Risk Arbitrage Trader, Director

Citi•New York, NY

7d•$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. The role manages book risk and capital allocation in coordination with the broader Event-Driven and Global Markets teams. Its objective is to generate consistent, risk-adjusted revenues by trading announced corporate transactions—including mergers, acquisitions, tender offers, spin-offs, and restructurings—while safeguarding the firm's capital. The trader collaborates with Research, Sales, and M&A Advisory to develop the firm's event-driven trading franchise and provide institutional clients with strong execution and market insights. The role involves actively managing a risk arbitrage book, capturing spreads, implementing hedges, and managing deal-break and other transaction risks. It also requires fundamental, legal, regulatory, and shareholder analysis of transactions; close partnership with Event-Driven Research; client coverage and market intelligence; and coordination across Sales, Research, Capital Markets, and Investment Banking. The trader mentors junior desk staff and partners with control functions to maintain governance, risk controls, ethical standards, and compliance with Citi policies and applicable laws. The position is based in New York, New York, and has a stated full-time salary range of $200,000 to $300,000, in addition to potentially eligible incentive and retention awards.

Requirements

At least 10 years of trading experience, with a proven track record of at least 7–10 years 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 and antitrust frameworks.
Proven disciplined risk management, including experience navigating deal breaks, market drawdowns, and liquidity squeezes.
Advanced analytical, quantitative, and numerical competency, including the ability to model complex deal spreads, option-implied probabilities, and multi-scenario payoff matrices.
Clear, concise, and persuasive written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex legal or regulatory situations and their trading implications.
Strong relationship-building skills and ability to collaborate with internal stakeholders and external institutional counterparties.
Advanced proficiency in Bloomberg, including M&A and CACS functions, proprietary booking and risk management systems, and electronic trading protocols.
Bachelor’s degree or university degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
Maintain all required regulatory registrations and licenses.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in business administration or quantitative finance.
Professional designation such as CFA or JD.

Responsibilities

Actively manage and trade a senior-level Risk Arbitrage book, 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 in stock-for-stock, cash, or mixed-consideration deals, optimizing execution timing.
Implement hedging strategies using options, credit default swaps, equity derivatives, and index products to isolate deal-specific risks and mitigate market beta, interest rate, and currency exposures.
Manage tail-risk and potential deal-break scenarios, establishing stop-loss limits and exit protocols for high-risk transactions.
Analyze merger agreements, tender offer documents, and proxy statements, including deal terms such as Material Adverse Effect clauses, termination fees, and financing conditions.
Assess regulatory approval pathways, including 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 assess the probability of deal approval.
Partner with Event-Driven Research analysts to turn legal, regulatory, and financial inputs into trading strategies.
Build and maintain relationships with institutional clients, including event-driven hedge funds, merger arbitrage funds, and multi-strategy asset managers.
Anticipate client demand, facilitate large block trades, and provide market color, flow analysis, and spread-pricing insights to the sales force and clients.
Coordinate with Sales, Research, Capital Markets, and Investment Banking to develop the event-driven franchise and capture transaction-related flows.
Manage, mentor, and develop junior traders and desk analysts.
Partner with Legal, Compliance, Market Risk, Credit Risk, Audit, and Finance to maintain governance and control infrastructure.
Promote responsible finance, good governance, expense discipline, and high ethical standards.
Assess risk and reward in complex transactions and appropriately manage reputational risk, safeguarding Citi, its clients, and its assets.
Follow Citi’s Code of Conduct, the Plan of Supervision for Global Markets, and applicable laws, rules, and regulations; maintain required regulatory registrations and licenses.