VivCourt Blog Posts

Our blog shares insights from across VivCourt – from trading and technology to graduate and internship experiences, people and culture, and social impact. It’s a place to learn more about the work we do, the challenges we take on, and the people who make it happen.

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Inside an Options Desk: Market Making and Event Trading

Inside an Options Desk: Market Making and Event Trading

The first article covered what an option is and why volatility matters to its price. The second introduced the Greeks and the volatility surface - the tools used to understand risk and compare options. This final article looks at how those ideas are applied across different trading strategies. Where the…
VivCourtOctober 8, 2026
Greeks: Measuring and Managing Options Risk

Greeks: Measuring and Managing Options Risk

The first article covered what an option is and why volatility matters to its price. The complication is that an option exposes you to several things at once - direction, movement, time and changing implied volatility. A volatility-focused position therefore needs to separate the intended exposure from the others. Delta,…
VivCourtOctober 8, 2026
What You’re Actually Buying When You Buy an Option

What You’re Actually Buying When You Buy an Option

An option gives you the right to buy or sell something at a set price, by a set date. What makes options interesting is working out what that right should cost. This is the first of three articles on how options trading works, developed with one of our experienced options…
VivCourtOctober 8, 2026
Software Engineering on the Trading Desk: What Grads Can Expect, and How to Prepare

Software Engineering on the Trading Desk: What Grads Can Expect, and How to Prepare

Engineering at VivCourt runs along a spectrum. At one end, teams build core infrastructure, tooling and performance-critical components, from libraries and frameworks to FPGAs. At the other, engineers work directly alongside our trading desks. Kevin, a C++ engineer on our cash equities desk, sits at that market-facing end. He builds…
VivCourtOctober 7, 2026
How Infrastructure Engineering Shapes Trading Performance

How Infrastructure Engineering Shapes Trading Performance

Every trade on an exchange sets off a chain of events that plays out in fractions of a second. In high-frequency trading, firms compete to see market changes and respond first. Strategy and software matter, but they can only perform as well as the infrastructure underneath them. It's one of…
VivCourtOctober 7, 2026
Systematic Trading vs Market Making: What They Are and How They Actually Work

Systematic Trading vs Market Making: What They Are and How They Actually Work

Terms like "quant trading," "systematic trading," "market making," and "high-frequency trading" get thrown around loosely. This article breaks down the two core strategies that proprietary trading firms run, explains how each one makes money, and helps you figure out which side of the business might suit you. First, some context…
VivCourtJuly 30, 2026
Non-linear paths into quant trading careers: Erik, Andrew & Oliver

Non-linear paths into quant trading careers: Erik, Andrew & Oliver

A quant trading career can seem like it has a narrow entry point — a clear track from day one, or no way in at all. But there's more than one path. Erik studied physics and worked in tech operations; Andrew came from institutional finance; Oliver spent years in academic…
VivCourtMay 29, 2026
Jason on What Grad Rotations Actually Look Like

Jason on What Grad Rotations Actually Look Like

This year's graduate program gave our traders the chance to experience different parts of the business before settling into a permanent desk. Over a few months, they rotated across a range of desks, gaining exposure to different markets, products and trading styles. We spoke with Jason, to hear about his…
VivCourtMay 22, 2026
Giving with Purpose: How VivCourt Employees Are Supporting Causes Close to Them

Giving with Purpose: How VivCourt Employees Are Supporting Causes Close to Them

At VivCourt, our social bonus gives employees the chance to back the causes that matter most to them. Twice a year, we aim to give each employee $10,000 to donate to a registered not-for-profit of their choice, separate from regular bonuses. Since the initiative began in 2016, our people have…
VivCourtMay 18, 2026
What’s an Exploding Offer – and Why We Don’t Use Them

What’s an Exploding Offer – and Why We Don’t Use Them

You’ve just finished a long interview process. You’re waiting to hear back. Maybe you’re weighing up a few options. Maybe you’re still figuring out what you actually want. Then the offer comes through - with a catch: you have one week to decide. That’s an exploding offer. How Exploding Offers…
VivCourtApril 2, 2026
What It’s Really Like to Be a Trading Intern at VivCourt

What It’s Really Like to Be a Trading Intern at VivCourt

Over the summer, a group of interns joined VivCourt from backgrounds spanning mathematics, statistics, computer science, and finance. Some had spent months preparing with mental maths drills and probability theory. Others had built side projects or spoken to people in the industry. All of them arrived curious, and left with…
VivCourtMarch 19, 2026
Insights From Our Campus Recruiters

Insights From Our Campus Recruiters

Signal vs Noise: What Our Recruiters Look For in Internship & Graduate Applications At VivCourt, we want students applying to our internship and graduate programs to feel supported and set up to put their best foot forward. Beyond genuine curiosity and a real interest in the work, our campus recruiters…
VivCourtFebruary 12, 2026
What Makes a Great Trader? Advice from VivCourt’s Trader Trainer

