Building the Future of Proprietary Trading
After navigating the inevitable peaks and valleys of building a trading firm from the ground up, I knew we needed the right partner to achieve our full vision.
Seven months ago, I sat down with ARB Trading Group's leadership to discuss what we're building.
I was clear about Raen's vision from the beginning: if any of today's premier institutions were starting from scratch, this is exactly how they'd build.
No legacy constraints. No outdated hierarchies. Just pure focus on finding and empowering the best trading talent.
Today, I'm excited to announce that ARB Trading Group has acquired a 25% equity stake in Raen Trading.
From our first conversation, we both understood this couldn't be just a capital investment. ARB was explicit: they're putting their full force behind our vision. Capital, infrastructure, relationships, everything.
Why This Partnership Makes Sense
Over these seven months of discussions, what struck me most was how deeply ARB understood our approach.
We're building a premier trading firm by attacking talent acquisition from every angle:
We recruit aggressively from the most selective institutions like Point72, Two Sigma, and others.
We pursue PhDs from top universities. We identify proven portfolio managers looking for a better platform.
This traditional path consistently delivers exceptional talent, and it remains core to our growth.
But we also recognized an opportunity that others miss. Our Global Talent Scouting Program, which I outlined in "Building a Modern Trading Desk," identifies exceptional traders who developed their edge outside traditional channels.
What resonated with ARB was our conviction that combining these talent streams creates something powerful.
Different backgrounds, different market approaches, different strategies, but all meeting the same exacting performance standards.
The diversity of perspectives, when properly managed, enhances our overall portfolio construction.
What ARB Brings
This partnership accelerates everything we're building:
Infrastructure at Scale
40+ global exchanges. Institutional execution. Enterprise risk management. The infrastructure that takes decades to build is now at our fingertips.
Capital Markets Ecosystem
ARB operates across the entire capital markets spectrum. Proprietary trading, asset management, fund management, market making, broker-dealing.
Their expertise opens doors we were planning to walk through eventually. Now we can run through them.
Proven Frameworks
From regulatory compliance to fund structuring, ARB has already solved the challenges that growing firms face. We can focus on what we do best: finding and developing exceptional trading talent.
Global Reach
With operations across Chicago, New York, London, Frankfurt, Mumbai, and beyond, ARB's network amplifies our ability to identify and support talent worldwide.
Importantly, we maintain complete operational autonomy while gaining access to all these resources. ARB provides the infrastructure; we drive the vision.
The Bigger Picture
We're not building just another prop shop. We're creating a new category of financial services firm. One that begins with proprietary trading excellence and expands strategically across the capital markets ecosystem.
Our multi-strategy hedge fund is already operational. Our traders have clear paths to portfolio management. Our infrastructure rivals any firm globally.
Now, with ARB's backing, we can pursue opportunities in market making, systematic strategies, and beyond.
Excellence in trading is the foundation for excellence across financial services. Start with the best traders, give them the best tools, remove artificial constraints, and the possibilities become endless.
What This Means for Traders
For Established Professionals
If you're currently at an elite firm or have 24+ months of verified institutional-quality returns, let's talk directly.
We can offer better economics and the autonomy to build something meaningful.
This is the firm you wish your current employer would become.
For Emerging Talent
Our Global Talent Scouting Program is a performance-based pathway for traders without traditional pedigree or extensive track records. Think of it as an open tryout.
We're not looking for perfection, just the ability to manage downside risk and demonstrate genuine edge.
No gatekeeping, just pure performance evaluation.
For Future Leaders
University students and those early in their careers now have multiple pathways into institutional trading.
Whether through our campus recruiting, internship programs, or assessment process, we're creating opportunities that didn't exist before.
The Road Ahead
Building Raen has been about proving a thesis: that world-class trading doesn't require world-class bureaucracy.
This partnership doesn't change that thesis. It amplifies it.
ARB's partnership validates what we've believed from day one. The future of trading belongs to firms that:
- Combine institutional excellence with entrepreneurial agility
- Attract the best talent from everywhere
- Judge purely on performance
We're grateful to have found a partner who doesn't just understand this vision, they're committed to amplifying it.
As they told me during our negotiations:
"Now is the time to build something transformative. Let's give you the resources to attack this properly."
That's exactly what we intend to do.
Join Us
To the exceptional traders out there, whether you're at an elite firm or trading from your home office, if you meet our performance standards, we want to hear from you.
The artificial barriers between talent and opportunity are coming down.
The infrastructure is in place. The capital is ready. Now we build.
Ryan Wright
CEO, Raen Trading
For complete details on the partnership and what it means for the future of proprietary trading, read the official press release →
