The organisation
What IMC Trading does
IMC (originally International Marketmaker's Combination) is a proprietary trading firm and market maker that quotes prices in options, equities, ETFs, futures and other instruments on exchanges around the world. It was founded in 1989 by two floor traders on the Amsterdam European Options Exchange, at a time when trading was still done by open outcry, and grew alongside the shift toward electronic and computer-assisted trading. IMC makes money from the bid-ask spread and from managing the risk that comes with continuously providing liquidity, rather than from taking large directional market bets. Over the decades it expanded beyond options into equities, ETFs, fixed income and other asset classes, and beyond Europe into the United States and Asia. The firm remains privately held and is not listed on a stock exchange.
In the Netherlands
IMC Trading in the Netherlands
IMC is a Dutch firm through and through: it was born on the floor of the Amsterdam options exchange, and Amsterdam remains one of its main hubs alongside Chicago. That floor-trading culture, where traders learned to price risk quickly and competitively face to face, is part of the reason Amsterdam became a breeding ground for the proprietary trading industry, with IMC, Optiver and Flow Traders all tracing their roots to the same exchange. For finance and quant students, IMC's Amsterdam office offers a route into trading, quantitative research and trading technology at a firm with a genuinely Dutch heritage.
Structure
Divisions and where you work
IMC organises its work broadly around trading (managing risk and quoting prices in the market), quantitative research (building and refining pricing models and strategies) and technology (building the systems that execute trades at speed and scale). Graduates typically join as traders, quantitative researchers or software engineers, with close day-to-day collaboration between the three groups.
Getting in
How students start here
IMC recruits through internships and graduate programmes for trading, research and technology roles. Selection is intensive and typically includes numerical and logical reasoning tests, so strong quantitative ability tends to matter more than a specific degree, though many hires come from mathematics, physics, engineering or econometrics backgrounds.
Key facts
At a glance
- Type
- Proprietary trading / market maker
- Head office
- Amsterdam / Chicago
- Founded
- 1989
- Ownership
- Private
Vacancies
Vacancies at IMC Trading
Related
Relevant finance paths
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about IMC Trading
What does IMC Trading do?
A Dutch-founded proprietary trading firm and market maker active on exchanges worldwide.
How do I get an internship or graduate role at IMC Trading?
IMC recruits through internships and graduate programmes for trading, research and technology roles. Selection is intensive and typically includes numerical and logical reasoning tests, so strong quantitative ability tends to matter more than a specific degree, though many hires come from mathematics, physics, engineering or econometrics backgrounds.
Which finance career paths are relevant at IMC Trading?
At IMC Trading, the most relevant finance career paths are Trading.
Where is IMC Trading based in the Netherlands?
Head office: Amsterdam / Chicago.
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