would be much appreciated.A little background...I am currently trading futures (1.5 years experience) in Chicago for a proprietary firm. I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics and I have programming experience as well (C, C++, Perl, VBA). My dilemma...I feel like I'm in a rut. I am really interested in quantitative trading and model-based strategies. So, I am looking to make a move to a bank/hedge fund/etc. with a quantitative approach to trading. The problem is that I am having trouble finding "quant firms" (and the like) in the Chicago area that might be interested in someone like me (I do realize that I am "newbie" in this industry as I don't have a ton of experience). Anyway, here is a list of the quantitative firms I have been able to compile thus far: Citadel, UBS O'Connor (formerly O'Connor), Bank of America/NationsBanc-CRT (formerly Chicago Research and Trading), Hull Trading (now Goldman Sachs). Are there any other firms in the Chicago area that you are aware of?By the way, I am certainly not opposed to relocating (e.g. to New York), but I am finding it difficult to get recruiters outside of Chicago to respond.Any comments and/or suggestions?Thanks!

what firm are you with now? what about all the small trading groups in chicago?

QuoteOriginally posted by: axswhat firm are you with now? what about all the small trading groups in chicago?I'm interested in small trading firms as well (they just seem to be a little harder to find). At this point, the firm's approach to trading is a more important issue than the size of the company. If I found a small firm that was using quantitative, model-driven strategies, I would certainly be interested.Actually, the firm that I am currently with is a small firm (sorry, I'd rather not say which one).

besides Bank of America,there is UBS, BankOne(they have a Quant Enterprise Unit)and there are a few hedgefunds. Notabally, Citadel Financial Investment(but my own experience with them have been excruitiating. They showed a LOT of interests, but extremely slow in action. In the end I told them I gave up on them) www.wfg.com

DRW Trading was actively recruiting quant-researchers this past fall.I've heard that Citadel only hires PhDs for quant positions.

Well what about somebody who has a master in a quantitative field?

Look up the web pages of the CBOT, and the Merc. They have lists of many of the small hedge funds and trading partnerships in the Chicago area, and elsewhere. There are also the web sites that discuss the performances of the various traders. They have the full names that you can search for on the web. There must be hundreds.By the way, "small" may mean more than 100 people on the payroll. But how secure are such jobs? No idea.

QuoteOriginally posted by: LongThetaLook up the web pages of the CBOT, and the Merc. They have lists of many of the small hedge funds and trading partnerships in the Chicago area, and elsewhere. There are also the web sites that discuss the performances of the various traders. They have the full names that you can search for on the web. There must be hundreds.Could you please post the relevant links?