Spot Trading LLC, a leading proprietary trading firm, today announced that the National Association for Business Resources (NABR) is honoring the firm for the fourth consecutive year as one of “Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work ForTM”. Spot was once again the only trading firm to make the list of companies recognized for their innovative strategies and best practices in human resources.
Spot Trading CEO Steve Brodsky said: “It’s truly gratifying to earn this honor as we continually strive to provide a rewarding and innovative environment for our talented employees. Our focus on collaboration within the firm extends to a broad range of activities that further fosters team-building while giving back to the Chicago community. To that end, we believe our decision this year to start an engineering blog will provide significant contributions to the open-source community while reinforcing the tremendous respect we have for technology and the team that helps drive our success.”
In November, Spot Trading was named as one of The Chicago Tribune’s 100 Top Workplaces for 2013. Winners of that honor are determined solely on employee feedback, based on a comprehensive survey. In addition, Spot has previously been recognized by NABR for three consecutive years as one of the “National 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work ForTM”.
The firm, which this year is celebrating its 15th anniversary, has grown from five individuals in 1999 to over 130 professionals today, specializing in technology, equity research, quantitative analysis and trading. Spot actively recruits from the nation’s leading universities, strategically sponsoring a variety of programs with these schools throughout the year.
Next month, Spot will welcome its newest group of employees to the popular Spot Training Program (STP), an intensive program aimed at bridging the gap between financial theory and practical hands-on experience in trading and markets. In addition to the new STP class, 11 undergraduate students begin the firm’s highly competitive summer internship program this week.
Selection of the 2014 winning Chicago companies resulted from a comprehensive evaluation by an independent research firm on companies’ strengths in key measures, including: compensation, benefits and employee solutions; employee enrichment, engagement and retention; employee education and development; recruitment, selection and orientation; employee achievement and recognition; communication and shared vision; diversity and inclusion; work-life balance; community initiatives; and strategic company performance. NABR will honor the winners at a Chicago-area event on July 21.
Jennifer Kluge, NABR President, said: “The selection, recognition and awarding of this year’s companies allows our organization to showcase their best practices. The honorees have clearly demonstrated why each of them would be an ideal place for employees to work. Companies that capitalize on their greatest resource — their employees — know how to attract and retain top talent. We are proud to honor this year’s winners.”