To The Moon

In 2000, a little-known proprietary trading firm was founded—Jane Street Capital. Last year marked the fourth consecutive year Jane Street achieved net trading revenue over $10 billion, and in the first half of this year, it made $20 billion in profits, easily outperforming giants like Goldman Sachs. Jane Street uses its own capital and technology-driven trading strategies (complex algorithms for risk management and exploiting market opportunities) to become a major player in the quantitative trading world. And here’s a fun fact: this highly profitable firm pays its interns $250,000 per year, while the Federal Reserve Chair’s salary is $203,500. In other words, Powell earns less than a Jane Street intern. You may not know this company, but it frequently makes headlines. For example: On January 17, 2024, Jane Street reportedly made $80 million in a single day by trading Indian Bank Nifty index options. This came after HDFC Bank released earnings the day before, causing the market to drop. Jane Street seized the opportunity with complex trading strategies. Over two years, the firm reportedly earned over $4.3 billion in India, but last week it was heavily penalized by SEBI, banned from trading, and ordered to return $550 million of illicit gains. In August, it was Tesla’s second-largest short, drawing a public warning from Musk. More recently, after revealing its position in Opendoor, the stock jumped 20%. So, what do you think about Jane Street’s legendary story? With AI algorithms increasingly impacting the stock market, do you think firms like Jane Street, which profit from complex algorithmic strategies, have a brighter future? Would you follow their holdings? Do you think we still need financial advisors today? $IT stock lost 46% YTD. If your answer is yes, which advisor would you trust more, haha?