What Makes a Great Trader? Advice from VivCourt’s Trader Trainer

In this Q&A, Sam shares what sets top interns apart, the future of trading, and advice for aspiring talent.What qualities set top-performing interns and grads apart at VivCourt?  Probability, statistics, mental maths, logic, and a solid grasp of Python all matter. They give you the base you need to start…
VivCourtJanuary 13, 2026
Meet Hugo: Getting into trading tech as a graduate software engineer

Meet Hugo: Getting into trading tech as a graduate software engineer

After studying Software Engineering at the University of Auckland and interning at several trading firms, Hugo joined VivCourt as a graduate software engineer in 2025, drawn to the blend of low-level programming, fast-paced problem solving, and market dynamics. In this Q&A, he shares what makes trading tech so exciting, the…
VivCourtAugust 1, 2025
Oliver Q&A: From Academic to Quant Trading

Oliver Q&A: From Academic to Quant Trading

In this Q&A, we chat with Oliver, a former academic turned Quant Trader at VivCourt Trading. With a PhD spanning robotics, complex systems, and epidemic modelling, Oliver brings a unique lens to the world of algorithmic trading. He shares how his research background helped him transition into quant trading, what…
VivCourtAugust 1, 2025
Mitch & Michael Q&A: Two Journeys in Quant Trading

Mitch & Michael Q&A: Two Journeys in Quant Trading

We talked to Mitch and Michael - two traders who joined VivCourt early in their careers and have since shaped their roles in meaningful ways, from mentoring others to building strategies from the ground up. They shared how their careers have evolved, what drew them to VivCourt, and the qualities…
VivCourtAugust 1, 2025
Meet Lincoln: From Intern to Options Trader

Meet Lincoln: From Intern to Options Trader

Lincoln joined VivCourt as an intern in 2023 and returned in 2025 as a Graduate Trader on the Options desk. He studied Finance, Economics, and Statistics at ANU, graduating top of his class in his honours year. In this Q&A, he shares what the internship process was like, what helped…
VivCourtJuly 3, 2025
Ben on Trading in Amsterdam

Ben on Trading in Amsterdam

Ben studied economics and psychology at the University of Queensland before beginning his professional career as an economist at the Federal Treasury. Drawn to the fast-paced complexity of financial markets and inspired by VivCourt’s unique charitable mission, he joined the firm as a Graduate in 2023 and now works as…
VivCourtJune 6, 2025
Meet Vito: From Intern to Grad Trader

Meet Vito: From Intern to Grad Trader

Vito joined VivCourt as a trading intern in December 2023, then became a graduate trader the following year. He now trades quantitative systematic strategies across global markets. A Data Science graduate from the University of Melbourne, Vito shares what first drew him to trading, the skills that helped him succeed,…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Dom: Building a career as a graduate trader

Meet Dom: Building a career as a graduate trader

We caught up with Dom, who began his VivCourt journey through the graduate program in 2022 and now trades Hong Kong options. He studied Mathematics and Finance at UWA, where he also founded the university’s quantitative finance club. In this post, Dom shares what motivated his move to Sydney to…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Jovana: How a maths graduate found her way into trading

Meet Jovana: How a maths graduate found her way into trading

Driven by a love of mathematics and quantitative problem-solving, Jovana wasn't entirely sure where her studies would take her when she started university. After completing a degree in Actuarial Studies and Mathematics at UNSW, she joined VivCourt as a Graduate Trader in 2024. We caught up with her to hear…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Jason: Life as a graduate trader

Meet Jason: Life as a graduate trader

Jason on Life as a Graduate Quant Trader: We spoke with Jason, a 2024 graduate who recently joined VivCourt as a quantitative trader. After studying Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne and gaining experience as a data graduate, Jason transitioned into trading. He dives into what his day-to-day…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Melantha: Inside the graduate trader program

Meet Melantha: Inside the graduate trader program

Melantha’s journey to VivCourt began with a love for mathematics that started in school and took shape through her studies in Actuarial Studies and Statistics at UNSW, where she earned top performance in her Honours year. Before joining the VivCourt Graduate Program as a Trader in 2023, she gained experience…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Isobel: What graduate engineers do at a trading firm

Meet Isobel: What graduate engineers do at a trading firm

We recently sat down with Isobel, who joined VivCourt as a software engineer in 2024 after completing her Bachelor of Technology with a major in Computer Science at Monash University. Now part of our Desktop Applications team, Isobel shares insights into her role and what excites her most about the…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025
Meet Hrishi: Building a software career in trading

Meet Hrishi: Building a software career in trading

We caught up with Hrishi, one of our 2023 graduate software engineers at VivCourt. Hrishi studied computer science, financial mathematics, and statistics at the University of Sydney - an academic combination that sparked his passion for problem-solving through technology. He shared what drew him to software engineering and what excites…
VivCourtMay 29, 2025