Volatility Vultures: Hunting for Options Talent with Gary Selz of Zero Delta

The Derivative

In this episode of the Derivative we chat with Gary Selz, co-founder of Zero Delta Funds. Gary shares his background growing up in Chicago and studying electrical engineering at Northwestern University. He discovered options trading through a financial engineering course and was introduced to a Chicago prop trading firm. Gary discusses his experience training as a new trader at the prop firm. He explains how traders are given time and support to learn before getting their own book to trade. Gary reflects on the diverse career paths that can lead traders to prop shops, from poker players to accountants. The conversation covers Gary's transition from trading to investing his own money in volatility strategies. This led him to co-found Zero Delta Funds and launch a fund seeking talented volatility traders from across the globe and not always where you’d expect. Gary highlights their process of finding under-the-radar traders internationally and evaluating their sophistication. Gary and Jeff discuss various aspects of options trading, including the evolution of the market landscape. They analyze single stock versus index volatility trading. Gary shares insights on the current opportunity set and speculates on potential future market catalysts. Come join us as we dig deeper into option and vol trading and into the mindset of successful volatility traders.

Chapters:

00:00-01:34=Intro

01:35-15:45=Electrical engineering to prop trading, nature vs nurture & trading floor antics

15:46-25:08= Balancing talent with technology in prop firms – traders finding their edge

25:09-31:42= Launching Zero Delta, investing in volatility with no strategy drift

31:43-45:19= Option vs Vol traders, Getting an edge, seeking out specialty traders

45:20-57:01= Single name vol, what’s Zero delta? And positioning your portfolio for the unknown

Follow along with Gary on Twitter @SelzGary, check him out on LinkedIn and make sure to visit zerodeltafunds.com for more information.

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