Risk Arbitrage Trader, Director

Citi • New York, NY

4d • $200,000 - $300,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Risk Arbitrage Trader is a senior-level position responsible for overseeing a dedicated risk/merger arbitrage and event-driven trading book. This role involves managing book risk and capital allocation in coordination with the broader Event-Driven and Global Markets teams. The overall objective of this role is to generate consistent, risk-adjusted revenues by trading announced corporate transactions (mergers, acquisitions, tender offers, spin-offs, and restructurings) while safeguarding the firm's capital. The Risk Arb Trader will coordinate with key internal stakeholders—including Research, Sales, and M&A Advisory—to develop and expand the firm's event-driven trading franchise and deliver superior execution and market insights to institutional clients.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in trading, with a proven track record of at least 7–10 years specifically managing a profitable Risk Arbitrage / Merger Arbitrage or Event-Driven trading book.
• In-depth knowledge of corporate finance, M&A legal structures, securities law, and global regulatory/antitrust frameworks.
• Proven history of disciplined risk management, including successful navigation of historical deal breaks, market drawdowns, and liquidity squeezes.
• Advanced analytical, quantitative, and numerical competency. Ability to model complex deal spreads, option-implied probabilities, and multi-scenario payoff matrices.
• Consistently demonstrates clear, concise, and persuasive written and verbal communication skills. Ability to articulate complex legal or regulatory situations and their trading implications.
• Strong relationship-building skills to collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders (Sales, Research, Legal) and external institutional counterparties.
• Advanced proficiency in Bloomberg (specifically arbitrage and M&A functions like M&A, CACS), proprietary booking and risk management systems, and electronic trading protocols.
• Bachelor’s degree/University degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree (MBA or quantitative finance) or professional designations (CFA, JD) highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Actively manage and trade a senior-level Risk Arbitrage book, executing long/short strategies primarily focused on announced M&A transactions, equity stubs, spin-offs, and other corporate reorganizations.
• Identify, analyze, and capture arbitrage spreads between target and acquirer securities (stock-for-stock, cash, or mixed-consideration deals) while optimizing execution timing.
• Implement sophisticated hedging strategies using options, credit default swaps, credit default swaps, equity derivatives, and index products to isolate deal-specific risks and mitigate market beta, interest rate, and currency exposures.
• Proactively manage tail-risk and potential deal-break scenarios, establishing disciplined stop-loss limits and exit protocols for high-risk transactions.
• Perform rigorous fundamental, legal, and regulatory analysis of merger agreements, tender offer documents, and proxy statements. Evaluate key deal terms, including Material Adverse Effect (MAE) clauses, termination fees, and financing conditions.
• Assess regulatory approval pathways, including Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings, European Commission reviews, CFIUS clearances, and other global antitrust or national security hurdles.
• Analyze shareholder bases, voting requirements, and activist investor involvement to gauge the probability of deal approval.
• Partner closely with Event-Driven Research analysts to synthesize legal, regulatory, and financial inputs into actionable trading strategies.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key institutional clients, including event-driven hedge funds, merger arbitrage funds, and multi-strategy asset managers.
• Anticipate client demand, facilitate large block trades in arbitrage situations, and provide high-touch market color, flow analysis, and spread-pricing insights to the sales force and clients.
• Coordinate with Sales, Research, Capital Markets, and Investment Banking to enhance the firm's overall event-driven franchise and capture market share in transaction-related flows.
• Manage, mentor, and develop junior traders and desk analysts, fostering a collaborative and high-performing desk environment.
• Work in close partnership with control functions—including Legal, Compliance, Market Risk, Credit Risk, Audit, and Finance—to ensure a robust governance and control infrastructure.
• Build and maintain a culture of responsible finance, good governance, strict expense discipline, and high ethical standards.
• Appropriately assess the risk/reward of complex transactions, demonstrating proper consideration for the firm’s reputation, safeguarding Citigroup, its clients, and its assets.
• Adhere to Citi’s Code of Conduct, the Plan of Supervision for Global Markets, and all applicable local and international laws, rules, and regulations. Maintain all required regulatory registrations and licenses.

Benefits

• medical, dental & vision coverage
• 401(k)
• life, accident, and disability insurance
• wellness programs
• paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director