Belvedere Trading is a Chicago proprietary trading firm founded in 2002, when it started as a market maker in the SPX pit on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. It now runs to roughly 300 people across Chicago, Boulder, New York and Singapore, making markets in equity index and commodity derivatives, and it builds its software in-house.
Options sit at the core of what they do, but new traders are trained through the firm's internal programme, so prior options experience is not expected. What the process does test is quantitative speed, probability reasoning, clean code and fit with a tight, low-turnover culture.
Worth reading alongside this guide: Belvedere's own working at Belvedere pages, which set out their side of the process and what the firm is like day to day.
- 1Online assessment. About an hour of mental maths, probability, statistics and a short coding section.
- 2Technical interview. A phone or video call with a trader: more probability, mental maths and a walk through your assessment code.
- 3Final round. An in-person superday in Chicago, with several one-to-one interviews and a group trading game.
Stage 1: Online assessment
Sent once your application has been reviewed, and usually around an hour. It has two parts.
| Component | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Mental maths, probability and statistics | Timed questions on quick arithmetic, basic probability and statistics. Speed and accuracy under the clock are the whole point |
| Coding | A short section, typically LeetCode easy to medium. Solvable, but they want clean correct code written quickly |
How to prepare
- Arithmetic, with consistent timed practice on the Math Trainer. Our mental arithmetic guide covers the shortcuts that save you seconds a question.
- Probability and statistics, under a timer, on the probability questions. The probability and statistics course fills in any gaps in the theory.
- Coding, on easy to medium problems, writing solutions that are correct first time. Make sure the fundamentals of your chosen language are solid rather than half-remembered.
Stage 2: Technical interview
A phone or video call with one of Belvedere's traders. Candidates consistently describe it as a technical discussion rather than a grilling, which does not make it soft: it covers four areas.
What they cover
- Probability and statistics. Deeper than the assessment, including questions that need Bayes' theorem and expected value reasoning.
- Mental maths. Quick calculations on the spot, of the "what is 25 cubed" variety, answered out loud.
- Your assessment code. The interviewer may walk through your implementation, then change a parameter and ask how you would adapt.
- Behavioural questions. Why trading, why Belvedere, and your background and interests.
How to prepare
Drill probability brainteasers until conditional probability and expected value are second nature. Keep the arithmetic practice going so cubes and large products come out quickly and out loud, and our fractions to decimals guide is worth the time if conversion still slows you down.
Reread your own assessment solution before the call, and work out in advance how you would handle a change to the inputs or constraints. Have real answers ready for why you want to become a trader and why this firm over its competitors.
Stage 3: Final round, the superday
An in-person day at the Chicago office, made up of several one-to-one interviews, often with a trader, a software engineer and a product analyst, plus a group trading game.
The technical half
- The group trading game. A market making game played against the other candidates, testing your trading intuition, how you price under uncertainty and how you behave in a live competitive setting. One reported version involved pricing an option contract on a game built around a die roll.
- Expected value and pricing. Making two-way markets and reasoning quickly about fair value and edge. Practise on the dice game and the card game, and read our guide to make me a market if you have not quoted a price aloud before.
- Options fundamentals. The reported version of the game involved pricing an option contract, and Belvedere makes markets in equity index and commodity derivatives all day. The Options Strategy Trainer covers payoffs, moneyness, put-call parity, vertical spreads and replication, which is the ground that makes those questions tractable. Upside rather than a prerequisite, since the firm teaches this from scratch.
- Brainteasers and probability. The one-to-ones revisit the earlier technical ground with harder problems.
The fit half
- Motivation. Why trading, and why Belvedere specifically. Culture is a genuine priority here rather than a formality, so do the reading on their values and working atmosphere first.
- Teamwork. Belvedere leans hard on collaboration, so be ready to show you are a team player.
- Self-assessment. Your edge over other candidates and your weaknesses.
Interns are trained in options from scratch, so curiosity and aptitude count for more than prior options knowledge. Genuine interest in the products is worth more here than a rehearsed vocabulary you cannot back up.
How to carry the day
In the trading game, price with discipline, manage the position you build, and talk while you do it. Explain your reasoning out loud throughout the day, because traders are assessing how you think rather than collecting final answers. Keep your composure and your energy even across a long day of back-to-back interviews.
Closing remarks
Belvedere's process has a reputation for being more approachable than some other market making firms, which is true of the atmosphere and not of the bar. Quantitative speed, probability reasoning and clean code are all tested properly, and fit carries real weight on top of that.
The candidates who do well prepare until the arithmetic and probability are automatic, keep their coding fundamentals sharp, and get comfortable making a market and reasoning about expected value out loud rather than on paper. Pair that with honest answers on why you want to trade and why Belvedere, and you are in a strong position.
Work through everything we have for Belvedere Trading, and read our full interview guide for how these stages compare across firms.