Akuna Capital

Akuna Capital is an American proprietary trading firm headquartered in Chicago. It has additional offices in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai and Sydney.

Akuna Capital LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2011 (2011)
FounderAndrew Killion
Headquarters333 South Wabash, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Key people
Andrew Killion (CEO)
ProductsProprietary trading
Algorithmic trading
High-frequency trading
Number of employees
580 (2022)
Websitewww.akunacapital.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Background

Akuna Capital was co-founded by Andrew Killion in 2011 in Chicago.[2][3][4] Killion was previously a partner at Optiver and had left his hometown of Sydney in 2011 to move to Chicago.[2][3][4] Chicago was selected to launch Akuna Capital as it was considered the center of the world for derivatives and options.[3]

The word Akuna comes from an Australian Aboriginal word that means flowing water.[3][4]

Akuna Capital has an affiliated broker-dealer named Akuna Securities.[5]

According to Bloomberg News, Akuna Capital had one of the highest monthly salaries for internships in the financial sector from 2021 to 2022.[6]

History

In 2015, Akuna Capital signed a deal with the state of Illinois worth $4.5 million in tax breaks.[7] Under the deal, Akuna Capital would hire ten new employees where five would be in trading and five would be in software.[7]

In 2019, Akuna Capital lost $5.4 million on cryptocurrency assets and technology startups.[8]

In January 2023, the firm cut 11% of its entire global workforce with some new hires having their contracts rescinded.[8]

In June 2023, Akuna cut 40% of its Asia-pacific workforce.[4]

References
  1. "BrokerCheck - Find a broker, investment or financial advisor". brokercheck.finra.org.
  2. "Derivatives trader makes $30m return to hometown". Australian Financial Review. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  3. "Chicago exec buys $23 million home—in Australia". Crain's Chicago Business. 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  4. Turner-Cohen, Alex (June 29, 2023). "Australian derivatives trading firm Akuna Capital slashes 40% of APAC workforce". News.com.au.
  5. "Andrej Bolkovic Becomes New CEO at Chicago-Based OCC". Financial and Business News | Finance Magnates. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  6. "Interns Are Making Over $16,000 a Month as Wall Street Talent Wars Heat Up". Bloomberg.com. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  7. "Akuna Capital signed tax break deal with state of Illinois estimated to be worth $4.5M". Illinois Policy. 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  8. "Australian trading company Akuna Capital slashes 11 per cent of workforce". news.com.au. January 20, 2023.
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